"Asher Carmichael, you get your ass downstairs and give my best friend a kiss!" All the girls in the room started clapping and yelling. It was pandemonium. I had seen Asher in his underwear, or less, many times, but it was a little nerve-wracking knowing that all the girls in the room would see him in the same state. He had an amazing body and I usually liked that I was the only one who got to see it. Right now, however, I would look past my feelings on the matter and just enjoy whatever he had planned. There was no way for me to prepare myself for what I saw when he came around the corner.
He strutted into the room, confidence at an all-time high, found my eyes, and walked right towards me – in a pair of my underwear. As if it were the most natural thing on the planet, he waltzed across the room sporting a pair of black lace, boyshort panties. My jaw dropped and my ears rang with all the screaming that was coming from the group of girls.
He found me sitting on the couch and without hesitation he straddled me, placed his hands on the sides of my face, and kissed me hard. In any other circumstance it would have been a hot kiss, but I just couldn't get past the fact that he was wearing my panties. I pulled away and looked in his eyes.
"You're crazy," I said, quiet enough so only he could hear me, but loud enough to combat the whooping girls.
"You're smiling; that's all that matters." He kissed me again quickly and then got up to walk back towards the stairs, stopping at the doorway to give a graceful bow. I just shook my head at him. He looked ridiculous.
"You're man has a fantastic ass," Lizzy, one of my sorority sisters said. I shrugged.
"I wish he would have worn the purple thong. It accentuates his backside better." I tried to pull it off without laughing, but it was impossible. Lizzy and I spent a good five minutes cracking up on the couch.
"You'd better be careful, Charlie. If you don't keep an eye on him, some other girl is going to swoop in and steal him away." My head snapped to the left to see who the voice belonged to and I wasn't surprised to see Tracy standing next to the couch. She had a slimy smile on her face and I narrowed my eyes at her.
"And I assume you think you're going to be able to steal him from me?" I asked, my irritation growing.
She shrugged her shoulders at me. "I just think he hasn't realized that there's a whole campus filled with girls who'd like to show him what he's missing."
"Hey, back off Tracy," I heard Reeve's voice strong and firm. "Asher isn't missing anything. But you're gonna miss the way your face looks with a straight nose if you don't back off of Charlie and leave, like, now." Tracy looked at Reeve and I like we were insignificant, but she did wander towards the door. She gave us a wicked smile and a little finger wave before she left. I huffed out an irritated breath.
"I'm gonna get something to drink. Do you guys want anything?" Lizzy asked us, obviously wanting to give us some time alone. I shook my head and Reeve said a quiet "No, thank you." After Lizzy walked away, Reeve turned so that she was facing me directly.
"Thank you for helping me with Tracy." I exhaled loudly. "She's becoming a huge pain in my ass."
"No problem," Reeve said quietly. She fiddled with her fingers in her lap for a moment, seemingly trying to get up enough nerve to say something else.
"I don't really know what to say to you right now, Charlie." She started playing with the hem of her pajama shirt. "I know I haven't been the best friend lately," she heaved out a loud breath. "I am just having a hard time moving on from everything." I put my hand on her knee and lowered my head so I could look in her eyes.
"Reeve, you are my best friend and I just want to make sure you're going to be ok. You don't have to put on an act for me. I understand if you're still hurt, or sad, or upset. I probably would be too. I'm just worried about you and I don't want to see you hurt yourself by going into isolation." I paused and looked down at my hands, not wanting to say too much. "I can see you drifting farther and farther away, and it scares me. I don't ever want to lose you, Reeve. I don't know what I would do if we weren't friends anymore." I felt a tear slide down my face, but this one wasn't from laughter. Letting myself think about how my life would be without Reeve tore a piece of my heart open. She was the sister I never had and I loved her tremendously. If she wasn't in my life, all the laughter and fun I shared with her would leave and so would a piece of my soul. I peeked up at her, trying to gauge her reaction. She wiped tears from her face as well.
"I'm so sorry, Charlie. I don't want you to feel that way. I love you and I'm going to try to snap out of this. I just need a little time and understanding. But never question our friendship. You mean everything to me." She wrapped her arms around me and pulled me into an embrace. I never needed a hug like I needed this one from her. I could actually feel some of the anxiety ooze out of me. "And thank you for planning this party. I didn't realize how much I needed this." I pulled away wiping my face and smiling.
"I didn't plan this. Asher did." Reeve looked sincerely surprised by this information.
"Why?" She asked, sounding mystified.
"He loves you just as much as I do, Reeve. He has been really torn apart by all of this. He just wants you to be happy again." She looked pensive as she took in all the news I had given her.
"I guess I just always figured he put up with me because he loved you."
I smiled at her.
"Well, sometimes he puts up with you because he loves me," I giggled. "But truly, you are one of his best friends. He would do anything for you." I waved my hand out to display the pink slumber party. "Hence this display of affection for you." I patted her on the knee again. "All the brothers here are really trying to make it up to you, Reeve. They all want you to be ok and to be comfortable here. You're important to Asher, so you're important to them. Let them make it up to you."
She smiled at me again. "I really am lucky to have you guys."
I shrugged my shoulders. "I know."
After the perfectly pink slumber party, we all tried very hard to get things back to normal. I saw Reeve try, every day, to get herself out there a little more. I was so proud of her and I tried to tell her every chance I got. When winter break came around, all three of us went home and I was happy Reeve only packed a suitcase to take with her, and not everything she owned. It thrilled me to know that she would be returning for the next semester. It felt like things were getting back to normal.
I rode home with Reeve, silently smiling to myself as she jabbered the entire way home. I hadn't heard her say so many words in weeks and I was more than happy to sit and listen to whatever she wanted to say to me.
When we pulled up to the street Asher and I both lived on, she looked over at me.
"So, what are you and Asher going to do now that you're home?"
I gave her a puzzled look. "What do you mean?"
"Well, there's barely a night when you guys have been apart since school started. Are you going to have a hard time sleeping apart from him?" Odd. I hadn't even thought of that. I spent nearly every night with him and we alternated between his house and my dorm. Most of the time, ok half of the time, there wasn't even anything sexual about it. We just knew that we would sleep together. Wherever he was, I was. We never even really spoke about it. It was just the way things were. Reeve was right; I did think I would have a hard time sleeping without him. Impossible? No. Undesirable? Definitely.
"I don't know. I guess we'll just see what happens."
"Meaning that you'll have Asher sneak into your house after your dad has gone to sleep?"
I grinned at her.
"If that's what it takes," I said through laughter. She pulled up to my house and parked on the street. Asher slowly pulled up next to her car and rolled down his window. I got my bags out of Reeve's trunk and she waved as she drove towards her house. I walked over to Asher's window and set my bags down next to my feet, leaning into his window. "Hey. How was your drive?"
"Slow. Reeve needs to put the pedal to the metal a little bit." I rolled my eyes.
"You could have just passed her."
"No. You know I just want to make sure you get home ok." I gave him a small peck and then pulled back.
"That might be the most action you get for two whole weeks."
"Uh, what are you talking about?"
I laughed as I watched panic rush over his face.
"Have you thought about how coming back home for break has basically put us back into high school? I mean, there's no way my dad is going to let you sleep over. And I'm sure your parents won't appreciate me spending the night at your house." I saw the realization come over him.