Page 36 of Big Man on Campus

“I’m serious, Glory. All you’ve had is half a beer—how could you get so—?”

“I’m serious, Kace. All you—”

“Stop. I’m trying to be serious.”

“I thought that was Fitzy’s job. You’re the fun one, remember? Let’s have some fun. That’s what you brought me in here for, isn’t it?” She reaches her hand down to my crotch and caresses. Leaning her face close to mine, she kisses me and I let her because I’m fucking human and she’s so fucking sexy. Opening my mouth, I take in her lips and explore with my tongue.

It takes a few beats, because I’m lost in the kiss, for me to realize she tastes like cinnamon, fiery cinnamon with the sharp sting of alcohol. She tastes like fucking Fireball. Pulling away from her, I take her chin in my hand.

“What the fuck, Glory? You’ve been drinking Fireball shots? Who gave them to you?” I warned her about taking drinks from strangers at campus parties. My anxiety meter shoots up and the muscles across my shoulders bunch painfully.

“Not exactly,” she says and pulls from me, clutching her bag to her. My mind spins through all the event, the circumstances and the clues and I come to a nasty conclusion. Ripping the bag from her hands, I stick my hand in and it doesn’t take me long to find the stash of small bottles at the bottom.

“Jesus fucking Christ, Glory. What the fuck are you doing?” I feel like hurling as the extent of her problem dawns on me.

“Don’t be mad, Kace. It’s just a few nips—”

“Mad? I’m not mad, sunshine. I’m fucking devastated.” I feel my voice breaking, feel everything in me breaking, and I swallow hard as she stares at me, seeming to grasp the situation, my distress. I need to hold it together because I know she’ll fall apart worse than me if I show the rip in my heart. My gut churns, aching with sorrow and remorse at how lost she is. Still.

She wraps her arms around me and lays her head on my chest. “Your heart is beating hard and fast, Kace. I—I’m sorry. I disappointed you.”

I squeeze her tight. “No babe. We can handle this. You can get help. We’ll talk to Majik. She goes to AA and maybe she can sponsor you.” I caress her hair, feel her tears dampen my shirt, feel the crumbling in my soul and beg God not to let her fall apart, to help her stop going down this road.

“I can’t, Kace,” She pulls back from me and swipes at her tears. I take her hands.

“You need help, Glory.”

“AA is too public. People will know. It’ll cause more problems for you . . . and your parents. I’ll handle this.” She takes a long shaky breath, gathering herself up as if she’s lifting her big girl panties, worn and battered though they might be by now with all the battling she’s done for the last three years. “I’ll stop drinking the nips. I’m not driving anymore. It’ll be okay. I’ll call my therapist.” She pauses, “Or maybe I’ll talk to Dooley.” She smiles. “He’s been a good friend. Thank you for introducing me, for asking him to take care of me.”

“What makes you think I asked him—?”

She waves a hand. “You did. It’s something you would do. To look out for me when you’re not around. Admit it.”

“Did Dooley tell you—?”

“No.”

I blow out a breath and nod. “I’m glad you get along. But you should still consider AA. I’m sure Majik will keep it quiet and you don’t need to worry about my reputation. It’s already toast.”

She winces. “Kace, look, maybe I should tell the police the truth, that I crashed the car. They’ll only take away my license again, but since I’ve vowed not to drive, it’ll be okay.”

“They could throw you out of school, Glory.”

“That’s better than you getting thrown out, Kace.”

“If you confess, I would get thrown out anyway for lying to the police about driving the car, covering up—”

“Let’s talk to an attorney. You have Tim Hill, Senior’s card, right?”

“I’ll think about it.” I give her a kiss and realize she’s right about getting legal advice—from someone not my father. From someone I can tell the truth to without penalty.

When we go to leave the room, I hear someone in the hall before I open the door, so I open it a crack to take a look. It wouldn’t be good if someone overheard our conversation. I peek outside and see someone, a girl, disappearing into the bathroom. I caught enough of her to know who it is, being intimately familiar with her. It was Phoebe. Fuck. I hope to hell she didn’t hear us, but I’m not leaving it to chance. I’ll need to ask her point blank.

“What is it? Someone out there you don’t want to see?” Glory says, leaning against my back holding her arms around my waist.

“Something like that. The coast is clear now.” I swing her around to face me and kiss her hard and fast. “Be good. Stick to ice water the rest of the night.”

She gives a shaky laugh and I spank her ass lightly. She breaks out into peals of laughter as we leave the room and head to the main room to find Dooley. I tell him to watch out for her and tell her I have some people I want to talk to. It’s not a lie, maybe an exaggeration.