Chapter Ten - Should And Shouldn't
Caroline
"I should've kissed you when I could."
I averted my gaze from the book I was reading to the person who had just taken the seat beside me.
Zach raked his fingers through his hair, pushing the deep brown strands out of his face.
"Because I came back later to find the booth shut down," he pouted. "And yet," a smirk formed on his lips, "you were the star of the carnival."
I let out a laugh and shook my head. "Long story."
"Oh, I know how that story goes." He waved his hand dismissively. "Jealous boyfriend shows up, happens to be pretty loaded and there, the booth is a success without even running."
I frowned at him. "He's not the boyfriend. He's my boss." I heard a voice beside me and found Liam taking a seat across the table.
"And I thought no one could disrupt my peace in a library." With a sarcastic smile, I shut the book I was reading and placed it on the table.
Liam's hand went up to his chest dramatically and he shut his eyes as if in pain. "Ouch."
"Remind me again why you and Rebekah aren't majoring in drama?" I narrowed my eyes for a moment.
"So he's not your boyfriend?" Zach spoke out of nowhere, his finger rubbing his chin as if he was deep in thought.
"No," I said.
"Are you sure, Caroline?" Liam cut in with a smirk. "I mean, he seemed pretty riled up about you kissing other guys."
I narrowed my eyes again.
The last thing I wanted was to think about that kiss. It was driving me crazy. I had even called in sick to avoid him.
Which was why I was here in the campus library, reading a book as a distraction instead of being at work.
"He was mad because I skipped work to volunteer at a carnival." I gritted my teeth and Liam seemed to have gotten the message.
"I see." He nodded.
Zach cleared his throat and I turned to him.
"Have you heard about this frat party tonight, Caroline?"
"Yeah. Rebekah told me last week. In fact, she's out shopping for a dress right now." I chuckled.
"What about you? Are you going?"
"Um, no." I shook my head.
Zach frowned.
"She says that every time, but Rebekah's just gonna end up dragging her to the party eventually," Liam said.
He was right. That was how it always happened.
But this time, I had a better reason to not go.
A part of me was worried that Nick Sinclair would somehow show up there too.
"Well, I hope Rebekah does that," Zach said with a charming smile. "Because I'll be looking forward to seeing you there tonight."
With that, he got up and left.
"Aw," a voice cut in, and I found Rebekah walking up to us.
"There's Nick Sinclair." She smirked while taking Zach's seat. "And on the other hand, your ex-lover Zach."
"Who will Caroline choose?" Liam spoke in a husky voice, attempting to build up suspense.
"For now," I scowled at them, "I choose to read my book in peace."
"Okay, you have till 5 p.m.," Rebekah said. "Be back in the dorm after that because we need to get ready for the party."
"I'm not going," I stated.
"We'll see about that." She flipped her hair on one side.
"I'm serious. Please."
"What's your excuse this time?" She crossed her arms over her chest.
"Nick Sinclair is going to show up there."
Her eyes grew wide for a moment.
"Why? How do you know that?"
"Isn't that what he does? The club when we were drunk, the coffee shop and then yesterday, at the carnival. How could he even know about the kissing booth?"
"About that." She scratched the back of her neck and I raised a brow. "I told Blake."
My eyes grew wide. "Why?"
"Just sibling talk." She shrugged. "We tell things to each other. Clearly my asshat brother can't keep things from his best friend. I should've known better. I'm sorry."
I sighed. "That's okay'"
"Really?"
"Yeah. You didn't know."
"Are we going or not?" Liam asked.
"Of course we are," Rebekah said. "And trust me, Care, Nick can't show up to something he doesn't know about. I'm not going to tell Blake about this."
I thought for a moment.
She was right.
"Okay. We'll go."
"Yes!" They both said in unison.
Shaking my head, I went back to reading the book.
****
"No way! That's too short." I made a face at the skirt Rebekah was holding up. It would barely cover my ass.
"This?" She pulled out a short black dress.
"No."
Her mouth opened slightly. "What's wrong with this one?"
"Too revealing."
She groaned in frustration and went back to her closet.
"Wait," I spoke up and started looking into my clothes. Once I found it, I disappeared into the bathroom.
Then stepped out into a black crop top and maroon-checkered skirt that barely reached to my mid-thighs. At least my ass is covered.
"Neither too revealing nor too modest. What do you think?" I asked.
She seemed to be scanning me.
"Not bad," she finally said. "But there's something missing."
I put on my black boots. "Now?"
She tapped on her chin with her finger in thought. "Got it."
Walking over to her dresser, she rummaged through her stuff and walked back to me with a funky cat pendant. It was completely metallic and the cat's eyes were probably glass.
She tied it around my neck and walked me to the dresser. After applying some mascara and lipstick, she stepped back to take a look.
Finally, she let my hair loose, styling it on one side, leaving the waves falling over my shoulders.
"Perfect." She smiled.
I glanced at my reflection and sat back on the bed, waiting for her to get ready.
Sometimes Rebekah reminded me of my mother.
Whenever we had to go to some party, my mom would get me ready first and then I would just sit in the corner, watching her get ready and asking a billion questions about when I would be able to do my own make-up.
She said she would teach me as I grew older. But she never got a chance to.
"How do I look?" Rebekah asked.
She was wearing a floral tank top and white short shorts along with matching white sandals. The floral print on her top was complemented by a pearl necklace.
Her icy blonde hair was curled and her radiant make-up gave her a bold look.
"You look amazing, Reb," I said with wide eyes.
"Amazing? You mean ready for a hook up or two?" She winked.
I burst out laughing.
There was a knock on the door. "Must be Liam. I'll get it," I said and opened the door.
Liam's jaw dropped as he looked between me and Rebekah.
"The air conditioning in my car will be on full blast 'cause damn, it's about to get hot." He pretended to fan himself.
Me and Rebekah chuckled.
"Let's go," she said.
The drive to the frat house was a short one and one of the hosts knew Liam well.
We were straight away given permission to go to the upper floor. They put a weird stamp on our wrists in case we wanted to come back downstairs and go up later.
Upstairs wasn't as crowded and loud. There were less people, more booze, and I could see a few people passing around pills in small packets. Drugs, I assumed.
It was probably why only a limited number of people were allowed up here.
Rebekah and Liam never did drugs. They only stuck to alcohol. As for me, I always stayed sober to take care of them. Except for sometimes when I really needed to lose myself.
"This floor is boring. I'll be downstairs." Rebekah frowned.
"Same," I said.
"Alright. I'll see you guys sometime later," Liam said.
"If we find you doing drugs, we'll take your car and leave you here," Rebekah warned.
He gave a little salute and chuckled.
We went back downstairs and started meeting our college mates.
"I need a drink," Rebekah said.
"Do you want me to get it for you?" I raised a brow.
"No, Care. I promised you that I'd hook you up with someone before getting drunk. Oh look! There's Zach."
She opened her mouth to call him but I clamped my hand over it.
"I'll be fine."
She crossed her arms over her chest. "You won't complain later?"
"No."
"Okay." She shrugged and picked up a red cup from the table and downed the entire thing in one go.
"Come on. Let's dance." She dragged me towards the dance floor.
We danced for some time—more like we just laughed and sang along with the lyrics.
Rebekah downed another drink and was now twerking wildly right in the middle of the dance floor.
I burst out laughing as a crowd formed around her and everyone was hooting for her to carry on.
The music was only getting louder and I decided to get some fresh air.
I stepped out into the backyard and took in a deep breath. The stars were twinkling profusely and the wind was cool.
A few people were already passed out on the grass and I chuckled.
One stoned guy gave me a weird look before going back inside the house.
I felt a tap on my shoulder and jumped around to see who it was.
"Oh my God, Zach!" I let out a breath. "You scared me."
He chuckled. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."
Smiling, I went back to looking up at the sky.
"I'm glad you could make it." He smiled down at me.
"Me too." I nodded.
"You look really beautiful, Caroline," he whispered in a soft voice.
"Oh, thanks. Credit goes to Rebekah. She did all my make-up and stuff—"
"No. I mean, not just tonight. You always look beautiful."
I looked up into his deep brown eyes and realized that I'd forgotten how mesmerizing they were.
"Thank you, Zach."
He smiled, displaying those white pearls.
"You know," he started to say after a few moments, making me realize that I was just staring at him so I blinked and looked away.
"I've been trying to get drunk at this party but it's like the host diluted the alcohol with water. Damn! What an asshole!" He went on blabbering but stopped abruptly.
"Right. The point." He raised a finger in the air and I realized he was a little drunk when he slurred.
"The point is that none of it worked, but the moment I saw you, Caroline," he took a step in my direction, "I got shaky feet." I didn't know what to say.
"Oh, okay?"
"I'm dizzy. So, are you a drug? 'Cause damn girl, I think you just blew my mind," he slurred with a ridiculous grin on his face. "Literally," he added.
I remembered Liam saying something like that a while ago. Did Zach practice with him or something?
I pressed my lips into a thin line but finally burst out laughing.
"Is that supposed to be a pickup line, Zach?"
He shrugged. "Maybe."
I crossed my arms over my chest and narrowed my eyes playfully. "Are you hitting on your ex?"
"Maybe." He took a step closer.
I held my breath when he brushed his fingers across my cheeks.
"Breaking up with you was the most stupid decision I've ever made, Caroline," he whispered softly.
I was speechless. "When you told me you weren't ready to sleep with me, I should've acted in a mature manner. I'm sorry. But now I'm ready to wait for as long as you want me to. Will you take me back, Caroline?"
He leaned in closer and I shut my eyes.
"Zach..." I trailed off when his lips fell on mine.
Our lips started moving together and suddenly, there was a thought—a name at the back of my mind.
Nick.
I didn't know why, but the moment I pictured those blue orbs staring back at me, my eyes flew open and I pulled away from Zach.
He stood there in surprise, blinking at me.
Oh God!
"Caroline," he said, but I had involuntarily turned around and sprinted back inside the house.
It took me a while to catch my breath. I searched for Rebekah and found her sitting in the corner, exhausted.
"What's wrong?" she asked when I approached her.
"Nothing. Can we go back now?"
"I guess..." She raised a brow. "Is there something you wanna tell—"
"Rebekah?" I turned around at the voice.
A tall and lean girl with brunette locks and brown eyes stood there, smiling at Rebekah. Then she averted her gaze to me and smiled.
I'd seen her somewhere before.
I smiled back. "Hi."
"Hi. We've met before. Don't you remember?" she asked me.
"Um, sorry, I don't. You look familiar though."
She smiled. "You helped me get to my class on my first day. I'm a freshman."
Oh! Right! That was just a few months ago.
"Emilia?" Rebekah stood beside me and went forward to hug her. "Been so long."
"Yeah, you barely visit now, Rebekah."
Both of them looked excited to see each other as they engaged in a little conversation.
After a while, she finally turned to me. "I'm Emilia."
"I'm Caroline," I said.
"Wait," Rebekah cut in and turned to Emilia. "What are you doing here?"
"What do you do at a party, Rebekah?" She chuckled.
"But your dad?" She spoke in confusion. "He allowed you to go to a party at this hour?"
Maybe her dad was strict.
"Of course he didn't." She rolled her eyes. "He agreed on one condition. That I had to take my big brother along."
"What?" Rebekah gasped. "Is he here?"
"Yeah, of course. How else would I be here? You know my dad."
Rebekah turned to me with wide eyes and I raised a brow in confusion.
"What?" I muttered.
"She's Emilia Sinclair."
It took me a moment to register that.
"Your brother is Nick Sinclair?" I turned to her with wide eyes.
She seemed weirded out. "Yeah. You know him?"
"Uh, yeah." I let out a nervous laugh. "Where is he?"
"I don't know." She chuckled. "He becomes this undercover agent whenever he brings me to parties. Gives me freedom yet watches over me like a hawk."
I gulped.
"For all you know, he could be watching us now." She looked around.
I didn't know why but a chill ran down my spine. Almost like Nick Sinclair was a psycho killer and I had to run.
"Uh, we should get going now, right, Caroline?" Rebekah asked and I nodded.
"Enjoy the party, Emilia." I smiled.
"You too." She walked away and disappeared in the crowd.
"Oh God! I'm out of here," I said.
"Jeez, relax. It's not like he's going to kill you for lying that you're sick. I'm sure he knows that already."
I wasn't worried about that at all!
What if he saw me kissing Zach?
"I'll go get Liam, okay?" she said and walked away.
It had been five minutes since she had gone and my heart was thumping loudly.
I looked around impatiently and my breath hitched when I felt a pair of eyes burning holes in my back. Suddenly, I feel like I'm being watched.
Slowly, I turned around.
Shit!
Nick Sinclair was standing a few feet away and he didn't look happy.
"Caroline," he said.
"Nick." I bit my lip.
He took a long stride towards me. "So this is where I find you when you call in sick?"
"I-I..."
"You're avoiding me." His blue eyes narrowed.
If he knew anything about that kiss, he would've said something by now.
I felt relief washing over me.
"No. I'm not avoiding you—"
"Caroline." Someone approached me and I squinted my eyes in the dark room.
"I'm so sorry." I recognized Zach's voice as he stood beside me now, his eyes droopy and bloodshot.
My heart was racing. I opened my mouth to stop him from saying anything but it was too late.
"I shouldn't have kissed you like that."