“You can’t be serious?” Stacey asked her, as Roxanne helped Stacey curl her hair. “Bradley Uppercrust the Third?”
“Yep,” she responded, holding a pin between her teeth.
“And he wants to throw a party with us?” she asked, clapping her hands together. “Oh this should be fun! Finally some interaction with the rest of the student body.”
Roxanne took the pin and placed it neatly on Stacey’s side. They were going out to dinner at the Gamma house, and Bradley had insisted on bringing Stacey. “There, all done.”
Stacey stood up and examined herself in the round bathroom mirror. She smiled, bouncing her curls with her left hand. “I love it!”
“I saw Max today too. He’s in my Cell Bio class.” Roxanne said softly, putting the curling iron away. “He’s looking better.”
“Oh my gosh, did you talk to him?”
Roxanne nodded, reaching for the mascara tube on top of the sink. “It wasn’t long. I just asked how he was.”
Stacey began to dab blusher on her cheeks, giving her face an extra pop of pink. “Well, with that crazy girlfriend of his, there’s not much you can do.”
“Not that I wish to do anything.” Roxanne reminded her, feeling a sharp jolt in her chest. Did she really not want to be with Max? She brushed on her mascara, seeing her eyelashes extend.
“Well, I will admit, I do want to talk to Robert. I miss him.” Stacey said with a heavy sigh. Roxanne giggled.
Bradley’s car pulled up to the front of their house, his mouth hanging open as he realized what house they were at.
“She lives in front of team 99’s frat?” his teammate Donavan asked, who was sitting in the back seat.
“Obviously. This is going to be interesting. We’re going to throw a party right in front of their noses. Oh this is going to be good.” Bradley exclaimed, honking his horn.
“Yo, dude, isn’t that Bradley’s car?” Bobby asked, peeking through the blinds. Max rolled over to the window, shutting the lights off.
“Yeah, it is.” He said, confused. “Why would he be outside?”
“Do you think he’s coming to our house?” Bobby’s glasses slid off his face. He quickly grabbed them, setting them back on.
“Who knows, it’s so dark it’s hard to see anything.” Max said, squinting his eyes. “But I think they’re picking somebody up. They aren’t on our side of the street.”
“I wonder who- wait, I think I see two people walking towards the car- I can’t make them out.” Bobby said, pointing. “See, right there!”
Max tried to focus his attention but all he could see were two dark figures getting into the car. Then they were off. Max sighed.
“That’s strange, dude.” Bobby said, still looking outside. Max turned on the lamp, lighting the living room again. PJ was out; having dinner at Mocha’s, and Bobby had decided to stay with Max for the evening, knowing that Max wouldn’t be too happy spending it alone with Jasmine.
“That is. I wonder who lives in front of- OH MY GOD.” Max snapped his neck around to stare at the house again. A flashback to the day of the party ran through his mind, remembering the girl’s voice he had heard and how strangely familiar it had sounded. “I think I know who might be living in that house.”
Bobby shifted his attention to him, letting the blinds close behind him.
“I think it’s Roxanne’s house. I’m sure of it.” He whispered, knowing all too well Jasmine was in the house. Bobby gasped.
“You really think it’s her?” he asked softly.
Max nodded. He was sure. “We need to find out.”
“What are you trying to say?” Bobby asked, smiling.
“We need to break into that house.” Max said. Bobby jumped out of the sofa, his fist in the air.
“All RIGHT!” he sang, breaking out into a little dance.
“Hush! Bobby HUSH!” Max pleaded, scared Jasmine was going to overhear. Bobby froze.
“Obviously, I can’t go. But we have a camera, and I can plug it in to our television. I can stay here and keep a look out.” He said, the plan forming in his head.
“What about Jasmine?” Bobby asked, pointing upstairs. “She’s not going to be in the shower forever, bro.”
Jasmine was a problem.
“The food is great, thanks for inviting us.” Stacey said, sipping on a glass of wine. Roxanne smiled, watching as Bradley nodded politely.
“My pleasure. I’m glad to have bumped into Roxanne when I did.” Bradley said, pouring himself more of the white wine. “I would call it fate, if I believed in that stuff.”
“You don’t believe in fate?” Roxanne asked, surprised. Bradley took a sip of his wine and shook his head.
“Not really. I believe we all make our own destiny. Fate, if it were real, hasn’t done much for me at all.” He said, not looking at anyone in particular.
“What do you mean, if you don’t mind me asking?” Roxanne was curious. Bradley didn’t say anything for a while, making the room feel uneasy. She glanced over at Stacey who just shrugged, unaware of what to say.
“There was a girl, a girl I fancied, back my sophomore year here. I thought she liked me, for me, and well that wasn’t the case at all you see. Before that though, she kept insisting it was fate that brought us together. Always insisting on fate,” he stopped, swirling his index finger on the rim of his glass. “Well, that ended quickly.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Stacey said softly. Roxanne didn’t know what to say.
“It’s fine. I guess you can say I’m over her now.” Bradley took another sip of his wine. “What about you two? Any men in your lives?”
Roxanne and Stacey both shifted uncomfortably in their seats. She stared down at her plate, not knowing what to say. Should she tell him the truth about her and Max? She wanted to be friends with Bradley. He looked like a sincere man. Before she could open her mouth, Stacey spoke first.
“There was this guy in my life, I loved him dearly, but that was all in the past you see. I don’t like to bring up the past.” She said, her face stern.
“Fair enough.” Bradley said, posing his attention to Roxanne. “And you?”
“Um,” she found herself twirling her hair, a sign that she was uncomfortable. “Remember how I told you I was friends with Max and his gang before college even started?”
Bradley nodded. She looked at Stacey, whose eyes had enlarged, clearly attentive at what Roxanne was going to say next. Roxanne took a deep breath and continued.
“I used to date Max.” she said quickly, looking down at her plate. She felt her shoulders loosen up.
“You’re kidding right?!” Bradley exclaimed, slamming his fist down on the table. “Maxamillian Goof was your boyfriend? I can’t believe it.”
Roxanne chuckled nervously, her finger tangled between a good portion of her dark red hair.
“I don’t think it’s that funny.” Stacey said, annoyed.
“I-I’m sorry,” Bradley said, collecting himself. “I just would not have guessed it.” He suddenly went quiet, which made her look up at him. He was staring at his glass now, lost in thought. “Now that I think about it, it’s not too surprising.”
“What do you mean?” Roxanne asked.
“Let’s change the topic,” Stacey interrupted.
“No, I want to know what you mean, Bradley.” Roxanne said, her stomach turning. Something was telling her that what he was about to say wasn’t going to sit well with her.
“You look like Jasmine. Jasmine is my ex- girlfriend.” He said, looking up at her.