chapter 16

someone new

Chapter 16

            I walked out into a cool, brisk Halloween morning and decided to hoof it home, since it was only a mile from the KA house on the edge of campus to my apartment. I stopped in at Starbucks on the way and grabbed a cup of coffee and a scone. I sat down at a table by myself, enjoying my breakfast when my phone rang. It was my dad.

            "Hey daddy!" I greeted him.

            "Good morning baby girl. What are you up to?" Charles Robinson asked.

            "I'm siting at Starbucks, actually. It was a good morning for a walk, so I came over here," I lied. A little.

            "That sounds nice. It's going to be a cold Halloween up here."

            "Where are you?"

            "I'm home, for now. I have a flight to D.C this afternoon. So, what are your plans for tonight?"

            "Hilary is in town and we are going to a couple parties on Greek Row."

            "Hilary is in Mobile? That's great, honey! Y'all be careful tonight, no driving!" Daddy warned.

            As if I needed the reminder. Maddie hasn't been gone that long.

            "I know, dad. We are walking over from my apartment, since it is only about a mile and we will cab it home."

            "Good girl. Well, I'll let you finish your meal. I just wanted to check in. Love you."

            "Love you, too, dad." I said and closed my phone.

            My relationship with my dad has been getting better, since I am down here. We talk regularly and haven't gotten into a fight since the night I left home. He was really supportive when I was having a hard time with Maddie's death, and offered to pay for grief counseling, if I wanted it. He hasn't pushed me. I know he wants me to come see him, but I don't know when I will. I was thinking that if he isn’t going to be in D.C over Thanksgiving, I'd invite him down here.

            I finished up my breakfast and walked the rest of the way home. When I walked into my apartment, I saw Hilary in the kitchen cooking breakfast, wearing only Jared's t-shift.

            "Looks like you had a good night," I said, laying my bag and keys on the kitchen island.

            "I did. Jared is a sweetie. And a pretty good lay," Hilary said, sliding a pan of biscuits in the oven. "How was your night? Did you get laid by the oil tycoon?"

            "No, actually. We kissed and cuddled and talked into the wee hours of the morning."

            "That is so PG."

            "It is what it is, Hil. You know I'm not the type to just jump into bed with someone. I don't even know if it is going anywhere or if we are just going to be friends. I'm not sure I'm ready."

            "Let me remind you--YOU are the one who let a Colt go, not the other way around."

            "That doesn't mean I'm over him."

            "I realize that, Harleigh, but like I told you the other day, go get him back or move on."

            "I'm trying. I think Matthew really likes me, though, so I need to tread carefully. I don't want to break another guy's heart."

            "Hell, you're breaking them and I'm just lucky to snag one."

            "Maybe you and Jared will work out."

            "That's a long distance relationships, Harleigh. I don't know if I can do it."

            "You can always transfer here once we finish out this year."

            "My grades suck. I'll be lucky if ECU decides to keep me."

            "Quit partying so much and buckle down."

            "Easier said than done, Harleigh. It's ECU, one of the biggest party schools on the east coast. Maybe even in the country."

            "Whatever. If it is something you want, you'll figure out a way," I said, smiling as I walked out to my balcony with a cigarette.

 

            The morning grew warm, so Hilary and I decided to spend the better part of the day on the Bay beach, just a few steps from my apartment.

            "This is the life," Hilary said from her reclined beach chair beside me.

            "That it is," I agreed, lighting up a cigarette.

            "I know we are partying tonight, but what are the plans for tomorrow?"

            "They have a Day of the Dead thing going on downtown all day and I thought it might be fun to dress up and go," I replied, rolling over to get some sun on my back.

            "That does sound like fun."

            "I've heard it is. Street shows, all kinds of vendors, bars. We can cab it there and back."

            "Are Seth and Jared going?"

            "Yes, and so is Emma. I was thinking I'd ask Matthew if he wants to go with us so I won't be the odd man out."

            "You should. It looked like y'all are getting along pretty good last night. I would love to see you back with Colt, but I understand where you are coming from. As long as you are happy, I'm happy."

            "Thank you, Hilary, that means a lot."

            "You're welcome."

 

            We sat on the beach through lunch and well into the afternoon. Around four, we went back up to my apartment to start getting ready for the party.

            "I'm starving," Hillary said, opening up the refrigerator. "What are we doing for supper?"

            "I was thinking about throwing some chicken breast on the grill and whipping up some potato salad. We need to eat something heavy and hydrate if we are going to be drinking all night," I said.

            "Do we have time? When are we leaving?"

            "Oh yeah. Emma is supposed to be here around seven-ish so we can all get ready together. I can call her and see if she wants to head over now and have dinner with us. We can have girl time."

            "We can do that. I like Emma. She's a sweet girl."

            "I feel the same way. I'll go call her," I said, taking my phone and a cigarette out to the balcony.

            Emma agreed to come early to hang out and said she would be there in a half an hour. I went inside and seasoned up some chicken, before grabbing a bag of charcoal out of my pantry.

            "Hil, will you start cutting up potatoes for me and get them boiling? I'm going down to get the grill ready."

            "No problem," Hilary said, pulling a pot out from under the sink.

           

            Within a half an hour, the potato salad was finished and I was just getting ready to put the chicken on the grill when Emma knocked on the door.

            "Come in!" I called out to her.

            "Hey y'all! Thank you for inviting me to supper!" Emma said, handing me a pack of dinner rolls and some chips and queso to munch on before supper.

            "It's not problem! We love hanging out with you!" I said, giving her a hug.

            “So, Hilary, I saw that Jared stayed over last night!’ Emma said with a grin on her face.

            “Yes, he did and it was wonderful! I think I’m in love!” Hilary laughed.

            “Don’t rush it, Hil,” I said, rolling my eyes.

            “I’m kidding.” Hilary said. “I do like him, though. I wouldn’t mind seeing where it goes.”

            “Good for you,” Emma said, turning to me. “And you and Langley?”

            “I’m not sure yet. I spent the night with him last night but nothing happened…like Hilary told me this morning, it was so PG. All we did was stay up late and talk and kiss,” I said, taking a swig of my beer. “I like him, though. I’ll just have to see what happens there.”

            “It’s got to be hard to compete with Colt Black,” Emma said.

            “He doesn’t know anything about Colt, and I would like to keep it that way, for now anyway.”

            “It’s going to come out at some point,” Hilary said.

            “I know, but I’m just not ready for that conversation. I’d like to wait until I know what is going on before I even go down that road.”

            “What happened with you and Colt?” Emma asked.

            “Like I said, I broke his heart. I couldn’t handle my s**t when Maddie died and I let him go. I was in a bad way for a few weeks.  My heart still breaks when I think about it, but it’s done and if we are meant to be together, we will find our way back to each other one way or another.”

            “Well, whatever happens, we just want you to be happy, Harleigh,” Hilary said, giving me a hug. “Now, enough with this emotional stuff! Lets get our grub on so we can get dressed up for tonight! I love frat parties!”

            Emma and I laughed and reached for another beer. I grabbed the plate of chicken to throw on the grill and a cigarette and headed downstairs.

 

 

By the time we finished eating, the sun was starting to set and the air was getting a little chilly.  We all stood together in front of the mirror in my master bathroom, putting on s****y makeup and fixing our hair. We looked pretty good. When the Seth and Jared came up to get us at nine o’clock, were ready to go and already half tipsy. The idea of hydrating this afternoon didn’t pan out. We were having too good of a time and the veers just kept flowing. I had a feeling it was going o be a long walk to the KA house, even though it was only a mile away.

When we started walking down Greek Row, we saw cars parked everywhere; on the streets, driveways and yards. It seemed as thought the entire student body of the University of South Alabama was on Greek Row for the Halloween parties. I was glad that we didn’t even bother trying to drive, we wouldn’t have had a place to park anyway. 

We walked in the door and looked around the full KA house for the rest of our friends. I wanted see Matthew and see what last night was all about.  I spotted him coming down the stairs in a pirate costume looking cute as can be. He spotted me and smiled and made his way over.  When he got close, he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me in for a soft, sweet kiss. I think I had the answer to my earlier questions. He liked me and wanted me for more than just a night. Butterflies started going crazy in my stomach and I felt my cheeks redden when he finally pulled away.

“How are you?” He asked, smiling down at me.

“I’m pretty good. Did you have a good day?”

“It would have been better if I had woken up with you still laying beside me, but at least you left me a note so I know that you didn’t just ditch me.”

“Well, I didn’t want to stay too late, I do have company staying with me, you know,” I said, smiling.

“I know. What do you think about me coming home with you tonight? Whenever you are ready. I have a feeling I am going to be tired of this party and ready to relax before anyone else is, and I’m pretty sure Jared will be staying over again tonight and Hilary will be occupied anyway,” Matthew said, winking at Jared.

“Oh, he will be, if I have anything to do with it,” Hilary said, grabbing Jared around the waist. His face turned red and we all laughed.

“Well, in that case….” I said, smiling.

“Just let me know when y’all are ready to leave and I will go with you. I need to go make my rounds and play host for a minute, I’ll find you again shortly,” Matthew said, planting a light kiss on my forehead.

Hilary, Emma and I left the boys standing there talking and went in search of a beer. At the back of the house in the kitchen, we found some of Matthew’s fraternity brothers digging in the refrigerator.

“Can we get a beer?” I asked.

“Yeah, there’s a keg out on the porch. $2.00 a cup,” a tall, red headed boy said, with out even looking up from the fridge.

“Thank you,” I said, turning to walk off.

“Wait! Are you Harleigh?” the red head asked.

“I am,” I said, turning back around.

“I’m Paul, one of Matt’s brothers. He told me you would be here. You and your girls can have the good beer in the bottles,” Paul said, handing us each a Sam Adams Oktoberfest.

“Thank you! What other VIP privileges do we get?” Hilary asked, laughing.

“Y’all can drink whatever we drink, don’t even bother with the cheap s**t. If someone says something about you getting into this refrigerator, tell them Matt said you can and you won’t have a problem,” Paul told us. He turned up his own Sam Adams and took a swig.

“Well, well, Harleigh. Looks like you’ve snagged another one,” Emma said, elbowing me in my side.

“Oh you just hush!” I said, elbowing her back.

“You should be proud, Matt is hard to snag,” Paul said. “I think I’ve only known him to date one other girl the whole time we have been here.”

“We aren’t dating,” I said.

“Yet,” Paul laughed. “Trust me, you will be before long. Especially if everything he has said about you is true, his daddy will love you. Now go on and enjoy the party.”

“Thank you, Paul,” I said, heading out of the kitchen before he saw my face turn red.

            The night flew on. We danced. We drank. We talked and raised hell. It was a good night and I was glad to be able to spend it with my best friend, even if she was a little preoccupied with Jared.

            “Are you ready to get out of here?” Matthew asked, tossing an empty beer bottle into one of the several trash cans around the house.

            “I believe I am. This costume is starting to itch and I am dying for something comfortable,” I said, smiling.

            “Well, go get your friends and I will call us a cab,” Matthew said.

            “Alright,” I agreed and went in search of Hilary, Seth, Jared and Emma. I found them sitting on a couch in the den, Jared and Seth both passed out on Hilary and Emma’s shoulders.

            “Please tell me you’re coming to tell us it is time to go?” Hilary asked.

            “Yeah, Matthew is calling us a cab as we speak,” I said, laughing. “How long have they been asleep?”
            “Not too long, thank God. Seth is heavy,” Emma said. She shook him. “Wake up, Seth. It’s time to go.”

            “Go where?” Seth asked, groggily.

            “Home,” Emma said. “Matthew called us a cab and it should be here in a few minutes. We need to go outside and wait on it.”

            We piled into a taxi van and rode the mile from Fraternity Row to my apartment on the Bay. It was possibly the cheapest cab ride any of us had ever taken. Hilary and Emma went with Seth and Jared to their apartment, and Matthew and I went upstairs to mine.

            “Wow, this place is nice,” Matthew said when we walked inside.

“I know, I lucked out when I picked this place out,” I agreed, throwing my keys on the bar.  “You want something to drink? Water, Pepsi, beer, a nightcap?”    

“A Pepsi sounds good,” Matthew said, sitting down on a bar stool, looking cool and comfortable in a plain white t-shirt and pair of gray American Eagle sweatpants and Reef flip-flops.

“Here you go,” I said, sitting the can of Pepsi on the bar in front of him. “I am going to go change into something more comfortable. I can’t stand this costume anymore. I’ll be right back.”

I went into my bedroom and tore off that annoying, itchy gangster girl costume and threw on a pair of white sweatpants and a pink camisole, threw my hair up into a messy bun on top of my head, slipped on my rainbow’s and shrugged on a black North Face fleece jacket.

            When I went back out into the living room, I found Matthew thumbing through my cd case that sat on the T.V. stand.

            “Find anything you like?”

            “A lot. You have really good taste in music, eclectic,” Matthew said, pulling out Evan’s Blue and popping it into my cd player.

            “That’s one of my favorites,” I said, when the music started playing.

            “Mine, too.”

            “Do you want to go sit on the balcony for a little bit? It’s such a nice night.”

            “Sure,” Matthew said, following me outside.

            “I love it out here. It’s my favorite place to be. I can sit out here for hours and just listen to the waves crash on the beach,” I said, lighting a cigarette, before taking a swig of my diet Pepsi.

            “It’s nice. Reminds me of our place over in Destin. Have you ever been?”

            “Yeah, a few times, with a couple friends from high school. Hilary, actually, and our friend Madison, who died a couple months ago. Her parents rented a house down there for two weeks every summer since we were in like sixth grade. I love it. It’s what made me want to move down to the Gulf.”

            “I spent almost every summer there as long as I can remember. Our entire, crazy family would go for the month of July every year. It was so fun, wild, free.”

 

            Matthew and I stayed up the whole night talking, and it felt so natural. It was easy to talk to him. Sure, I loved Colt, and probably always would, but I was starting to develop real feelings for the son of a Texas oil tycoon.

 

And that was the beginning of us.

 

Author's Note

this is the end....but there is a sequel in the works. I was having trouble bringing this to an appropriate end, so if anyone has any ideas on how to end it differently, I am all ears! thank you!!!