Addison
"Have you gone to any frat parties yet?" Silence.
I glanced over at Vanessa who was too busy ignoring me so that she could make googly eyes at Matt from across the table as she held his hand. I rolled my eyes. If I had known how annoying they would be as a couple, I would have never pushed them so hard to get together.
Shifting in the vinyl booth, I waved my hand frantically in front of my friend's face. "Hello! Earth to Vanessa! I'm talking to you."
"Huh what?" She asked distractedly. "I didn't catch what you said." No kidding.
She had her chin propped in her hands as she continued to gaze adoringly at Matt as though he were some kind of Greek God or something. How can she fawn all over him like that? Doesn't she have any pride? I'll admit that he was cute, but he wasn't that special. He was just Matt to me.
I snarled at her through clenched teeth. "I asked you if you've attended any frat parties yet."
She shifted her sights off of Matt, suddenly taking great interest in studying the menu. "Um...no. Not yet," she replied, tucking a lock of brunette hair behind one ear.
I raised a brow. Interesting. "Why not? Imagine all the hot guys that must be there."
Matt looked up from the list of food options to shoot me a scowl. "I don't think she's exactly looking to scope out dates at the moment, Addie."
"Of course not, baby. I'm completely satisfied with you," she cooed, grabbing a hold of his hand, and clutching it. She shrugged. "I guess I just haven't had the opportunity. I don't know anybody here besides Quinn and she's not exactly the partying type. I have no desire to drink shitty beer while I stand in the corner by myself, scrubbing the stain out of my dress after Becky who has had one too many, drunkenly sloshed her drink all over me."
"That's super-specific." Taking a sip of my water, I waved her off. "Well now that I'm here, I could go with you. I'll bet there's a party happening tonight."
Matt jingled his keys at me. "Aren't you forgetting something? I'm your ride, Addie and I don't feel like mingling with a bunch of Kevins until the wee hours of the morning when I have to work the early shift."
"Oh, shush," I retorted, pressing my hand against his face. "You can go home and cry into your pillow about your long-distance relationship while I stay here and have a wild night out with my best friend whom I rarely get to see anymore. I'll catch a train back to Connecticut."
Matt huffed at me. "Great," he muttered beneath his breath. "Just what she needs, a bad influence."
Glaring at him, I gave him a swift kick in the shin underneath the table. "Excuse me! I'm not a bad influence. I just encourage people to embrace the fun times." I gave him a pointed look. "Besides, you're hardly one to talk. All you do is get into trouble and you're her boyfriend."
He threw up his hands. "There's a big difference between me getting a detention because I didn't do my homework and you egging on my girlfriend to kiss another dude."
Vanessa grabbed hold of his hand, bringing it to her lips and kissing his knuckles. "You've got nothing to worry about, honey and I could use a night out to blow off some steam."
Staring at him earnestly, I crossed my heart with my fingers. "I promise, I won't let her get too drunk and if any guy tries to smuggle her upstairs, I'll kick his ass for you."
She nodded enthusiastically. "I'll leave all the flirting and making out to Addison."
"I know. I trust you." Sighing, he slumped back in the booth. "Alright, if that's what you want, I won't stop you."
"Great!" I exclaimed, clapping my hands. "Then it's settled. Party in New York City, baby!"
Matt
It wasn't a complete lie. I did of course, trust Vanessa. Addison was the one I had misgivings about. After a few vodka shots in her system and a gaggle of beefy males surrounding her, I didn't fully believe that she wouldn't pressure my girlfriend into reckless behavior.
What's one peck on the cheek, she would question at Addison's prompting. It's not cheating if there are no feelings involved.
From there, the lines would become as blurry as her memory when she tried to recall the next day what had occurred. But I couldn't fight it. I couldn't be there in every pressured situation Vanessa wound up in to make sure she chose the right decision.
So, there was nothing left to do except let her go and hope like hell she always came back into my arms.
Once our pizza had arrived, we dove into the hot cheese and pepperoni as we caught up with each other on our new lives. Addison, no doubt embellished a few details about hers, but I sensed that Vanessa was doing the opposite. It seemed as though she was holding back when I asked her how her classes were going.
She shrugged. "Okay," she answered quietly.
I blew on my steaming meal before taking a bite. "Just okay? Isn't it exciting living on your own though?"
"I suppose."
Furrowing my brows, I titled my head so that I could catch her eye. "And how are you enjoying the city? Have you found any cool spots that you want to bring us to? Any recommendations?"
She glanced away, twisting and untwisting her paper napkin. "You would probably enjoy the public library. I hear it's quite the majestic place to visit."
She heard? She doesn't know firsthand?
Clearing my throat, I grasped her hands. "V, you are happy here, aren't you?"
She shrugged my touch free. "Of course, I am. This is my dream school." Even though she forced out a smile to go with that statement, her eyes remained dull.
I patted her on the shoulder. "Well...alright. But just know if there's anything bothering you, I'm always here to listen."
Groaning loudly, Addison unfastened the top button of her skin-tight jeans as she wiped the grease off her mouth with the back of her hand. "I'm so stuffed. You're going to have to carry me out of here, Matt."
She tossed a wadded-up napkin onto the table amongst her crumbs, and I scowled at her as I carefully set the tissue onto her plate. "Can you not be such a slob? Someone else has to clean up after you, you know. It wouldn't kill you to show an ounce of decency."
She held up her palms. "Oops. Didn't mean to offend you, busboy." She covered the side of her face as she pointed at me, mouthing something to Vanessa. Vanessa smirked in response.
I snatched Addison's hand away from her face. "What insult is she gossiping about me now?"
Vanessa giggled. "She just reminded me that you were being a bear today."
Addison's mouth fell upon as she spread her arms wide. "Bruh! Does girl code not mean anything to you?"
She shrugged. "Sorry. You might be my girl, but I can't keep secrets from my guy."
"Pssh. And you call yourself my bestie," Addison grumbled, waving her friend off. "What do we want to do next? Although I'm not sure I want to go anywhere with you two traitors. God, V what happened to the days when it used to be us against Matt and now, I'm the one being ganged up on. It's not fair." Crossing her arms, she pouted.
"Tragic, Addie," I replied, sarcastically. "You should write a book on it, really."
"I definitely should. I can call it The Tale of Two Traitors. He was the evilest of people. She was the nicest of people."
Smirking, I let my gaze travel across the table until it fell upon Vanessa. She didn't appear to be listening to a single word that Addison droned on about as she stared at me with a heated look in her cocoa infused irises.
Shoving aside her plate, she stood up abruptly. "I...um...need to use the restroom. I'll be back in a minute." She slid out of the booth, massaging my shoulder as she walked by.
I stretched my arms above my head as I leaned back in the chair, thinking about how great it would feel to get the blood flowing in my legs with a walk in the city after a few hours spent driving. Now, I had never been one for picking up on subtle hints. I had managed to stay in the dark for four whole years about Vanessa's feelings towards me even though looking back, Addison had always dropped super obvious hints. So, I could only blame my clueless nature as the reason for why I didn't catch on to Vanessa's signals that she wanted me to follow her until my phone buzzed with her text message.
Come. NOW! was all it read.
Well, she doesn't have to tell me twice. Leaping up, I stuffed my cell in my jeans pocket. "Actually, the bathroom sounds like a fantastic idea. It's been a long trip," I announced, unconvincingly. Addison arched a brow but surprisingly didn't say anything.
No sooner had I stepped foot inside the restroom, did Vanessa reach out her hand and yank me into a toilet stall with her. I fumbled to lock the door behind me as she planted fervent wet kisses all over my neck, running her fingers through my hair. "Where was this bold version of Vanessa back in high school?" I joked.
"Too busy being a fool," she murmured, her fingers flying to my belt buckle as she struggled to undo it quickly. "Matt," she breathed. "We haven't been intimate in a month. I simply can't go another second longer without having you."
I had spent a solid year yearning to hear those words and the sound of them now, falling so easily from her lips, was a huge turn-on and the only encouragement I needed. Grabbing her by the waist, I hoisted her up so that her legs were wrapped around me, and her hands were braced against the walls of the stall for support.
Pushing up her dress, I found my way inside of her and began thrusting. A cry of pleasure escaped her throat, and she closed her eyes, titling her head back.
Toilet paper was strewn about the dingy tiles and the place had a grimy appearance to it that indicated the bathroom hadn't been solidly deep cleaned in years, but I didn't give a damn. Even though the atmosphere was hardly sexy, watching her in the throes of passion was all I needed to get me rock hard.
As she gripped onto the makeshift wall, she lowered her lips back to mine and poured all her longing into kissing the hell out of me. "I've missed you too, baby," I murmured, getting lost in her supple body. And the next thing I knew, we had both launched off into a satisfying crescendo.