Chapter 2 - "I've never had a one night stand before."
My flat loved to pre-drink. I wasn't a huge pre-drinker, probably because I wasn't a huge drinker in general, but I joined in because I didn't want to seem boring.
I managed to bond with Hayley over what to wear, though it was safe to say that she dressed up more than I did. Her short skirt accentuated her long, tanned legs and her huge stilettos drew even more attention to them. I, on the other hand, opted for flats, deciding that sore feet would only add more stress to the evening.
The queue to get into the venue was huge, but we spoke amongst ourselves and other people around us while we waited. Hayley was already getting chatted up and we hadn't even stepped inside yet. Shaun and I made conversation together about holidays and how we'd been spending our summers. He'd spent the summer in Italy so obviously we had a lot in common there and when I told him about Nathan, he said he'd love to get to know him better.
If I thought the queue to get in was big, it was nothing compared to the queue for the bar. I groaned to myself, but the rest of my flat headed eagerly towards it, already discussing what they should have to drink. The day had been so exhausting for me and all I wanted to do was curl up in bed and sleep. Instead, I found myself queuing for forty five minutes for a vodka and lemonade that I didn't really want. People who were lucky enough to already have drinks were milling around and chatting with each other. I watched them with mild interest for a while before my mind wandered back to Nathan and what he'd be doing right now. Last night had been so perfect, and I replayed the memory, as if that would bring me closer to him again.
We'd stumbled into his bedroom, hands all over each other as we toppled onto his bed.
"I wanted this to be all special and romantic and stuff," he murmured, dragging his lips to my neck and sucking the skin into the heat of his mouth.
"Too late. I'm not slowing down now." I grinned, tilting my head backwards and winding my legs around his back.
"But I haven't even lit the candles," he whined.
"You haven't even bought the candles," I snickered, rolling to change our position so I was on top. I looked down into his eyes and grinned playfully. "You give a whole new meaning to the description Hopeless Romantic."
"Oh, shut up." He smirked and flipped me onto my back again, crushing his mouth to mine to stifle my laugh.
The playfulness continued as we took each other's clothes off, to the point where Nathan was torturing me with kisses all over my body. He'd joked about it not being romantic, but we had a balance and no matter how passionate we became, the romance was never lost.
As we lay together afterwards, Nathan let out a huge sigh. I rolled onto my side to face him and brushed his hair away from his eyes.
"That was a big sigh. What's up?"
He smiled slightly. "Beginning to realize just how much I'm going to miss you."
"You only realize that after sex? How charming."
He grinned and trailed his hand delicately along the side of my body, watching as it dipped into the curve of my waist and then came to rest on my hip.
"I'll miss everything about you, Bella. I'll miss your sense of humour, your laugh, the way you manage to cheer me up just by being around. I'll miss how passionate you are, how seriously you take things, and how you always strive to be a better person."
"I strive to be a better person?" I asked, raising my right eyebrow. "What about you? Look how much you've changed over the past couple of years."
He shrugged modestly. "I needed to change. You've always been a good person though."
Taking out my hand from under the covers, he laid it to rest on the mattress in the space between us.
"Never take this ring off," he said quietly, twisting it around my finger.
"I won't," I replied just as quietly. "It's my little piece of you to take with me wherever I go."
"We'll be fine, Bella. People who are meant to be together always find a way to work through the harder patches."
I leant to his mouth, trying to transfer all of my feelings into that kiss. I must have done well because despite our earlier session, that kiss still wasn't enough as we progressed into round two.
Back in the present day, my heart burned for Nathan. It wasn't even like we were doing long distance; we were both in the same city. But when you're used to seeing the same person every single day, it hits pretty hard when you realise just how little you'll be seeing them from now on.
"Here you go," Shaun said, handing me my drink. "Now let's find our way out of this crowd."
I did begin to relax when I had some more alcohol in my system but I think everyone agreed that the Welcome Party left a lot to be desired. The main dance floor was so packed that we could barely move and the heat was stifling. At one point, I had to step outside the room to cool down and get some fresh air.
"You alright there?"
I looked up to my right to see a tall guy standing there looking down at me with a slight smile on his face.
I forced a smile back, knowing I needed to be friendly if I wanted to make friends here. "Yeah. Just needed some fresh air."
"Don't blame ya. It's like a sauna in there. I'm Mike by the way."
I shook his hand. "Izzy."
"So is that short for Isobel or Isabella?"
"Isobel."
"So, what are you studying, Isobel?"
"Spanish," I replied. "What about you?"
"Maths. I have the utmost respect for people who learn languages. I could never do it."
I smiled politely. Maybe making friends would be easier than I first thought.
"Well, I'm not that great at sums, so I guess we're even."
He grinned. "How are your new flatmates?"
"They're nice I think. I don't know. We've not known each other long. Obviously."
Urgh. Stupid thing to say.
He just smiled at me though. "Yeah. I know what you mean. You don't start truly getting to know people until a few weeks, or even months, in."
"Yeah you're right."
I spotted Phil just across the courtyard talking to a girl I didn't recognise. Just as I was about to point him out, my new friend put his hand on my arm.
"Wanna head back inside?"
I accepted since it was a given that I'd lost everyone now apart from Phil. I didn't want to end up completely alone.
However, once back inside the club, something changed with Mike. At first I didn't mind his hand on my waist because it meant that I wouldn't lose him as we wound our way through the crowds of people. But it seemed that Mike had an ulterior motive. Once we'd found a space to dance, both of his hands found their way to my waist as he pulled me closer against his body. I awkwardly removed his hands, feeling guilty that I'd seemingly led him on. As I went to lean up to his ear to tell him I had a boyfriend, Mike twisted his face to plant his lips on mine. I leant back, horrified, and put my hands on his chest to push him away. He gave me a strange look, almost questioning.
"I have a boyfriend!" I shouted over the music.
But he still tried to pull me closer. I'd lost my patience by this point. I hadn't led him on at all. I was just being as friendly as anyone would be and he was the one who'd stepped over the line. Maybe it was normal for people to do that in clubs, but it wasn't normal for me, and it wasn't normal for a university welcome party where everyone was talking to everyone.
Turning on my heel, I blindly walked back through the crowds, hoping to bump into one of my flatmates in the same place I'd left them. Mike, however, was a persistent bastard.
"Why are you running away?" he asked me, pulling me back.
Once again, I pushed him away from me, and since we were in a more crowded place, other people became aware of what was going on. Another guy stepped in the middle of us and squared up to Mike. That was almost gentlemanly of him. I jumped when I felt a hand on my shoulder but breathed a sigh of relief when I saw it was Shaun with my other flatmates.
"You alright, Izzy?" Jack asked.
I nodded. "Yeah, just some weird guy who wouldn't take no for an answer."
"Well we're heading back anyway," Shaun said. "There's no point hanging around here."
"Yeah, we're just gonna drink at the flat," Hayley said.
As we caught a taxi back, Hayley chatted to me about my experience. "Boys can be such dicks," she said. "And I find it hard to believe that you led him on."
"Exactly," I murmured. "I was just being friendly. That was the whole point of this welcome party."
"Just some prick trying to get laid on his first night here," Jack said from the front of the taxi.
"He just wouldn't take no for an answer."
Having witnessed our conversation in the taxi, Phil later insisted he wasn't one of those guys, but that was mainly because he'd invited back the girl he'd met and didn't want us judging him for it.
"I've never had a one-night stand before," he said.
"Relax," Gemma said. "There's a difference between a consensual one-night stand and hassling a girl who isn't interested."
"So when's she getting here?" Jack asked with a grin. "Do we get to meet her and assess whether she's worthy for a first-night-lay?"
"I'd rather you didn't..." Phil said.
And maybe Jack's suggestion had scared Phil a bit, because when the girl arrived, he met her outside the block and then took her straight into his room.
Shortly afterwards I excused myself to go to bed. But as I got under the covers, I could hear Phil next door. The girl's laughter carried through the thin walls, later followed by her moans and the thump of the headboard banging against the wall. I sighed to myself and buried my head under the pillow trying to block out the noise of my new flatmate having sex. Was this what university was going to be like? I hoped not.
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