Alicia – a year later.
Famous last words often came back to bite you in the ass. As I tried to move around the sweaty guys in front of me, they wouldn’t budge. This kegger wasn’t my choice, but my roommate had insisted. And this party sucked. The beer was warm, the room was stifling, and it was seething with people. Somewhere, Dani was lurking, but God knows where.
“Hey, gorgeous,” a guy drawled, getting in the way. He had a sticky name badge that said ‘Kent’.
“Sorry, just leaving.”
“Why? It’s early, baby.”
“Bedtime for me,” I said and winced. Foolish mistake, I sighed as Kent took the obvious route.
“Babe, I’ll come and tuck you in.” Kent flirted and winked.
“Can I get past? Please?”
“Sure.” Instead of moving, Kent placed an arm on the wall, boxing me in.
I scowled as Kent reached out and rubbed a lock of my hair between his fingers. Time to pull out the big guns. “Last warning, let me go.”
“Babe, we’re getting to know each other,” Kent said, shaking his head.
“Are you a Sigma Kappa Phi?”
“Yeah, baby, recognise me?” Kent puffed out his chest.
“Oliver Kensington.”
The guy stiffened. “What about Oliver?”
I pointed at myself, and Kent winced.
“You’re Alicia.”
I nodded with a grim smile as Kent quickly backed up.
“Wise choice.”
“That dude is psychotic, especially where you’re concerned,” he said.
“Yeah. Oliver’s a little overprotective.”
Kent laughed. “Honey, I’ve seen Oliver fight; I don’t want to be on the end of those anger issues. I’ll walk you out. Are you calling an Uber, or should I shout Oliver?”
“Um, I think my roommate has hooked up with someone, and Oliver’s probably busy with a girl. I’ll call…”
Kent began laughing. “Oliver’s with no one. The guy hasn’t dated or slept with anyone since he arrived. His right hand must ache like fuck with all the self-administered hand jobs.”
“Oliver’s not dating?”
“No, he is. You just don’t realise it.”
I fell silent as I followed Kent towards the front of the house. I got the implication. Kent was saying Oliver was dating me, and I’d not realised it. Looking back over the past year, I couldn’t deny Kent was wrong.
“Where are we going?” I asked as Kent waved his hand at the stairs.
“If he’s not here, Oliver’s in his room.” I followed him upstairs and along a corridor. As we neared the end, a door opened and Oliver walked out. My heart kicked, just as it always did when I saw him. Oliver was as handsome as ever.
“What the fuck?” he exclaimed, seeing me with Kent.
