Everything Unexpected (2 page)

My father is one of the most influential men in the city. People both admire and fear him in the business world. But at home, he is powerless against my mother. Never have I witnessed it as much as the day he wrote my first tuition check to my new school. Payment made to the order of Miami International University of Art and Design. He may have conceded in some respect, but his anger was very clear. His pen stabbing at the paper, the tip pressing down so hard it nearly tore the check as he signed his name.

My art school is quite small, nowhere near the size of the one this fraternity belongs to. The University Bryan still belongs to. Bryan and I met first year, both in the same business program, both living in the same shitty apartment complex near campus. Even before I switched schools, my parents thought I should live at home, but I insisted on having the true college experience. I told them I’d even pay the rent if it meant I could be on my own. Unfortunately, that crappy apartment was all I could afford. It was a definite downgrade from the Coral Gables neighborhood I grew up in.

There is no highly emotional story or one indicative moment that explains how our friendship started. It just did. We partnered up for a group project, then started hitting the gym together, which led to hanging out outside the gym, week nights, weekends. That simple.

When I told him I was dropping out of business and transferring to an art school, he was undoubtedly surprised. I received great grades in our classes and like everyone, I think he saw my hobby of taking pictures as just that. A hobby. Realizing we’d no longer be in the same classes or have the same schedules bummed us both out more than we thought it would. So I suggested we leave the building we lived in and find a place somewhere in the middle of both campuses. A bigger place. A better place. Roommates instead of neighbors.

“Best of both worlds,” he said. “I can work the chicks over on this end and you can work the artsy types over there. After, we’ll trade.”

I made it very clear to him we would never, ever trade. Ever.

Even though I’m at a different school, I still come with Bryan to these parties. It amazes me that no matter how many frat parties I go to, most of the people here are unrecognizable to me. Different faces at every one, the school’s population never ceasing to bring in new partygoers. Bryan is pretty good at introducing me to people he’s met over the last two years and I never have problems meeting people on my own, but tonight feels different. Like maybe someone is supposed to come meet
me
for a change.

Walking down another crowded hallway, I squeeze my way through the line for the bathroom, past a couple who have decided to openly grope each other, not caring about the audience they’ve started to gather. As I turn the corner, a small feminine body crashes into mine, her drink spilling down her bare legs and onto her dark sandals.

“Fuck,” she growls, bending over to wipe her legs with her hand.

“Sorry, crowded area,” I say, apologizing even though she is just as much at fault.

“My sandals are ruined!”

I swallow back the urge to tell her they aren’t, in fact, ruined, and only lightly splattered with clear liquid from her cup. But I put her dramatic comment behind me and search for a napkin. I find a relatively unused one under an empty cup and bend down, offering it to her. Her eyes shift and land on my face. They widen slightly and she breathes in an air of surprise. I press my lips together in order to hide my smirk, knowing her earlier anger at me bumping into her has suddenly altered into something much more pleasant.

“It’d be a shame to have ruined those legs for the rest of the night,” I say, winking.

Forgotten is the offered napkin in my hand as we both rise up, now standing straight. Her eyes take a quick scan of my six foot two frame before landing once more on my face. Not to sound too cocky, but I know I’m a pretty decent looking guy. Good bone structure, straight teeth, warm mocha skin, but it’s my eyes that seal the deal. They’re a surprise. Unexpected with my skin tone. Blue-green against warm coffee. The wonderful outcome from my father’s blackness and the blonde fairness of my mother. The contrast stands out and captivates people. Especially girls.

“No, it’ll be fine. Just a small spill,” her voice stutters, shoulders fidgeting.

See? Every time.

My grin expands and I slowly make a show of looking down her body. “Are you sure?” I ask, nodding towards her legs.

Without realizing it, she crosses one leg over the other and presses them together.

“Yeah,” she starts but it almost sounds like a question. She shakes her head a little. “Yeah. I’m sure,” she repeats, now smiling. “I’m Shannon.” She leans one shoulder against the wall, extending a hand out to me.

My smile stays put as I take her hand, softly shaking it. “Shane.”

“You go to school here?”

“No,” I say, shaking my head once. I don’t offer up any more information.

She opens her mouth slightly, the corners of her lips dropping a bit, thrown by my uninformative answer. She squints her eyes a touch, causing her brows to furrow. I watch as she tries to think of something else to say when Bryan appears back around the corner.

“Shane,” he waves me over, “I found them.”

His eyes dart between me and Shannon and he cocks one eyebrow up, silently asking if he should leave me here with her. If I
want
him to leave me here with her.

Subtlety, almost unseen except to him, I shake my head. Although she’s cute, her earlier attitude has already turned me off from wanting to get to know her better. Bryan nods and waits for me to say goodbye.

“Looks like some friends are waiting for me,” I say, cocking my head in his direction.

“Oh, okay. Maybe I’ll see you around?” she asks, hope clearly laced in her words.

I smile but once again, say nothing more.

I step around her and make my way over to where Bryan is waiting. He turns to me. “No bang?”

“Nah.”

He looks back to where I left Shannon. “She’s cute. Maybe I should go back there—”

I laugh. “Trust me,” I say, pushing him forward. “She’d be too much for you to deal with. We’ll find you another,” I promise him.

He shrugs and we continue to walk to the back of the house where the game room is located. It’s big enough for both a ping pong and pool table, a couple of arcade machines and my personal favorite, a foosball table. A small group of our friends have hunkered around a makeshift bar, sitting in mismatched bar stools and free pouring drinks. Most of these guys I became friends with during my first and only year I attended this college. Some of them still are. I’ve made a couple of friends at my own school but they’re not exactly the frat party type. They’re more the tortured, sensitive soul artist type. Keeping their weekends
quiet
and
reflective
. I, on the other hand, happen to like having drinks and getting laid on a Saturday night. And the simple truth is, girls at a frat party are more likely to be looking for the same thing than those who go to poetry readings at a coffee shop. Not judging, just observing.

“Surprise, surprise. You all managed to find the sausage factory area of the party,” Bryan says, pulling up a bar chair.

“Surprised you even bothered to find us,” Steve, an acquaintance of ours says. “With all these girls who don’t know any better standing between us?”

The guys laugh because we all know Bryan only ever has one thing on his mind when going out here. Finding someone to join him at his own personal after-party.

“Don’t you worry, my friend,” Bryan smirks, filling a cup with vodka and whatever mix happens to be right in front of him. “There’s plenty of time to find that special someone for tonight.”

“Poor girl,” Steve says, laughing into his cup.

Bryan fills another cup and hands it over to me. I take a sip, yielding my head back at how strong he’s made it.

After a few minutes of Steve and Bryan flailing insults at one another, Eddy comes over and sits next to me. Bryan introduced us in second year. After I left, Bryan said he needed someone to partner up with in some of his general classes and Eddy looked the smartest. Glasses, shaggy hair in desperate need of a cut, button down shirt tucked in. I have no idea why Eddy agreed to partner up with Bryan. The two could not have been more different, in both personality and work ethic. Bryan was big and loud. Eddy, skinny and quiet. Bryan spoke before he thought. Eddy calculated every word before it was uttered. Bryan waited until the weekend before a project was due while Eddy always had most of it already completed. But as the semester progressed, Eddy came around more and more and edged out of his shell a bit. He’s actually a pretty funny guy once you get to know him. And when the semester ended, I figured we’d see less of him as he and Bryan no longer had any classes together. It kind of saddened me a little. I had grown used to him being around, hearing his anecdotes about anything and everything. And he was also so fascinated with the work I was doing in art school, always asking about the meaning behind every shot I took. But when the new semester started, he just kept coming around. At some point, he wasn’t just Bryan’s old lab partner anymore; he was our awkward, nerdy friend.

“I read a fascinating article yesterday that says the Arts are a dying breed within our nation’s economy,” he says, pushing his thick rimmed glasses into place. “Does that make you want to reconsider going back to a business degree?”

Not even a frat party with half-naked girls dancing can keep Eddy from talking economics and business.

“Eddy,” Bryan interrupts, his head falling back. “We’re at a fucking party.”

Eddy’s eyes squint, as if not understanding what our location has to do with anything. I feel a little bad for the guy. He just can’t help it. He’s just so…academic. But being the good friend I am, I indulge him.

“Why don’t you send me the link? I’ll look it over sometime,” I say, knowing full well I won’t, but Eddy nods enthusiastically, mentally taking note to do so.

I take another sip from my too strong drink while my eyes fall on the empty foosball table. “Who’s up for some foos?” I ask.

Steve rolls his eyes and turns his body away while Eddy glances at the table in apprehension. I look to Bryan who only snorts.

“Why not?”

“Are you kidding? You take it too serious,” Bryan says, already refilling his cup.

“No I don’t,” I argue. All three of them look at me with the same deadpanned expression.

Okay, so maybe there was that one time I got a little angry at Bryan when he wouldn’t listen to my incredibly clear instructions and, out of frustration, I broke the head off one of the little wooden men. But that was over a year ago. I’ve come to realize I overreacted then.

“Come on. No pressure. Just for fun,” I grab his shoulders, shaking him a little. “We’ll find some frat guys and put a little money on it.”

Bryan snorts even louder this time before taking a big sip from his drink. “Oh yeah, sounds exactly like it’s
just for fun
,” he repeats before reluctantly standing from his stool and following me to the table.

It doesn’t take us long to find a couple of guys who are willing to put down a little money on the game. Nothing large, but enough for it to be incentive to win. Because Bryan and I have played together many times, we know how to move in sync with each other and how best to take on opponents. But to my surprise, after a few rounds, these frat brothers are actually better than I anticipated. I do my best to conceal it but I can already feel nerves of frustration prickle against my skin at every goal they make against us. And when they tie the game to one a piece, I need to take a breather. With a best out of five at stake, I roll my shoulders, trying to release the tension that’s already been building there.

“Let’s stay calm. You’re trying to switch places too much,” I tell Bryan as he refills his cup.

“I got it, I got it,” he says, nodding. “
Fun
, remember?” he says snidely.

“Screw that. Fun ended the minute they tied the game up. I’m not losing to these guys. Finish your drink and let’s go,” I say, gulping down what’s left from my own cup. I crumple the plastic cup in my hand, feeling confident and ready to win this last battle. That is, I was until
she
happened.

Kendall Holten.

The
only
girl Bryan has ever pined for. The only girl who has captivated his attention for longer than a night. And that is definitely not Bryan’s style. But obviously there’s something about Kendall that gets him bent out of shape. They went out a few months ago. Just a couple of times, but it took him weeks to get over it. I know for a fact it didn’t even go too far in the bedroom. Why it ended, I’m not entirely sure, but still to this day she has an effect on him. Any other girl, he would have gotten over it long ago—forgotten about it and moved on to many
nexts
. And he has. Sort of. He’s been with many girls since, but every time he comes face to face with Kendall, he turns into someone I barely recognize. A lost puppy, begging for affection. Usually it’s amusing and funny to watch but not when it’s standing in my way of winning some money.

“Hi.” She smiles, tilting her head in order to look past me, right to where Bryan’s standing.

Her dress leaves little to the imagination and the strong strawberry scent she’s wearing wafts heavy around us. It’s too sweet for my liking but I can already tell Bryan is becoming hypnotized by it. My eyes drift back to the small but substantial stack of twenties piled on the edge of the foosball table.

“Hey Kenny,” Bryan says, his voice lowering a few octaves. He clears his throat and stands taller, shoulders stiffening. I’m very aware that I need to get him away from her, just long enough for us to finish our game. Otherwise, in a matter of minutes, I’ll lose him completely.

“We should get back,” I interrupt, my smile tight while I take a step and stand in between them. I turn and face Kendall, somewhat blocking Bryan from her view and vice versa. But Bryan lightly shoves me aside.

“Oh, okay.” Her lips dip into a sad smile, disappointed as she looks back from me to Bryan. When her eyes finally settle on his, she delivers a proposition I know Bryan can’t resist. Only a few words leave her mouth but it’s all I need to ensure me of losing this game and the money. “I thought maybe we could hang out again.”