Lost (14 page)

“He said, ‘
We’re
going to like it
here.’” I said this to my roommate, Amy.

“Okay. And?”
Amy was getting ready to go out with her boyfriend, Ben. “Are you sure you
don’t want to come out with us? It’ll be fun!”

“Why the hell
would I want to be a third wheel? Sorry, watching you two go at it all night is
not
my idea of fun.”

“Okay. First of
all, we don’t go at it all night—at least not in public. And I told you a bunch
of people are going.” She finished putting her lipstick on. “Now, back to hottie
dad.”

“Oh, his name’s
Brian, and his son, Sam, is adorable!” I gushed.

“And where’s
Mom?”

I shrugged.
“Not sure. But he very clearly said it was just the two of them.”

“Well, I say go
for it. That is, if you don’t mind an instant family. Now, get dressed.”

I let her talk
me into going out, though I refused the makeup she tried to force on me. “Get
that crap away from me. I’m good with my chapstick.”

As a
concession, I did change my shirt into a pretty one-shouldered top that Amy
threw at me, but the jeans stayed.

“Here. Wear
these. At least you’ll look halfway decent.” Amy thrust a pair of jeweled
flip-flops in my general direction, and I took them from her.

“I thought you
said we were just going out to chill.”

“We are!” She
threw at me.

“Okay, so why
do I need to get all dressed up?”

She rolled her
eyes at me. Though we were best friends, when it came to fashion and makeup, we
couldn’t be more different. I was comfortable in my casual clothes. Makeup just
seemed like too much of a hassle to me. Amy,on the other hand, wore pencil
skirts to class and was never without a complete face.

After a few
more swipes of mascara, and yet another coat of lipstick, we were ready to go.
A loud knock sounded, just before we opened the door.

“Hi, baby!” Amy
cooed and flew into Ben’s arms. She gave him a very thorough kiss.

“Really?” I
teased. “Now, we’re gonna have to wait while she reapplies another coat of
lipstick.”

Ben smiled at
me, red lipstick smeared on his lips. “But that’s why we love her!”

“Yeah, yeah,” I
muttered, as Amy sauntered to the closest mirror to do exactly as I thought she
would.

“Glad you’re
coming out, Jules,” Ben said to me. “I like that blouse.”

“Thanks. It’s
Amy’s. In fact, I think you gave her this.”

He looked at it
again. “Hey, you’re right. Well, it looks nice on you.”

I thanked him
again, and Amy announced she was ready. We grabbed our keys and purses—well Amy
grabbed her purse, while I just stuck my ID and some money in my pocket—and
locked up the door.

“Where are we
going?” I asked.

“Delta Upsilon,”
Amy answered.

“No!” I
stopped, and Ben and Amy pulled up short. “I thought we were going to a bar or
a club. You didn’t say we were going to a frat party.”

“Look, I get
it,” Amy stated. “You don’t want to see Tim. But this is a big deal. Everyone’s
going to be there. I promise you, you won’t even notice him.”

“Amy, it isn’t
just that. Frats just aren’t my thing.” I was trying really hard not to
complain.

“Look. Why
don’t we go for 30 minutes? If you aren’t having a good time, I’ll walk you
home.” Ben prodded.

I thought it
over for a moment. “That works. But keep that asshat away from me if he’s
there.”

Amy assured me
that she would keep my ex away from me if necessary, and we continued the walk
over to the fraternity houses. I could hear the music, and we were still a few
minutes away. The thumping bass could be felt, and I heard lots of laughter.
Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.

“You know this isn’t really my thing,”
Brian said to the guy on his right.

“Dude, your
mom’s watching Sam. Come on. You never go out. Have a beer and relax,” Joe
said.

Brian had met
Joe in one of his drafting classes. Joe was outgoing and loud, and that was
exactly what Brian liked about him. Joe always brought Brian out of his shell,
and this night was no exception.

“Hey, Ben.
How’s it going?” Joe called to a guy walking up the stairs.

Two women were
following the guy. A pretty brunette in a short, tight dress. And a girl with
long brown hair and tight jeans.

Both the girls
turned when Joe called out, and Brian saw their faces.

“That’s him!” I smacked Amy and tried to
be subtle.

“Who’s what?”
She was confused.

“That guy. Up
there next to Joe. That’s Brian. You know... Hot Dad.”

“Oh!” Amy
appraised him and gave me the thumbs up. “Yeah, he is cute... I think it’s
fate. Him being here. You being here. It’s fate.”

I knew Amy was
teasing me, but I had to give her the eye roll. “Or, since you said everybody
was going to be here—”

“Yeah, yeah.”
Amy patted me on the shoulder. “Oh shit. Gross. Look who’s here.”

I turned and
followed her not so subtle finger point, just in time to see my ex, Tim,
walking toward me. It’s funny. At one point I thought he had a great smile. Now
it was just a creepy smirk.

“Julie. You
came!” He attempted to hug me, and I did an awkward dance to get away from him.
“Really? That’s how it’s going to be?”

“Yeah,
dickhead. That’s how it’s going to be,” Amy said as she stepped in front of me.
Amy was shorter than I was, but she was fierce.

“You know, Amy?
I haven’t missed you.
Not
one little bit, but just like always, you have
to butt in.” It was obvious Tim had been drinking.

“Like always?
Oh please! I had no beef with you until you cheated on my best friend. And to
make matters worse, you traded down. You can’t even cheat on Julie with someone
of quality. No, you sleep with a little frat whore!”

We were
starting to attract a crowd, and Tim tried to laugh it off. “Okay, Amy.
Whatever you say.” He tried to pat her on the shoulder.

Amy pushed Tim.
“Don’t you ’Amy’ me like we’re friends or something, you ignorant piece of
shit.”

Amy was getting
worked up, and I searched the crowd desperately for Ben, who had gone to get us
drinks. I didn’t see Ben, but I saw Brian watching, and I caught his eye. He
must have sensed something because he walked over to us.

“Problem?” He
asked, though he directed it to Tim.

“Nope. No
problem, buddy.” Tim was using all his skills to keep up at this point.

“Yeah, there’s
a problem,” Amy said. “Limp Dick here finds the need to step to me.”

At the mention
of Tim’s limp dick, the crowd erupted into laughter. Tim’s face grew red.

Tim started
toward Amy. “Bitch—”

Brian got
between them. “Hey! That’s no way to talk to a lady.”

“You’re right,
but Amy’s no lady.”

I’d had enough.
I’m no pushover, but I don’t like being the center of attention—especially like
that. “Amy, come on. Let’s just go outside.”

I took her arm
and tried to steer her toward the door. I saw Ben out of the corner of my eye
and waved him over.

“What’s going
on?” He asked.

“Tim.” And that
was all I had to say.

Ben and Amy had
been together since her sophomore year of college, and Amy and I had been
together since second grade. Because of that, Ben was like a big brother to me.
He didn’t take kindly to anyone hurting me, and Tim was high on that list.

Ben went to
Brian’s side, and Tim, realizing at that point that he was outgunned, should
have backed down. But alcohol had gone to Tim’s brain, and he was feeling
brave.

He started to
laugh. “Oh, that’s cute, Ben. Gotta jump in and save that bitch you’re
fucking.”

And then all
hell broke loose. Ben hauled off and punched Tim in the face. Tim fell
backwards and crashed into a girl that had been watching—making her spill her
beer everywhere. She screamed, and her date shoved Tim back into Ben. Ben must
have thought Tim was coming after him because he hit him again. Girls started
screaming, drinks were spilled, and fists were flying.

“Oh yeah! Limp
Dick is getting what he deserves.” Amy was clearly enjoying it.

I shook my
head, though a part of me was secretly thrilled that Ben had punched Tim right
in his smug face. “He might deserve it, but this isn’t what I wanted.”

Amy immediately
looked sorry. “Hey. I know. I’m sorry. I just can’t stand him.”

“Obviously.” I
laughed as fists flew around us. “Come on. Get Ben. Let’s get out of here.”

Amy waded into
the mass of bodies and grabbed Ben’s arm. She pulled him, and he turned to
follow. I heard someone come up next to me, and because of all the noise, I
automatically flinched.

“No...” Brian
had stepped back and was holding his hands up in surrender. “Hey. I come in
peace. Julie, right?”

I laughed
nervously. “Sorry. Things got a little crazy.”

“You think?” I
felt his hand on my lower back. “Come on. Your friend found Ben. Let’s get out
of here.”

Amy had indeed
retrieved Ben, and the two of them were coming toward us. Neither of them
seemed too concerned about the mess behind them, and though I was glad to see
Tim get what he deserved, the whole situation was out of hand.

“I think we
should call campus security,” I yelled over the noise to Brian.

He shook his
head. “Already done. Let’s get out of here.”

I nodded in
agreement, and we made it to the door, just ahead of Amy and Ben.

“Let’s blow
this shithole!” Amy said and pulled me outside.

“Amy?
Seriously? Why antagonize him?” Ben sounded tired. “You know how he is.”

“I know! I’m
sorry, but you know how I get.” Amy had enough wits about her to be
embarrassed.

Ben just sighed
and laughed. “I know. And I love you for it.” He slipped his arm around Amy and
kissed her on the cheek.

“Hey, guys.
That was a lot for one night. I think I’m done. So I’m just gonna walk back to
our place.” I tried to beg off.

“Are you
serious?” Amy scoffed. “We’ve been out for like 45 minutes!”

“Yeah, but that
was a serious 45 minutes.” I tried to make light of it.

“I’ll walk
Julie back home, so you guys can go ahead.” Brian offered, and then turned to
me. “If that’s okay with you?”

“Yeah. If
you’re sure? I don’t want you going out of your way. It’s just a short walk
this way.”

“My car’s
actually down here.” He pointed in the general direction in which we were
walking. “So I was going this way anyway.”

That made his
offer sound much less gallant, but I would take what I could get. Amy and Ben
accepted the decision after a few more minutes of back and forth, so we split
up. They headed into town to get something to eat. And Brian and I headed
toward the apartment.

“So,” I began, “thanks for walking me.”

“No problem.
What was that back there?” He gestured over his shoulder to the frat house,
just as campus security pulled up.

“That was my
ex. He cheated on me with some girl, and for some reason Amy decided to call
him on it tonight. Plus, I’m pretty sure he was drunk,” I offered by way of
explanation.

Brian nodded.
“Yeah, I think so. Things got pretty nasty.”

“Amy’s
protective. She always has been. We became friends shortly after I lost my mom.
My dad kind of didn’t deal with her death really well, and Amy sort of adopted
me. We’ve been close ever since.”

“She seems like
a good friend. Ben’s in my drafting class, and I’ve talked to him a few times.
Nice guy.”

I agreed with
him, and we walked in easy silence for a few more minutes. Before I knew it, we
were at my apartment building.

“Well, this is
me.”

“Oh, this is
you
...”
Brian came back with, and I laughed.

“Thanks again
for walking me home. I’ll see you and Sam Monday?”

“Right! Yes.
Sam and I Monday. We’ll be there.” He seemed flustered, and we stood there
awkwardly for a moment.

“Okay. Well,
I’m going to go up.”

“Okay. Have a
good night.”

I walked into
my building, and if I had just turned around, I would have seen him standing in
the same spot, watching me, wishing he would have said something.

That had to have been his worst moment
ever with a girl. He had planned on asking her out, but then she brought up
Sam, and he got lost. He watched her climb the stairs in her apartment
building, and then turned to go to his car.

Way to go,
big guy. Way to go.