The Bad Boys of Summer Anthology(47)

I released a defeated sigh as I laid down on the couch with my head in Evie’s lap and my feet dangling off the side. “So now I don’t know what to think. Part of me feels like it’s fucking absurd to believe that two days after moving here, I met my soul mate, who just so happened to be the first male I was introduced to, oh and he’s a man-whore that doesn’t want to give up other pussy but wants to call me cool names like Butterfly and Psyche.” I looked up at her and said as seriously as possible. “By the way, Psyche and Butterfly are both way fucking cooler names than Sam. You could’ve done much better.” I couldn’t keep my face straight through the last word, I started cracking up. Evie stood up laughing too, causing me to roll off the couch and hit the floor with a thud. This just made me laugh harder.

“Come on Butterfly,” she said mockingly as she stood with her hands stretched out to me to help pull me up. “Get your wings out and fly our asses to the store. We need to stock up on food and drinks. Tonight we are having a Magic Mike and banana split party; watching Channing Tatum and Alex Pettyfer’s asses prance around while eating ice cream is the perfect distraction for you. Right now, you need to let your mind rest, stop thinking about it ~ about Ash, about Dylan, about everything.

Evie was right, I needed to stop over thinking it, over analyzing it. Ever since I had left Ash’s room, I had been replaying different moments of our time in his bed. I needed to let it go, at least for now.

“Sounds like a plan, but don’t think I’ve forgotten that you owe me breakfast and the score in the book whore challenge is now 1-0.” I joked, trying to pull myself out of my funk.

“Whatever, last night was just a practice round for you… I was too worried about watching over you, making sure you didn’t act like a fool or have too much to drink,” she argued.

I just shook my head and laughed; I wasn’t giving up this victory.

Evie had also been right about Magic Mike and the ice cream, it was exactly what I needed to forget about everything else. Exhausted by the events of the last week, I went to sleep easily when the movie ended, with visions of men in black pants and ties dancing in my head.

The following day, Monday, was our last free day before classes were to begin. It was raining outside so Evie and I both decided to stay in our room to recharge before our schedules became insanely hectic. I was way behind on my reading so I decided to have a rainy-day-read-a-polooza. Following Evie’s lead, I downloaded Taking Chances and the recommended play list and immersed myself in the lives of Harper, Brandon, and Chase. I loved listening to the playlists suggested by the authors when reading their book. To me it’s like the background music to a movie, it provides another sensory layer to the story. It’s amazing how the right music can enhance a good book, it heightens the intensity levels at those crucial moments.

About an hour in, I clearly understood why Evie wanted me to read this book. I could completely relate to Harper ~ starting college naïve and inexperienced, being attracted to more than one guy, trying to figure out who she was. The story captivated me from the beginning; I couldn’t put it down. Just as I was really falling in love with the characters, when I had decided how I wanted the story to end, the book took an unforeseen turn, a twist that was gut-wrenching, heart-breaking, and tear-inducing. I then spent the next three and a half hours crying, for most of the second half of the book, as the author slowly put my broken heart back together again.

When I got to the end of the book, I was completely overwhelmed, mentally and emotionally, and I broke down. I cried and I cried and I cried some more.

I cried in sadness, and I cried with joy. I cried for unwanted goodbyes, and I cried for unexpected hellos. I cried for all the things that could’ve been, and I cried for the beauty of what actually was. I cried for Harper and Brandon and Chase, and I cried for me.

At some point in my melt down, Evie had joined me on my small bed and held me while I sobbed. This cry was not about Ash and Dylan; the events of the previous night were just the proverbial straw, and break me it did. This cry was eighteen years in the making, a release long

When I woke up a couple of hours later, I felt much better. My body had desperately needed the rest. I found Evie lounging on the couch watching Magic Mike again.

“This movie really makes everything better,” she said as I sat down next to her. “At least for a couple of hours.”

“Thank you for everything, Evie.” I whispered. I curled up against her and she put her arm around my shoulders. “I couldn’t do this without you; I would’ve given up long ago if it wasn’t for you.”

“I know, sweet Sam girl,” she said. “But you are worth fighting for, I’ll never let you give up. I love you too much.”

“I love you too, Evie.”





Chapter 6

The next morning was the first day of classes and I woke up with my stomach knotted with nerves. Thankfully, Evie would also be in two of my three classes that day, so we could figure most everything out together. After dressing in a black cotton maxi dress and matching flip flops, I looked at my phone to check the time. I had two text messages waiting for me.



Ash (2:32 AM): Can’t stop thinking of you butterfly.

Dylan (8:27 AM): Have a great first day of classes! Hope to see you again soon beautiful



Well, shit. That wasn’t what I expected to start the day. First, it was strike one against Dylan with the use of “beautiful.” I needed to let him know that I wasn’t a fan of the pet name thing, but it was very thoughtful of him to text this morning. I honestly wasn’t sure if I would hear from him again, but when I read the message I realized the sense of relief and delight that I felt that he wanted to see me again.

Reading Ash’s text, sent a completely different set of emotions through me - confusion, anxiety, hope, and pure lust. How did his number get in my phone? Why did he text me when he clearly told me that we could not have a relationship of any kind - neither friendly nor romantically? Why did a person that I knew practically nothing about make me lose control of my brain and body at the mere thought of him?

I only responded to Dylan’s text.



Me (9:35 AM): Thanks, you too. Sounds good



Then I grabbed my backpack and went to meet Evie for breakfast.She was ready and waiting for me in the kitchen. She had set us out some fresh pineapple and yogurt. As we ate, I told her about both text messages and she told me not to think too much about either of them. She was right. I needed to spend much less time thinking about boys and more time on my studies. My scholarships had strict GPA requirements, so I could not allow anything or anyone to interfere with my grades.

“I was thinking about our book whore competition last night and I agree to acknowledge your win from Saturday,” Evie said as we walked to our first class.

“You agree to acknowledge my win?” I asked.

“Yeah, like I said, I didn’t allow myself to really meet anyone this time so that I could stay close to you, so it wasn’t really fair. But next time, you may need to find your own way home,” she teased waggling her eyebrows.

“I didn’t ask you to do that. I don’t need a babysitter,” I tried to be serious with her but couldn’t help the laughter that escaped at her ridiculous faces.

“Okay, whatever, it’s over and you won,” she conceded. “But anyways, I was thinking about it and I thought about our teacher/ professor group… There’s no better place to find a professor than in the classroom, so for these BB’s we need to be on the lookout at all times. They don’t have specific nights dedicated to them. Sound good?”

My brain had been so full of Ash and Dylan that I hadn’t even thought about trying to meet anyone else and I couldn’t imagine throwing another guy in the mix. However, I also knew that the point of the contest was for us to meet new people from diverse backgrounds and lifestyles. It was hard for me to say what I liked and or didn’t like unless I tried it out. So I nodded at Evie’s suggestion in agreement. I highly doubted I’d have a professor that would be seduction-worthy anyways.

Before I knew it, it was early afternoon and Evie and I were walking back to our apartment having completed our first day of college. We were both giddy with a feeling of accomplishment, which was ridiculous, but our good moods were evident nonetheless. Since neither of us were procrastinators when it came to school work, we finished our homework right when we got back. We spent the rest of the evening gossiping about people we had met during the day and discussing the next day’s schedule. After our early dinner of grilled ham and cheese sandwiches, we each went into our rooms to have some alone time. This was yet another thing that made Evie and I so compatible, she and I both understood the importance of personal time and space.

I could hear Evie in her room skyping with someone, it sounded like her friend Corinne but I wasn’t sure. She stayed in touch with several of her friends from high school through the multiple social networking sites. I knew so much about all of them through Evie’s stories throughout the years that I felt like I knew them personally, but I had only met a few of them a handful of times at her house. They were an important part of her life and I knew she was worried about losing contact with them when they all went their separate ways to college. I, on the other hand, had limited contact with anyone I went to school with. I was friendly enough with several girls I met during my time at St. Helen’s, but since I wasn’t able to do anything outside of school, it was hard for me to develop the strong friendships that others did.