Cgc

I iron my red button-down shirt in the living room as my roommates and I get ready for the Halloween party Max's frat is throwing. I wasn't planning on dressing up this year but you can only get into this party with a costume. It's why I let Brynn convince me into dressing up. Rhys comes downstairs and throws me a flask way too quickly. I barely catch it and glare at him. "Sorry," he says. I set it down on the counter as I pull the shirt I'm wearing over my head. "What's in there?" I ask him. "Goose," he replies, grabbing his wifebeater from the dryer. Grey Goose. It might not be the best option to drink on a Sunday again but it's not our fault Halloween was today.

We didn't do anything yesterday after winning our home game because of today after all. Coach warned us about celebrating too much since some of us do have class and we have to be there or else we won't play in our next game. We don't have practice this coming week because it's finally out bye week — meaning we don't have a game this week — thank God. I've never had a problem showing up to class so I'm not worried about that now. Plus, if I hear someone doesn't show up to class, I'll go to their place or dorm myself to wake them up. Captain duties or whatever.

I button up the button up I bought, leaving the top three buttons undone. "Sexy," Rhys says, smacking the part where my chest is visible. "You ready?" I ask. He looks around the kitchen and grabs the silver chain I bought him for his 21st birthday in May. He puts it on and gives me a thumbs up. I grab the devil horns from the counter and throw him his fake wings. "Let's go," I say. I put my wallet and phone in my pocket before we both leave the townhouse. Valdez, Xander, Maddy, and Novalee are already there but we were a little late on getting ready today.

The frat house already reeks of alcohol and sweat as we enter. It's only eleven pm and if I'm right, we're only about two hours late. The music blares throughout the house and people dance on each other as best as they can in their ridiculous costumes. I follow Rhys as we meet our friends in the living room of the house. "Cute, cute," Max says when he sees Rhys and I. He passes me a bottled beer as I make my way past him and I accept it gracefully. It's already crowded in here but I take a seat on the couch's arm next to wear Nova sits. I lean down to get close to her ear. "Have you seen Brynn?" I ask, raising my voice slightly because of the music.

I stand back up straight and Nova shakes her head. I nod in thanks and pull out my phone from my pocket. I texted her about an hour ago but she never replied. In fact, her texts to me have been inconsistent since Friday. I'm trying not to bother her too much just in case it has anything to do with her and Ripley's argument but I just want her to talk to me about it. I don't know what I can do to make her feel better about it, but I'll be there for her if she needs to do so much as rant. I hover my thumbs over my keyboard, but shove my phone back in my pocket, deciding not to double text her.

Max comes up next to me again, placing his large hand on my left shoulder. He bends his knees so that he's in height to say something in my ear. "I've got a cute brunette in the kitchen asking for you," he almost shouts. I turn my head to reply. "What does she want?" I ask. "You, man!" He turns his head and I follow his gaze. A girl in an angel costume — ironically — stands in the kitchen already looking over at us. She smiles in my direction, waving. I'm not attracted to her at all. Is she my type? Hell yes. Am I interested in her? Hell no. I turn around and shake my head, not even greeting her back. "Not interested, Max," I say, taking a swig of the Ultra.

His eyes widen at me like I'm fucking insane. I actually might be.

"You sure?" he says. I nod and he doesn't try to change my mind as he leaves to talk to her again I assume. "This place is filled with pussy, man. Take your pick." I roll my eyes, turning around to see who's the culprit of those nasty words. Ashton. Of course. He spots me once I make eye contact and his eyes light up. "Cgc Scott!" he says, wrapping his arm around my shoulder. I almost flinch back but he tightens his grip on me. "Hey, man! It sucks to see your little blonde friend did have a boyfriend after all," he says in my ear. I stiffen, thinking he's talked to her. Why would he think she has a boyfriend? "Or maybe she just rejected you because she doesn't like you," I retort with a fake smile. That sentence definitely hit close to home.

Ashton guffaws right in my ear. "If only that were the case. No, I saw her with her boyfriend at Jay's bar on Friday," he tells me. My brows furrow. "What are you talking about, man?" I don't know why I'm entertaining this idiot, I'm sure he's fucking drunk. His breath reeks of liquor. "Yeah, I was about with Max and them on Friday! She was there with some good-looking dude, fuck knows who he is. You can ask Max!" He stands up straighter, taking a long swig of whatever fills his red solo cup. I stand up too because now he's caught my attention. "Was she there alone with him? Or were they with a group of friends?" I ask. Ashton's eyes widen and he points.

I follow his finger. "It was him! That's her boyfriend, right?" My stomach falls to my ass in the direction he's pointing at. Luke. It's that guy she was talking to when I ran into her before the Oregon game. "The guy dressed as a police officer?" I question to clarify. Ashton nods quickly, wiping his mouth with his hand. "Yeah, that guy. He's handsome, huh? They were there alone, sitting in a booth, drinking!" he says too loudly now. My jaw clenches. Two people alone? Drinking? Sounds like a date to me. I didn't believe Ashton at first because half of the shit that comes out of his mouth is bullshit but the fact that he pointed to Luke, makes me believe him.

He's good-looking enough and has classes with Brynn. She also canceled our plans last minute on Friday. I can't imagine she wouldn't go for him. The thought of her on a date with another guy makes my stomach churn. I walk away from Ashton without saying another word and find a bathroom upstairs. I swallow the bile that rises in my throat as I shut the door. Running a frustrated hand through my hair, I pull my phone out from my pocket to check if she's replied.

Nothing.

I chuckle bitterly. I've got it all figured out now. She was never interested in me. She was never going to go through with the one thing she promised me. It was never going to be me. I've been telling myself this for weeks but now that it's plastered in my head, I can't even believe it. A small part of me was holding onto that ounce of hope that maybe she would change her mind and let me show her that I can be the right guy for her if she allowed me. She doesn't want you. She never did.

I'm tired of looking fucking stupid and waiting around for her. I won't allow myself to do it anymore. Fuck that.

I turn on the faucet and wash my face with cold water. I dry my face with my shirt, not wanting to touch any towel in this restroom. I open the door and shut it as I return back downstairs. I'm sure that girl Max told me about it still in the kitchen waiting on me to give her an ounce of attention. As I turn into the kitchen, the first person I see, isn't the brunette. It's a blonde. Brynn. She catches my eyes immediately, and a smile pulls onto her lips. I look away from her and notice a couple of guys staring at her. In that way. My jaw hardens again. "Hey, you." Brynn's voice in front of me catches me off guard.

She wears the latex Sue Storm costume that just accentuates all the curves in her body. Her blonde hair is styled in huge curls and she wears only the tiniest bit of makeup. I don't even realize that I'm staring until she chuckles. "Do I look okay?" Her cheeks flush light pink. I'm about to say, you look perfect until I remember. She went on a date with another guy after promising me that date. "Excuse me," I say, ignoring her question. I catch the confused expression on her face as I cross her and make my way over to the brunette in the angel costume from earlier. Her eyes light up when she sees me near her. "Hi," she says first.

I fight every single muscle in my body to not turn around and look at Brynn right now. She's Luke's problem now, not mine.

"Hey, let me get you something to drink." I take her empty red solo cup from her hand before pulling her over to the other side of the kitchen. I fill her cup with the jungle juice and then pull out the flask I brought, dumping some of the vodka in there. She smiles as I hand it over to her and take a long drag from the flask. She only takes a sip from hers before setting it down. "Do you want to dance with me?" She looks unsure when she asks the question like if I'm going to reject her. I grab her hand again and pull her towards a less crowded place.

She wraps her thin arms around my neck and I pull her in closer so that we're chest to chest. Don't look for, Brynn. I swallow back regret as the girl whose name I don't even know starts rubbing up against me. My eyes find Rhys who's in a corner talking to. . . Monet. His eyes widen when he sees me but he gives me a thumbs up. I can't help but chuckle and throw him a wink. "We're matching," the brunette says. My brain tries to grasp what she just said. "Huh?" is what ends up coming out of my mouth. She giggles and puts space between us to run a hand down my chest. "You're a devil and I'm an angel," she elucidates. I'm matching with Rhys, but sure, with her too. I fake a smile. "Oh, yeah."

I feel someone pull me away from the brunette, but I only stumble back shortly. Valdez hooks his arm around my shoulder. His eyes are hooded and glossy meaning he's already drunk or really tipsy. He normally doesn't get this way during the season so something must be up with him. I look towards the couch where the rest of our friends sit but Nova looks fine. It most likely has to do with something else then. Maybe his dad. "You look absolutely miserable!" Valdez shouts over the music. I look toward the brunette and her face flushes. "Hi, Valdez," she says. He looks from me to her, the smile on his face dropping.

"Hey?" His reply sounds more like a question. I unhook his arm from me and stand in front of him. He's been here longer than Rhys and I so I'm sure he was able to consume more alcohol. "What's up with you?" I ask. His eyes stay on me and his grin returns. "Nothing! I came to save you from that shitshow!" He points his chin towards the girl behind me. Fucking hell. I don't even bother turning back around to look at the girl. I don't know if she can even hear him over the loud music. "I'm fine," I say, "let's go with, Nova." He starts to shake his head and puts a hand on my chest to stop me. His eyes flit down to my chest and then back up. He blinks slowly. He's really out of it.

"My dad." His hard, brown eyes soften a fraction. He opens his mouth to talk but I place my hand over it. "I don't need a drunk confession buddy. You tell me when you're sober and ready," I say. I'm not stupid. I know there's more than meets the eye with Valdez and his dad. They don't have a good relationship and there's a deeper reason behind it. He hasn't told me it yet and if he ever would want to, I'll be here to listen. I don't think he really wants to tell me right now, the alcohol is just pushing him to. I remove my hand from his mouth and he stays quiet.

"I'll be back," I tell the brunette. She nods and I grab Valdez's arm and take him back to the couch. As soon as his ass hits the leather couch, he wraps his arm around Nova. She's in conversation with Maddy so she doesn't pay much attention but puts a comforting hand on his thigh. I'm sure if anyone knows anything about Valdez and his dad, it's Nova. "Stay here," I tell Valdez and he nods, shooing me away. I ruffle his fluffy hair before returning to the brunette. "Hey, sorry. He's a little shit-faced already," I apologize. She smiles and doesn't hesitate to pull me close to her again. "Don't worry! I love this song!" She throws her head back slightly, her long hair falling down behind her.

I hold onto her small waist to support her.

I feel someone tap my shoulder and I blow an angry breath out of my nostrils. Can people leave me alone? I turn around and Brynn stands behind me. The brunette brings her head back up and catches sight of her. Brynn's eyes flit to her and she smiles small before looking back at me. "What?" I question. "Uhm, I'm leaving. I just wanted to say bye," she says. I jut my chin out at her. "Peace," is all I say before turning my attention back to the girl I'm with. I don't turn back around and a couple of seconds later, Brynn is passing by me and heading for the front door. Even though I try my best to not watch her, I do. I follow every single step she takes until she finally opens and closes the front door behind her.

I need to get shitfaced.