Afterglow (BWWM)

Chapter 7

Drew insisted on driving.

I should have taken the bus. I realized my mistake as soon as Drew pulled up outside the mall's entrance in a yellow Mustang GT and told me to get in. You didn't own a car like that if you didn't have a thing for going fast. I gripped my seat while Drew zoomed through traffic like he'd never heard the words "speed limit". He cut off the car in the lane next to us and that was all I could take.

"Drew, seriously? Who taught you to drive? Lindsay Lohan? And would it kill you to use a turn signal?" He glanced in my direction and the Mustang veered into the next lane.

"Keep your eyes on the road!" I cried out. He easily moved back into the right lane then chuckled. At that moment, I realized, "You're messing with me aren't you?"

A smile stretched across his face. "You're such an easy mark."

I folded my arms at my chest. "I'd like to live to see twenty-two if that's cool with you, so can you drive like a normal person and stop trying to scare me?"

"If you can't handle this little bit of danger, what will you do when I get you back to my room?"

Okay? What did one have to do with the other? Drew kept his eyes glued to the road like I'd asked earlier and I couldn't make out his expression. I hated not knowing what he meant.

"Are you saying I'm in danger with you?"

The car slowed until we finally came to a stop. Drew turned off the engine. "Don't ask questions you already know the answer to. Come on. We're here." 

That wasn't exactly the answer I was looking for, but Drew make a convenient exit leaving me no choice but to follow him out of the car. We were in front of a colossal, brick, colonial home with six large, white columns along the front. I noticed the large Greek letters for Kappa Theta Rho on the ledge above the porch and realized Drew neglected to mention an important detail about where he lived. I expected he would have a roommate or two, but I was not prepared to wind up at a fraternity house. 

Against my better judgment, I went with Drew up the walkway toward the house. There were three guys hanging around by the front door. Two of them had dark skin; one of them was decked out in all black, right down to the fitted hat he wore with the New York Yankees emblem on it. The other was slim and the tallest of the three. The last of the trio stood between the other two and wore a baseball cap over short, dark, straight hair and, strangely, reminded me a little of Drew.

I could smell the beer from the sidewalk. Wasn't 5 p.m. a little early to be getting wasted? I took a huge breath and forced myself to continue toward the three alcoholics-in-training despite the little voice in my head telling me to turn and make a run for it. Drew already thought I had no backbone and hated anything fun. The last thing I wanted was to prove him right by chickening out before we even started.

They looked at each other and then back at me. As it wasn't uncomfortable enough already, the one in the middle pinned me with his dark green eyes. He stepped forward and tugged at the lid of his baseball cap.

"Good day, big brother," he said.

" 'Sup guys," Drew said.

They all greeted each other and Drew went up to each of them and did some kind of handshake. He came back over to me and placed a heavy arm over my shoulder.

"This is Allison. She's with me."

Three pairs of eyes zeroed in on me and I secretly cringed. The center of attention with Drew yet again.

"Actually, it's Ally," I corrected.

Baseball cap guy's forehead creased and he looked from Drew to me and then back again. "She's with you?"