Breaking Fences (The Breaking Series) (6 page)

Jonah was still throwing his charms at me during class and out of class too. I had seen him a few times around campus with his half-brother, Garrett, and their friend, Jeff. He always stopped to say hi and smile at me. It was kind of flattering.

During the few times I was around the ATN house, I overheard conversations and learned Jonah’s father owned a huge cattle ranch in the area. He was in the last year of business school, and would apply to an MBA right after, so he could take over when it was time. I also learned he and Garrett shared the same father, but he preferred using his mother’s last name. Garrett had gone through pre-vet school, though he took six years to finish it. He hadn’t gone to vet school—yet—and the girls didn’t think he would. Instead, he spent most of his time around The Bat with Jonah and Jeff.

Thankfully, Jonah didn’t bother me about my car anymore. Counting that I wouldn’t need to drive off campus anytime soon, I took my car to a body shop close by to be fixed. It didn’t look like the greatest place, but I didn’t really think any body shop did. The mechanic promised to have my car ready by Saturday. Alas, when I arrived to pick it up, he said it would take him at least another two days.

I could do this. I could follow my plan. I could make friends, enjoy life, be happy, party, be free.

Because she was in such a good mood, I let Molly convince me to go to a mixer at The Bat on Saturday night. She put on a little black dress and pumps, fancy for a fraternity party, and I opted to be me. Dark blue Lucchese boots with custom hardware—pretty, swirly lines made of metal on the boot’s tip, sides, and heel—and a white shoulder dress with flare skirt. It wasn’t too long, but it certainly wasn’t too short either. To match, I had put on my blue leather earrings and bracelet that I had bought to wear with the boots.

She gave me an are-you-really-going-like-that look, but I waved it away. I wouldn’t change to please her, or anyone for that matter.

Molly and I walked to The Bat house together. Outside, it didn’t look like much was happening, but once inside—in the big brown foyer and beside the L-staircase—I noticed the loud music vibrated through the walls, and the people milling about, some already falling or swaying with the quantity of alcohol in their veins.
Credo
, the party had barely started.

We found Audrey and Sarah in the living room. They were seated on an ottoman in the center, and other girls—all from their sorority—were around them.

“Hi, girls,” Audrey said, sporting a flashy smile. “Molly, why don’t you join us for a moment?”

Molly looked at me. “Sorry. Sorority stuff. Probably won’t take long.”

“No worries.”

She stepped into the living room, and I turned to the other side. Curious, I walked around the house’s first floor, admiring the beautiful architecture of the place. Besides all the Greek stuff—symbols and Greek letters everywhere, T-shirts, jerseys, paddles, trophies, and such—the house held its charm. The walls in each room had different colors, all warm and inviting. I stopped by the dining room, where a huge table for twelve took over the center of the room. However, what really caught my attention was the professional bar against an entire wall. Long counter, barstools, and lots of options. And a bartender wearing a white shirt and black vest.

I sat on the last free stool and was about to ask for a drink when Garrett halted by my side, holding two glasses. He handed me one. “I like your boots.”

Smiling, I took the glass from him. It was whiskey and Coke. “I still like yours too.” In fact, I liked everything he was wearing, from the faded jeans, to the black shirt, and the boots. Missed the hat, but I understood he wasn’t wearing it to a party.

“I think this is the third pair I’ve seen you wear in a little over a week. How many do you have?”

Wait? He was paying attention to my boots? Why? Oh crap, he wasn’t gay, was he? “You know those girls who are crazy about shoes and have like two hundred pairs of sandals, boots, pumps, flats, that they need a closet bigger than their bedrooms?”

He chuckled. “Not really, but I have an idea.”

“Well, I have almost that many, but 95 percent of those shoes are boots.”

“And you fit them all in your tiny closet in the dorms?”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “I thought you lived in this house while you were in college.”

“I did, but that doesn’t mean I have never been to the dorms.”

I wondered how many girls he had gone to the dorms with during college. With his looks, too many. For some reason, that made me frustrated.

“I didn’t bring them all,” I said, my voice much lower than before.

“Hi, Brazilian girl,” Jonah said, coming into my view from beside Garrett. “I’m glad you made it to our party.”

“Hmm, yeah. Great party,” I said.

Jonah asked the bartender for a beer then turned his charming smile to me. “How are you liking it so far?”

“It?”

“College, campus, being around us?” He winked.

“It’s fine. Good.”

“Is it too different from Brazil?”

“Yes.”

“How?”

I told them the same thing I had told Molly, then Audrey and Sarah. That Brazil didn’t have a Greek system, that there were no dorms on campuses, that there was no such thing as pre-vet, pre-med, or pre-law. Vet, med, and law schools were like any undergrad major, though lasted one or two years longer. I also told them about
vestibular
, a hard exam you had to take to be accepted into college. It wasn’t like the SATs. Each college had its own exam, so if a student applied to three colleges, he would have to take three different exams, and for some colleges, those tests were actually a series of tests that could last for days.

“Wow, that’s strict,” Jonah commented. “Very interesting. What else is different there?”

Garrett took a big swallow of his glass, finishing his drink. “Excuse me,” he said, stepping away from us. I watched him.

Jonah leaned on the bar counter, where Garrett had been a second ago, blocking his half-brother from my view. “I want to know more,” Jonah said.

A guy wearing khaki pants, a polo shirt, and flip-flops walked past us. I concentrated on that detail and babbled on, “Okay, you want to know a few things I find odd? Everyone wears flip-flops everywhere.” I gestured to the guy who was now greeting some friends. “I only wear them to go to the beach or the pool or to stay home. You’ll never see me in flip-flops in class or at the mall or grocery shopping, I assure you. Another one is makeup. The girls here wear too much makeup. They are in high school and their faces are thick with makeup. I can’t understand that. I rarely wear makeup.”

“You’re wearing it now.”

I rolled my eyes. “Because this is a party. I only wear makeup at parties, or formal dinners and events. Even so, it’s only a little. Other than that, maybe only lip gloss here and there. Nothing more.”

“What else?”

“In Brazil, we start partying much earlier. I was fourteen and already going to clubs all night.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, but see. Here, when kids leave their parents’ place, they are so eager to try it all, they go crazy and sometimes abuse it. Since Brazilians are used to being around it at a much younger age, it isn’t a big deal and we don’t rush to try everything and do crazy things, you know. I mean, there are the crazy ones that
always
abuse everything, but then, there are crazy ones in any corner of the world.”

“True.” He gestured to my glass. “What about drinking? You were fourteen and drinking?”

“Well, I wasn’t supposed to. In Brazil, you can drink when you’re eighteen. When you’re underage in clubs, the bouncer usually puts a plastic bracelet on your wrist, so the bartenders can’t sell you alcohol, but that never stopped older friends from handing you a beer.”

Now he probably thought I was an alcoholic since my early teenage years. It was hard to explain things like this to people from another country, just as it was hard for them to make me understand American customs.

Some girls walked by, glancing at me and whispering.

Not interested in drama, I averted my gaze and gulped my whiskey.

“Easy there. You don’t want to get drunk fast, do you?”

It took a lot more than a shot of whiskey to get me drunk. Shaking my head, I raised my arm and called the bartender. “Can I get another one, please?”

“What is it?” the guy asked.

“Whiskey and Coke.”

He smiled. “Nice.” He turned around to prepare my drink, and I looked at Jonah again.

“I’m really glad you came,” Jonah said, his tone more serious.

I cocked my head to the side and looked at him. He was handsome, in a boyish kind of way. Blonds weren’t my thing, but come on, Chris Hemsworth was blond, and 98 percent of the female population would go for him, given the chance. Why not let this blond try to charm me? Sure, Garrett was more my speed, but Jonah seemed way more interested in me.

Unsure about that yet, I nodded to the space around us. “Is it always this slow?”

“It’s early yet, and Audrey still has all the ATN girls in the living room. Once the lionesses are released, the party picks up.”

I laughed. “Lionesses?”

He shook his head. “Yeah, I tease them about it. They want to be like lions, the kings of everything, or queens in their case. I don’t mind most of the time, but I hate it when they come into my house—” He pointed to the floor. “—and start messing with our rules. Speaking of rules, you probably aren’t aware, but it’s rare for a girl outside the Greek system to hang with a sorority. They must like you a lot.”

I didn’t know that. A warm feeling filled my chest. They liked me. A lot. It was never hard for me to make friends, but things had been different this last year, living in my brothers’ shadows. Besides Hannah, I hadn’t made any friends, and for some reason, I believed I wasn’t good at it anymore. But here I was, making friends.

I smiled. “I’m honored.”

“You should be. Audrey and Sarah are hard to please. If they want you around, it means you’re special.” He fixed those blue eyes on me.

I stared back at him, trying to figure him out, trying to understand why my insides weren’t twisting and curling when he looked at me that way. Hadn’t I just established he was handsome? For flirting, that was enough.

Garrett stepped between us and put my glass on the counter with a loud thump. “There you go.”

Wait. What? Why was Garrett bringing this over? I glanced at the bartender. He was busy concocting other drinks. Facing Garrett again, I opened my mouth to thank him, but he turned and walked away before I could utter a syllable.

“What was that about?”

“That’s just Garrett. He’s moody. Sometimes I think he must have PMS or something.”

I laughed. Again, Jonah stared at me with intent. “You should smile and laugh more. It illuminates your pretty face.”

I brought my glass to my lips and took a big swallow, unsure what to say.

Jonah glanced to the doorway. “Here comes the lionesses,” he whispered as Audrey and Sarah walked into the dining room.

With a plastic smile, Audrey stopped beside us. If it was anyone else, that plastic smile would have thrown me off, but I was starting to believe it was normal for her.

“Bia,” Audrey said. “How are you, dear?”

“Hey, Audrey. Nice mixer.”

“Thanks.” She put a hand on Jonah’s arm. “It’s great that the guys let me do what I want.” She winked, and Jonah raised his eyebrow in a see-what-I-told-you way.

I bit back a laugh.

A slow song started playing and several couples started dancing.

Jonah offered me his arm. “Would you like to dance with me?”

I gaped. Hmm, I always found it odd when people slow danced anywhere outside the dance floors of clubs or balls.

Audrey lost the smile. “I don’t think it’s her thing.”

Wait. The few times I had been around Audrey and Jonah, she was always tense. Oh, there was something going on between them.

“You don’t know that,” he said, not looking at her. He nudged his arm toward me again. “Let’s dance?” I glanced from him to her and back to him. “I don’t bite. Unless you ask.” He winked.

Droga
.

“I’m … I don’t think it’s a good idea. I’m a terrible dancer and I would only embarrass you.”

He laughed. “Nonsense. Just hold on to me and I’ll guide you.”

“Sorry,” I whispered.

He leaned closer to me. “You do realize that I’ll ask again when the next slow song starts, right?”

I wasn’t one to back away, but apparently, Jonah and Audrey had unsolved issues, and seeing as I was trying to make friends, I decided not to give her a reason to hate me.

I stood from the stool. “Excuse me.”

Not looking at them both, I walked out of the dining room, but not before hearing the harsh tones being exchanged between them.

Great. I was now a thorn between a couple, or whatever they were. I hoped that Audrey would notice I had done nothing, no more than talk to him, as if he were a friend, and she would be cool with it. I hoped that she wouldn’t be one of those touchy girls who went crazy whenever her guy talked to another woman.