The Years After (7 page)

Olivia rolled her eyes. “I don’t have a man. I went out with someone from one of my classes and he’s coming tonight.”

Ally suddenly sat up. “Here? He’s coming to the dorm?”

“Uh-huh. Why?”

“You gotta get dressed. You can’t go out like that.”

Olivia glanced down. Same as usual. Dark skinny jeans, flats and a hoodie covering her dark tank top. No makeup. Her long hair cascaded around her. It was the only thing that even remotely gave her an inkling of style. Even she had to admit she had pretty hair. “What’s wrong with this?”

“You look like a little girl going to a high school football game. Or some guy’s tomboy kid sister. Come on, Liv, this is college. Act like a girl for once.”

“Yes, and I already have a date. If I suck so bad at being a girl, how come I have a hot guy coming over and neither one of you do?”

“Ouch. Listen to you. So he’s hot?”

“Yeah.”

Ally scoffed and glanced back at the mirror to line her lips. She smacked them loudly with her red wet-looking lipstick. “I’ll bet our ideas of what’s hot are very different.”

“No, they aren’t. Hot is hot. And please don’t make such a big deal about it.”

Ally grinned and flicked a hair tie at Olivia. “Liv, you’ve never even kissed a guy. It’s a big deal if you even show minimal interest in someone. He must be something special if he’s got you thinking about anything besides your music.”

“I’m not that bad, Ally. You both sound like I’m a freaky aberration without any social conscience, I’m not, you know. And I have too kissed a guy.”

Both her cousins stopped what they were doing and lifted their heads to stare at her with their jaws dropped in disbelief. Then they glanced at each other and nearly squealed before rushing over and grabbing her. Even Kylie forgot about being apathetic and sinister for a few minutes. She laughed and giggled like she used to while nearly attacking Olivia on the bed. They all three fell back with laughter after they tickled and pounced on Olivia until she nearly peed.

“Spill it. When?”

“Last night.”

“When? Where were you? How did it happen? Never thought I’d see the day Olivia Lindstrom finally takes her lips off her flute long enough to get some.”

“He came to my show.”

Ally leaned on her elbow as her eyebrows rose. “And he still kissed you… afterwards?”

Olivia scowled at them and sat up. She was leaning against the cinder block wall that served as the backside for her bed. “You are such a bitch. Some people think I’m talented.”

“You are. It’s just not sexy, Liv. Not like playing guitar or drums in a band. Or singing. Those are sexy. Strange little flutes and folk music? Not so sexy.”

“Well, when I came out into the lobby, he walked up to me and kissed me without a word. So I beg to differ.”

“He just kissed you? Like… what? He was so overcome with your performance? Or did he just want to cop a cheap thrill?”

Olivia shrugged, honestly unsure about Derek’s motive. “I don’t know, but I think it was the first option. He was staring at me all intense-like… and then he kept doing it.”

“Doing what?”

Olivia shrugged her bony shoulders. “He kept kissing me. On the lips, but they were quick and kind of, I don’t know, innocent, I guess, like he just had to kiss me. It was sweet, not sexual. So yeah, I think it was option A.”

Ally leaned back and pulled her knees up to her chest. “Okay, I’ve done it with a half dozen guys and I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen any of them look at me like that. Are you sure?”

“How should I know? I’m the freaky, antisocial virgin, remember?”

“Does he know that?”

She rolled her eyes and scooted to the end of the bed before getting on her feet. “Of course not. I didn’t lead with, ‘I’m the virgin, Olivia, nice to meet you.’”

Kylie flashed her smile. “Well, thank God for that. It’s nothing to be proud of.”

“Neither is screwing every new stranger you meet.”

Kylie stuck her tongue out. “It’s fun though.” She too got onto her feet and headed towards her small closet. Opening the door, she tugged out a black tank that had cheap metal gems glued all over it. After yanking off her sweatshirt, she pulled the tank top on.

Ally sucked in a deep breath as her eyes widened at her sister. “What is wrong with you?”

Kylie glanced back as she stuck her neck into the small shirt. It hit her just above her belly button. “What do you mean?”

“What is that thing on your back?”

She rolled her eyes. “It’s called a tattoo.”

“Has Mom seen it?”

“Of course not. And you’d better not tell her. It’s my body, Ally, not hers. I can do what I want to it.”

“Does that include starving yourself?”

Kylie slipped her boots on and started lacing them. “I’m not starving. I’m skinny. I like it. I look hot. Ask around.”

Ally shook her head. “I don’t need to ask around to know what you’re doing.”

Olivia threw a glare at Ally. “She’s allowed to have some fun. She’s not hurting anyone.”

Ally held Olivia’s gaze, then said softly, “What’s she doing to herself? What if she’s hurting herself and not just having some fun? How you two get along well enough to be roommates doesn’t make any sense. You both reside in polar extremes.”

Olivia and Kylie glanced at each other. Olivia shook her head at Ally. “We don’t judge each other, that’s how. We love each other, no matter what. Not all of us can be you, Ally McKinley, a straight A student, or always the loveable, cute girl that everyone wants to be friends with. The girl who has the appropriate number of dates and decent boyfriends. Not all of us can be you.”

“Thank God for that. The world couldn’t take much more of Ally-perfection,” Kylie muttered.

Ally threw her hairbrush at Kylie. She picked it up and eventually grinned. An unexpected knock on the door instantly had them all straightening up and staring towards it. The room was silent as Kylie jerked her head towards the door. “He’s here! Go let him in.”

Olivia rose onto her shaking legs, intensely aware of her cousins behind her and well beyond embarrassed now. She wished with all her heart she’d kept her mouth shut about everything. The kiss. The concert. Derek. He might not even think it was anything; and here she was, already talking about him like he meant something special to her.

He stood back a few steps from the door and Olivia kept it only half open so her prying cousins couldn’t totally see him. He wore dark jeans, a jacket and no hat. His dark hair was straight and flipped back off his forehead. His eyes stared at hers as he stepped towards her and kissed her lips. Their mouths fit perfectly. He was short for a guy, but she loved how easily and perfectly their bodies fit together. She was shocked when he kissed her hello, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. She swayed towards the heat of his body and his hand encircled her waist. When he lifted his mouth from hers, a small smile curled his lips up. “Hey.”

“Hey,” she softly whispered back. Their mouths were only centimeters apart. The rest of the world, the dorm, and her cousins, could have simply vanished and gone totally extinct for how intense and heated the ensuing eye lock felt to her.

With a shudder, she stepped back, bringing Derek into the dorm room. Her cousins were staring at her with unmasked shock evident on their astonished faces. Kylie sat on her bed, and Ally leaned against her desk and glanced at Derek.

“These are my cousins, Ally and Kylie. This is Derek,” she said as she tilted her head and bugged her eyes out. She was hoping they’d quit staring at Derek like he was an alien walking among them.

Ally stepped forward first and grinned, “Derek, nice to meet you. So you’re Liv’s guy, huh?”

Olivia burned up. She should have warned them not to label him as anything. Derek’s gaze traveled down to her eyes. “Am I?”

“Any guy she lets kiss her so casually hello, well, then, yeah.”

Again, his gaze settled on Olivia, nearly burning into her, at least, that’s what it felt like. She kept her eyes unfocused and drifting around the room. Kylie saved her after they made eye contact and Olivia silently pleaded for Kylie to shut Ally up. “Well, let’s get out of here and have a good time.”

“Yes, let’s,” Olivia quickly replied, turning without looking towards Derek.
Damn Ally!
She was purposely making her sound as pathetic and new at this as she could. She didn’t have to make it seem so unbelievable that a guy actually came there for her. She could have just played it cool. But oh, no. Ally considered Olivia a fun, little pet whose previous innocence had been the source of much amusement. Okay, in all honesty, Ally couldn’t forget how lame Olivia was as a teenager.

The party was only a few blocks off campus. Walking together, Ally did all the talking and only to Derek. She never had a problem making conversation. She flirted and smiled, while Olivia gritted her teeth and bit her tongue to avoid lashing out at Ally. She knew Ally wasn’t doing it on purpose, but she couldn’t stand to let a guy, any guy, ignore her. She was used to getting all the attention, which she naturally attained.

The house was bumping from the outside and people spilled out of it. They entered together. Olivia spent many weekends the previous year partying on campus with Kylie and Ally. Her cousins were well known and popular, but for very diverse reasons. They were stopped as their friends hugged and squealed over the two, while Olivia seemed to be merely tolerated, almost as an afterthought.

She became keenly aware of Derek’s presence beside her, and he remained at her elbow at all times. He shook his head no when someone offered him a beer. Surprised, Olivia sipped hers and leaned towards him. “You don’t want one?”

Didn’t all freshman guys drink? Looking around, she noticed there were more loud, drunken, funny guys than girls. “I don’t drink.”

She was mildly shocked. She started to ask why when someone came up behind them. and shoved Derek’s shoulder before nearly yelling, “Derek! What the hell are you doing here?”

Derek’s mouth tightened for just a second before he turned towards the tall kid beside them. He had to look up to see him. With his hands shoved in his pockets, Derek hunched his shoulders forward. “Hey, man. What’s up?”

“Haven’t seen you around in while. What you got? Anything good?”

Derek’s smile seemed strained to Olivia, but maybe she was reading too much into his reaction. The kid was their age, but his eyes were red-rimmed and he could barely stand. Derek pushed Olivia off to the side before leaning in to say something to the guy. His eyes rounded and he shook his head as Derek slapped his shoulder and seemed to be sending him off.

Derek’s smile returned when he faced her again. The raucous crowd talked and laughed and bumped around them. Music vibrated through her feet and up into her head. “Your cousin makes friends fast, huh?”

She turned her head towards where he indicated. Kylie was in a tongue-smashing-lock with some guy she’d never seen before. “Yeah. College life is her nirvana.”

They were interrupted this time by some girls in her math class who started talking and chatting. The beer soon warmed her up, and her usual Olivia-ness became less obvious as she started to relax and lighten up. They all squealed and talked while Derek stayed right next to her. He didn’t so much as give her an inch of room apart from him. His eyes at all times kept scanning the room. He seemed weirdly obsessed about it. After three refills in her red cup from the keg, Olivia’s feet began feeling heavy and her heart grew light. Her laugh came easier, but her movements were getting harder to maneuver. She saw Kylie going up the stairs, holding someone’s hand. Ally was off talking with a large group of girls. And she was holding Derek’s hand. The party was loud and crowded. Derek had taken her hand at some point and didn’t let go again. She’d never had a guy hold her hand like that. Yeah, middle school-aged kids did, but never with her.

She did not mean to remain a virgin until now. It wasn’t a conscious decision. Never having had much of a crush or even liking any particular guy, none of them could capture her interest very long, not like Derek did right from the start. The tipsier she got, the more attractive he became and the better it felt to be with him.

She leaned on him more as they mingled with different crowds. She knew a lot of them from her popular cousins. She rode their coattails just as she’d done in high school. All her close friends were in band with her. That was something her cousins always ridiculed. This was the first time being out with them when she didn’t feel like a lame, pitied, third wheel. Derek Salazar was beside her, and he gave her a sense of confidence at this party that she’d never experienced before. She felt awesome. There was no other way to describe it. Girls looked Derek up and down, even giving Olivia a little more respect because he was so hot and holding Olivia’s hand. It made her feel like she belonged, instead of another replay of her role as the odd outsider. Always liked, Olivia was never really one to party with.

Lots of people knew Derek, and many came over and slapped his back, or fist-bumped him. Often, he leaned away from her to speak with them, but she couldn’t hear quite what he said. Sometimes, he stepped away, or addressed larger groups he obviously knew. He might not have been into the college thing, but he sure knew a lot of people from her school.

Finally, at nearly one o’clock, he snagged the beer she was trying to get to her lips. “Think you’ve had enough for tonight, little freshman.”

She grabbed for his hand, which he held up with her drink and all. His reach was only an inch beyond hers. She tried to jump, but nearly teetered over backwards, and had to snatch hold of his shirt to catch her balance. “You know, you’re short for a guy.”

His mouth lifted up, but showed no anger, just amusement. “Yeah. I know. Still tall enough to outreach your drunken, little ass, though.”

She squeezed the fabric of his shirt in both fists. “It doesn’t seem to bother you.”

“What?”

“I don’t know. Being shorter than other guys. I like that. You’re not insecure.”

He shrugged. “Well, I can’t very well stretch myself out, can I? What’s the point? Besides, very few ever mess with me.”