“Hey, you there. Come here,” a feminine voice calls out.
I reach for the door when a hand touches my arm.
“I’m not interested. I’m sure you are a great lay and would rock my world, but I’m not a one-and-done guy, and, well, I’m not looking for forever either,” I spit out, not bothering to turn toward her.
I expect venom. That’s what I usually get when I turn a girl down, but instead, she snorts.
Her hand leaves my skin, causing me to turn and look at her.
She’s a pretty little thing. Shorter than me. Dark hair pulled back in a messy bun and brown eyes that look like they could pierce my soul.
“Awfully full of yourself there, hotshot. I hate to break it to you, but you aren’t God’s gift to women. Not everyone wants to get into your pants. I know it’s a hit to the ego, but I’m sure you’ll recover.” She winks at me as she turns to leave.
I stand there shocked. She’s feisty as hell. She hit a sore spot for sure. I’m still coming to terms with my new version of reality. The one that doesn’t always get what he wants. So to have her call me out makes me feel seen in a way I haven’t felt in a while.
It’s nice.
Maybe that’s why I trail after her.
“If you weren’t trying to hit on me, what did you want then?” I ask her as she reaches the beer pong table.
“We wanted to play a game, but I don’t have a partner. Thought you looked like you knew how to handle some balls. Guess I was wrong.” She shrugs like it’s no big deal that she is ribbing the fuck out of me.
I assume she made the joke because we are at a football house, but I don’t play with balls. Pucks are more my thing, but she doesn’t need to know that. For one night, maybe I can forget about all my drama and enjoy myself for just a bit.
I can go back to wallowing in my hole after.
Decision made, I step up to her side, looking across the table at the other couple. “All right, I’ll play.”
She shakes her head, patting my arm. “Move along. I don’t need some hotshot on my team. I need a winner. I’ll find someone else.”
“I happen to be the best beer pong player here, so anyone else would be settling. Do you want to win or not?”
She sizes me up. While she does, I take a moment to take her in once more. She would have been my type in a heartbeat last year. I would have had her as my girlfriend by the end of the night. Then months down the road, I would break her heart because no matter who I dated, I never truly gave them all of myself. I always held something back.
I always thought they were the issue. That I was struggling to find the one, but maybe the truth is that I’m the problem. I need to work on myself before I can ever dream of finding my person.
It’s a painful lesson to learn, but I’m glad I did.
Finally meeting the girl’s eyes again, she smirks at me. She looks so damn familiar. Like I’ve seen her around before.
“Were you in one of my classes last year?”
The question surprises her as she shakes her head. “I’m a freshman.”
Weird, but who knows. I’ve been walking around like a zombie lately. Maybe I’ve seen her on campus, but doesn’t really matter. No matter how beautiful she is, I can’t go there with her. Even if I like the way she is looking at me. Or if my chest feels lighter when she picks on me.
“Are we going to play or what?” I ask after a moment.
She laughs, and I swear it makes me feel like I won the lottery. She has a nice laugh.
It’s nice to flirt with someone again. For the moment, I feel like I’ve found a part of myself that I’ve lost.
I don’t want to lose it again.
“Sure thing, hotshot. Show me what you’ve got.”
Just like that, my night goes from some sad, pitiful existence to laughter and fun. Maybe I should thank Calvin for dragging me to this party with him. I never imagined that it would change my life, but here I am.
