Deeper

2 | Vaughn's Effect

As soon as I enter my bathroom, I blow a sigh, staring at my face in the mirror. Involuntary, I curse, noticing that the four hours journey to Boston has left me looking like a wreck. I look pale, and my lips are dry, in addition to a bad hair day.

Then I curse again. Stupid me. Does this insecurity result from Vaughn's effect? Gosh. It's not like I haven't seen a good looking guy before.

Wait. That sounds good enough to become a meme. Vaughn's Effect.

Laughing at my own silly joke, I step into the bathtub and decide that I'm just going to have a nice, long and warm aromatherapy bath to relax my muscles.

It is 7 PM when I finally walk out of my room, wearing a red long sleeve crop top, black jeans and chunky heels. I don't do much to my wavy blonde hair, letting it fall naturally over my shoulder. I inhale a deep breath, liking the smell of my new Carolina Herrera perfume.

When I enter the living room, Vaughn is there, scanning the books inside the shelves hanging on the wall, his back facing me.

"Hey," I call, making him turn around.

I give him a slight smile before casually walking to the kitchen. I'm scanning what we have inside the fridge when I notice his eyes on me. I glance at him, only to find that he's been staring at me.

After taking out a bottle of mineral water, I lay my back against the fridge, facing absolutely anything else but him, because my heart starts to pound from his intense gaze. I sigh and devour the water, suddenly feeling like I need a gallon of it.

"Can you not..." I pause, feeling awkward. "Stare at me like that?"

"Like what?"

I turn my head towards him. "Like what you're doing now." Then I look away and take a gulp of the water again.

"Can't I stare at something pretty?"

His words almost make me choke and spit the water on the counter. Almost. Thank God.

I snap my head towards him, flushing hard, wiping the water off my mouth with the back of my hand.

He scoffs. "I'm sure Jake won't kill me for that. It's a compliment."

"What compliment?" Jake shuffles over to the living room. "Are we leaving now?"

Vaughn grabs the car keys on the cabinet and throws it to Jake.

"Let's go." Jake walks to the door, and we follow suit.

My gaze darts on the straw in my cocktail drink as I spin it inside the glass, sitting quietly at the bar. The drink tastes great, just like what Jake told me. The bar is cool, the workers are very friendly, and the atmosphere is cosy and warm. But that doesn't make me less restless.

No. It's not because of Vaughn. Although the guy has successfully made me blush twice today.

I've noticed that the majority of the customers of this bar are college students like us, and they're all looking at the three of us now. No. Staring, precisely.

"Why is everybody looking at us?" I whisper.

Sitting beside me, Jake scoffs before taking his tequila shot. "They don't usually stare like that. They look, but they don't stare too long. It's you, Mels."

"What?" I ask, dumbfounded.

"They're looking at you."

"Why?"

"Jesus, Mel. A lot of guys stare at you, even back then in high school," Jake makes his point.

"Yeah. Before you made them all scatter."

Jake bursts into laughter. "Can't help it," he says, a hint of proudness in his voice.

But this is different. The gazes are too obvious, especially from the girls, perhaps because I'm with the two most wanted bachelor in the campus. 'Who the hell is this newcomer bitch?' They must be thinking.

"Hey, Jake," a seductive voice echoes in my ears, and I try hard not to roll my eyes. This is just too familiar. I don't know when I'll get used to it. "Wanna dance?"

I look up to see a black-haired girl in a halter top leaning against the bar counter. She touches Jake's shoulder, and he smirks.

I scoff in annoyance. Screw me. I call my brother overprotective, while I'm actually just the same. We just handle the matter differently.

I know that Jake just wants to have fun. And he can do that. He's a dude, anyway. Right now, he may not have found someone for serious dating, but when he does, I'm sure that he'll tell me.

"Why me, Alexa? I'm not the only single guy here," Jake replies, his tone sounding more like an invitation rather than a rejection.

The girl smirks, looking at Vaughn. "Everybody knows that Vaughn is more unavailable than a married man."

Wow. That's new to me. So, Vaughn is single, but he's always cold and distant to girls?

Without waiting for Jake's response, Alexa pulls him as the band plays an upbeat song, inviting more people to the dance floor.

Great. That leaves me alone with Vaughn.

I turn my head towards him and find him staring at me with interest, as if my irritated face is interesting to watch.

I snap my head towards the bartender. Shit. I definitely need another drink right now.