'Oh my fucking god!' The high pitched voice I knew so well screamed out loud. The students gathered around the tables in the library all lifted their heads quickly at the loud sound disrupting the quiet room. 'Bethan Jones!'
'Quiet please, Miss!' the security guard strolling by demanded.
'Sorry,' Chelsea giggled, and I moved to my feet with an amused smirk as she and Yasmine strutted over to me.
'Never changed a bit,' I said with a grin as we all grouped together into a hug. I squeezed my old friends tightly and we all let out a little squeal as we came together again before they sat down at my table.
'How are you guys?' I asked, feeling on top of the world to be seeing my friends again.
'So good,' Chelsea answered dramatically. 'How you finding college so far?'
'I mean it's not exactly easy,' I sighed.
'But the college guys though,' Yasmine said, wiggling her brows.
'Oh, the whole reason I'm here, I mean how did I ever even like guys in high school?' Chelsea laughed as she pulled a lip balm from her bag and applied it to her lips.
'I know, right,' Yasmine agreed. 'So immature!'
'You guys really haven't changed,' I laughed.
'Hey, I heard you have your own apartment here,' Yasmine said. 'House parties much?'
'Not a chance,' I chuckled. 'Cal would have a heart attack.'
'Your boyfriend?' Chelsea said. 'Let's see him then!'
I rolled my eyes as I pulled out my phone to find a picture to show them. I swiped onto one of him and I that I forced him to take with me on our first day here with the beautiful city looming behind us.
'There.' I turned the phone to them.
'What?' Chelsea gasped. 'That's a joke.'
'Oh my god,' Yasmine gasped also. 'That is so not your type!'
'He's fucking hot though!' Chelsea exclaimed with a grin.
'But all of those tattoos!' Yasmine cried. 'I didn't think that was your kind of thing!'
'Me neither,' I laughed. 'But he's amazing and he's good to me.'
'You in love?' Chelsea asked.
'Oh, for sure,' I answered without a care.
'Man, he's nothing like fucking Brodie West, huh?' Yasmine said with a snigger.
'Don't even go there,' I laughed.
'All those times he would send flowers to your classes and they had to start giving him detention because he was doing it so much,' Yasmine giggled.
'He had it bad!' Chelsea laughed.
'He's actually in one of my classes,' I told them.
'Shut up!' they cried in unison.
'Yeah,' I said. 'He said that he worked really hard and decided against NYU and when he realised he was actually pretty good at English, he chose a degree in it.'
'I mean, come on!' Yasmine cried, glancing from me to Chelsea. 'He was a jock; he was no fucking Shakespeare.'
'People change,' I said.
'Or, they don't,' Chelsea said, slowly. 'They just get smarter.'
'What?' I asked in confusion.
'We always knew what your plans were, Bethan,' Chelsea said. 'So did he. He knew about Columbia and he knew you'd always wanted to get an English degree.'
'I know what you're suggesting,' I said, pointing a finger. 'Don't be ridiculous.'
'It makes sense,' Yasmine chimed in. 'Of course he chose it because he knew you would be together in classes! When you left, he vowed you'd come back to him and that you'd eventually give him a chance. He obviously stuck his head in the books to get his GPA up so he could end up here with you.'
'That's stupid,' I laughed.
'Of all the things he could study,' Chelsea said.
'It's not the same major,' I told them. 'We only have one class together.'
'Crafty,' Yasmine said. 'It would be too obvious to choose the exact same.'
'Oh yeah!' Chelsea gasped. 'He's definitely gotten smarter that boy.'
'He knows I have a boyfriend,' I told them. 'They met this morning.'
'How did that go down?' they asked.
'Brodie was cool,' I said. 'Cal was...Cal.'
It was true. I had felt a little nervous incase Cal acted a little territorial around Brodie. As soon as I'd saw him waiting for me on the steps, I'd gotten nervous but Cal was completely cool and didn't seem to care. That's typical Cal and I was relieved for it.
'Brodie will bide his time then he'll strike,' Yasmine said. 'Just be wary. He's not over you.'
'He is,' I told her. 'He never says anything flirty or suggestive or anything like that. We literally just talk about our classes.'
'Okay,' Chelsea said, nodding nonchalantly. 'If you say so.'
'Anyway, since its been so long,' I said, changing the subject and rolling my eyes at the annoyance of the previous conversation. 'Tell me everything that I missed when I left.'
...
My final class of the day was over and I headed out of the building and across campus. Cal had texted to let me know he'd booked in a few last minute appointments so the subway it was.
'Bethan!' Brodie's voice sounded behind me.
My nerves began to niggle as the memory of my conversation with the girls came into my mind and I turned with a polite smile as he jogged over to me. He was looking extremely cool in his grey sweats and Columbia hoodie with his cap turned backwards, although, it was the exact same look he had carried all through high school.
'What's up?' I said with a smile.
'I'll be quick, I'm guessing your boyfriend is waiting,' he said, nodding towards the street.
'Uhh, no,' I replied. 'He's working, I'm just getting the subway.'
'Oh, well, I'll still make it quick,' he said. 'Frat party this weekend; I was hoping you and your friends would join.'
'Oh, I don't know,' I sighed.
'Come on!' he cried, his glassy eyes shimmering as they creased up. 'Its college!'
'I know,' I said. 'I just really want to get a head start on a few assignments and go over my notes from the week.'
'You'll have the rest of the weekend,' he chuckled. 'It's Friday night. Just a couple of hours.'
I instantly wondered how Cal would feel about it until I remembered that he'd been out for beers himself with his friends. I reminded myself that Cal was completely supportive of my college plans and he should know that there'd be a social side of it too.
'Okay, fine,' I sighed. 'Who's going to be there?'
'I invited Chels and Yas,' he said.
'Okay, great,' I said. 'I guess I'll make arrangements with them and see you there.'
'Can't wait!' he cheered.
'See you then,' I said before turning to head to the station.
'You want me to walk you to the subway?' he asked from behind me and I paused before turning slowly.
'No, thank you,' I replied. 'See you around.'
'Sure, see you, B,' he said and I turned and carried on walking.
I knew the girls were wrong about him. Their words lingered in my head but I wanted to believe that Brodie had left all of that in high school. The college girls he would be hanging out with were all beautiful with perfect hair and teeth and legs for days; he could sleep around with as many of them as he wanted. No way did he still want me.
As I stepped onto the street, the rain started a little and I knew I'd be alone in the apartment for a couple of hours until Cal got home. I held out my hand to hail a cab and jumped inside.
'Bogart in Brooklyn, please,' I told him and he drove.
I sat through the journey, pushing the irritating thoughts of Brodie from my head and thought about Friday night. I had to admit, it had been a dream of mine for years to go to frat parties with my friends. I was finally at college and Brodie was right; I had to give myself the full college experience. I was already missing out on the dorm life; something I'd been excited to do for years too. Living with Cal was beyond perfect and I could cope without being in dorms but I had to let my hair down a little and enjoy this time before it was over.
'Whereabouts, ma'am?' the driver asked me.
'Just on the left here,' I told him. 'Lakey Ink.'
He pulled over and I pulled out my purse, paid him and headed out of the cab, crossing the path to the entrance.
The little bell jingled as I stepped inside and looked up to find the front desk empty. I could hear the buzzing of the tattoo guns in the back and the voices of Charlie and Cal as they chatted away. I smiled as I took a few steps forward and a figure came out from the back. It took me by surprise to see her; a beautiful brunette with a colourful display of ink across her body. She had a septum in her nose and studs in each cheek. Her eyes were a beautiful light green colour and the dark eye kohl around them made them stand right out. I was caught off guard by the sight of her, suddenly glancing down to see her fishnet cropped tee with just a black bra underneath, leaving her full toned stomach on display.
'Hey, can I help you?' she asked. 'You after a quote?'
This was the new artist.
'No, actually, I'm not,' I said, slowly as I approached the desk. 'I just stopped by to see Cal.'
'He's busy,' she said, flatly. 'He's with a client.'
'That's fine,' I responded, opening my mouth to continue speaking.
'You can stop by in about an hour and catch him before we close,' she said, her eyes moving to the desk below her where she scribbled on a pad as she talked to me apathetically.
Cal hadn't seemed to mind at all in the past if I hung out in the back while they worked on their clients. I'd found it fun to watch him and Charlie work and get to know Charlie a little better too; he was such a nice, cool guy and I really liked him as a friend for Cal. This girl, however, was not giving me pleasant vibes. She clearly didn't have a clue who I was and I wondered if Cal had mentioned me at all. One thing I had to remind myself of was that my boyfriend was the boss!
'Actually,' I continued, smugly. 'I think I'll just head out back.'
'You can't go back there,' she said as she looked at me with a gentle frown. 'I've just told you. Cal is busy.'
'And I'm telling you that I'm going to see him out back,' I said, scowling at her.
'Excuse me?' she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
'You obviously don't know who I am,' I told her, as I approached the back of the desk to head through.
'I don't give a shit,' she spat. 'You can't go through there so I think you should leave.'
'What the fuck's going on?' Charlie's voice appeared as his head came through the archway.
'I don't have a fucking clue,' the bitchy girl scoffed. 'This girl is demanding to see Cal.'
'Oh, hey!' Charlie's smile brightened as he saw me and he automatically approached me for a hug. 'So good to see you again.'
'You too!' I cried, looking to the girl who seemed as confused as ever.
Charlie glanced at her and looked between the two of us before a clarity set on his face.
'Oh shit,' he said. 'Tori this is-.'
'Bethan,' she finished, pressing her lips together and squeezing her eyes shut. 'I'm sorry. I didn't know, you should have just said.'
'Apology accepted,' I told her, before moving through the archway into the back.
'Your lady is here,' Charlie said as he returned to his station.
Cal glanced up from his clients thigh and lifted his glasses to his head.
'What are you doing here?' he asked with a smile.
'I took a cab with the rain,' I said, placing myself down on the little red leather sofa in the corner. 'Thought I'd come down to see how things were going.'
'A lot better now we have Tor,' Charlie told me and I scowled inside at the mention of her again.
'Oh yeah,' I murmured.
'You met her then?' Cal asked, casually.
'Well, they looked ready to kill each other when I got out there,' Charlie laughed and Cal looked up with a frown.
'It was an honest mistake.' Tori's voice sounded as she came in. 'I didn't know it was your girlfriend.'
'What?' Cal asked with a frown and his and Charlie's clients were glancing between Tori and I awkwardly.
'She wanted to come out back to see you and I was like ready to rugby tackle her to the ground,' Tori giggled, trying to make light of the situation.
'Right,' I said, sarcastically and rolled my eyes.
'Just kidding,' she said, quietly with a smile.
'Yeah, good job I came out when I did,' Charlie chuckled. 'Although, I love a good girl fight.'
'This wouldn't have happened if you'd just showed me that picture,' Tori told Cal.
'What picture?' I asked.
'I asked him to show me a picture of you since he's so smitten,' she told me. 'He refused to show me.'
'Because like I said, it's weird as fuck to ask someone you just met to show you pictures of their girlfriend,' Cal told her and she giggled.
'Do you think that's weird?' Tori asked Cal's client, a young preppy woman with blue hair, already covered in tats.
'I mean, I'm sure she was just trying to be nice, Cal,' the girl told him.
'See!' Tori chuckled. 'If he had shown me I wouldn't have been such a bitch, I'm sorry again, sweetie.'
I cringed at the use of the word that only my mom or dad would ever call me and nodded to her. She had made an honest mistake and she seemed genuinely nice but I felt like she was thinking that I was not what she imagined Cal to be with at all.
'Forget it ever happened,' I said, waving my hand before turning in my seat back to Cal.
'Glad we're cool,' she laughed, before returning out front.
'How was college?' Cal asked as he returned to his crouched position.
'Not bad,' I replied. 'I'm going to a party on Friday night.'
Cal seemed to pause his gun a little and Charlie broke out into a grin.
'Oh shit, frat party?' Charlie asked and I nodded. 'Man, you're going to get so wasted. You'll have the time of your fucking life.'
'Well, I don't plan on getting wasted,' I chuckled.
'I mean, I never went to college but I went to the parties,' Charlie said. 'I was high off my fucking face every weekend.'
The clients laughed and Cal looked up at him with a scowl and he noticed, quickly dropping the grin.
'Not you though,' Charlie said as he turned back to me. 'We've got high hopes for you. You stay responsible; no leaving drinks unattended, no drinking games, no keg stands and definitely no drugs.'
'Okay, Dad,' I laughed.
'Good girl,' he said before moving his gun back to his client's arm, continuing on with a half complete sleeve.
'College days were the best,' Cal's blue haired client spoke up. 'Is it your first frat party?'
'Yeah,' I replied.
'You'll fucking love it, girl,' she said. 'You'll be there every weekend and I can guarantee you'll be waking up on the kitchen floor at 6am by the time it's over.'
'No she won't,' Cal interrupted. 'Because I'll be picking her up to bring her home.'
'Yeah, picking her up off the kitchen floor,' Charlie said and everybody laughed except Cal.
'Definitely not,' I said with a chuckle. 'But I am looking forward to taking a break from classes.'
'What is it you study?' Charlie's client asked, a young guy around our age.
'English,' I told him, simply. 'Boring right?'
'I bet it's pretty cool,' he said. 'You want to be a writer?'
'I don't know,' I replied. 'I had college all planned out pretty much all of my high school life but where I want my degree to take me, not so sure yet. I still feel too young to decide which route I want to go down.'
'You must have an idea though?' Charlie asked.
'She's got four years of college left,' Cal interrupted them. 'Plenty time; she doesn't need to decide now.'
I gave him a thankful smile and he winked at me before dropping his head again.
I hung around in the back until both clients' sessions were finished and they said goodbye to me before heading out. Charlie and Cal were joined by Tori as they all cleaned up their stations and I couldn't avoid checking out her ass in her tight black jeans as she moved around.
'What the fuck?' Cal muttered as she laughed and I glanced up to see her catapulting rubber gloves at him. He picked up a towel and threw it at her, making her laugh again and he shook his head with a smile and turned away to finish cleaning up.
I felt a little pang of jealousy as I watched them. It wasn't that Cal and I never played around but I couldn't ignore the fact of how obviously similar they were. They had the same profession and were both obviously very into their artwork; I hadn't missed the sketch pad on the front desk that Tori had been drawing on that displayed a beautiful image of a lion. They were both covered in ink and from a stranger's point of view, one would think they were certainly a couple and I couldn't deny, they looked a perfect match.
I instantly felt a little self-conscious and glanced down at my thumbs as not to watch her anymore. She was really beautiful and full of energy and confidence and it made me wonder a little why Cal had been attracted to me when he could so easily have been with a girl just like him.
'Ready?' His voice interrupted my thoughts and I glanced up to see him ready in his coat smiling down at me.
'Yeah,' I replied.
I stood to my feet and we all moved out front as they turned out the lights and we headed out onto the street as Cal locked up.
'See you tomorrow, dude,' Charlie said as he waved. 'Nice to see you again, Bethan.'
He headed over to his car as we waved and Tori turned to smile at us as she pulled her car keys from her bag.
'Nice to meet you, Bethan,' she said. 'Sorry again for earlier.'
'Don't worry about it,' I said, softly.
'Okay, good,' she replied, her eyes studying me carefully before turning to Cal and her smile spread a little further. 'See you tomorrow, Boss.'
'Yeah,' Cal said, nonchalantly as he pulled open the car door for me to climb inside.
He walked back around and got into the driver side, starting the engine and pulling away up the street. My usual chatty self that hadn't seen him all day would be blagging his head with boring facts of what I'd learnt as he pretended to understand and grinned at me. I found myself unable to find conversation as I stared out of the window at the dull, rainy evening.
'What's wrong?' he asked me and I didn't turn to look at him.
'Nothing,' I said.
'Really? You're doing that?' he asked with a sigh.
'I'm not doing anything,' I said turning to him.
'Sure, Bethan,' he said, his eyes blinking slowly.
We continued on a little longer in silence before I felt him glance my way a couple of times. I tried my hardest to keep my face from looking like I had something on my mind but he knew me too well.
'Okay, if you don't want to tell me then fine,' he said.
'There's nothing to tell,' I said.
'I didn't realise we'd decided to start hiding shit from each other,' he said.
'Okay, don't do that,' I said, sternly. 'I'm not hiding anything; don't twist the situation.'
'You look like you're about to bite my fucking head off,' he said. 'You've looked that way since we got in the car.'
'Well, you're imagining things,' I sighed.
'Sure I am,' he said, shaking his head.
'Why are you starting an argument with me?' I asked with a scowl.
'I just want to know why you're acting off,' he said, shrugging dramatically. 'You're my girlfriend, why the fuck wouldn't I ask you about it if you're sitting here looking miserable not saying a damn word.'
'If I say I'm fine, then I'm fine,' I told him.
'Okay, I won't say another word,' he sighed.
I didn't respond and we spent the rest of the drive home in silence before we arrived at our building and headed up to our apartment still in silence.
Once inside, I moved to the bedroom, slamming the door unintentionally and stripping from my clothes right into my pyjamas. I headed to the bathroom, not looking at him hovering in the kitchen as I moved.
Splashing a little water over my face, I looked up at my reflection and studied myself. I mean, I knew I wasn't unattractive. I felt like I was quite pretty. I just wasn't Tori pretty. It pissed me off that a girl as tacky as she was had me doubting myself and feeling this way after I'd spent my whole relationship with Cal so far feeling like I was the only girl for him and that he'd never want anyone but me. He hadn't done anything wrong but I hated the fact that they'd be working together every single day; more than enough time for him to fall for her.
I bit my lip to stop my eyes welling up and quickly moved back to the lounge, turning on the fire and sitting down on the sofa. Cal instantly approached me, sitting right next to me and I ignored the fact he was looking at me intensely.
'You're worrying me,' he finally said, softly.
Something inside me was saying tell him. I knew what his response would be. He would tell me to stop being stupid and that he only had eyes for me. He wouldn't understand how I was really feeling, as much as I knew I was being ridiculous. I didn't want him to think I didn't trust him.
'I've just had a hard day,' I sighed. 'My classes were intense.'
'You sure that's all?' he asked, playing with a lock of my hair and tucking it behind my ear.
'Yeah,' I answered.
'You seemed fine at the shop,' he said. 'Until we were leaving.'
I knew Cal read me far too well and I quickly turned to give him a reassuring smile.
'Just got tired I guess,' I said.
His eyes grazed over my face and eventually he forced a smile even though I knew that he knew I was lying.
'You know you can tell me anything, right?' he said, taking my hand in his and bringing it to his lips.
'I know,' I replied.
'I'm not the same angry guy I was when we met,' he said, against my knuckles. 'I try my best to always understand.'
'I know you do,' I said. 'You're amazing.'
I laid myself down to rest my head on his chest and he hugged me tightly.
'Please don't ever keep your worries to yourself,' he muttered against my hair and kissed me. 'That's why I'm here.'
'Honestly, Cal,' I said. 'Everything's fine.'
'Okay, baby,' he sighed. 'I won't ask again.'
I nodded slowly and closed my eyes, turning to smell his t-shirt and breathing it in and out. My heart ached at how much I loved him and for the first time, I was feeling a little threatened and more crazy for him than ever.