LbA: Two Clues

A/N: Hey guys!  Just wanted to remind everyone there will be a post per day through Tuesday.  If you missed yesterday's post, make sure to go back and read that one first!  Loving the comments, btw :)

~A

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“I’m so embarrassed!” I moaned from beneath my comforter, dragging out the last two words for added emphasis.

And my dear bestie was lying in her bed laughing her head off.  Supportive, that one is.

“Sarah, quit!  You don’t even understand.”

“Okay, okay,” she gasped, between sobs.  She was now sobbing from laughing so hard.  Literally.  Tears running down her face.  Jerk.  “Sorry not sorry, but please finish telling me.”

I moaned again, but finished telling her what happened.  “I literally made it to the bathroom with pants dropped and on the toilet with fan on in record time.  If the track coach had seen me, he would’ve been recruiting me for y’alls upcoming season.  I’m literally sitting there praying that Chase had the tv on blast mode as my insides are exploding and pouring their hate of life into the toilet.” I cringed thinking back to what had unfolded on the toilet.  I continued, sadly, “I tried to be quiet... but there was just no volume control.”

With that, Sarah burst into a new fit of giggles.

“ANYWAY,” I loudly interrupted, “I thought I had finished and was just sitting there to ensure my mission was successful, and thanks to Chase’s bathroom clock I had been in there for exactly 8 minutes and 43 seconds, when I felt round two building up.  And I’m not even joking when I tell you right when I was about to just let all hell break loose, there was a timid knock at the door.  Chase was freaking coming to check on me and make sure I was okay!”

“The nerve!” Sarah teasingly chimed in.

I rolled my eyes and continued.  “I wanted to shrivel up and die.  I really contemplated trying to sneak out of his apartment without him seeing and never talking to him again.  After another 10 minutes of sitting on the toilet and debating on whether to sneak out or not, I decided to just face him.  I luckily found an air freshener under his sink, so I doused that baby in Fresh Linen and called it a day.”

“What did he say when you walked out?”

“Well, he really is a good guy.  He didn’t even see me at first, or hear me for that matter, because he had the tv on so loud.  So I walked over there.  He probably noticed my head hanging down, and if I’d had a tail, it would’ve been between my legs for sure.  He looked really concerned and asked if I was okay and if the food he made had caused me to get sick.  I told him I didn’t think so.  Obviously he wasn’t reacting like I did, so it wasn’t the food since we ate the exact same thing.  I felt bad that he thought he caused it.  I told him that maybe I just had a bug, or I was nervous or stressed and that was my body’s unfortunate reaction.”

“And so you decided to bear the shame and not the pain, right?”

“Seriously, I didn’t even have a choice.  If I had tried to bear the pain I would’ve had to bear the shame all over his couch.  Or floor.  Or who knows where.  But needless to say, there was no more sexy time.  We literally watched the movie and I left.  He was sweet enough to pull me over and lay my head in his lap and play with my hair.”

“Well, I think that’s a good sign.  If he was completely disgusted by you he would’ve faked being tired, or insisted you went home because you were sick, or just not touched you at all.”

“I hope you’re right.  I’m never going to forget this.  But I sure hope he does!”

“So, not to be rude, but I’m changing the subject.”

“Rude.”  I rolled over on my side so I could see Sarah, and she was on her side, propping her head up on her hand looking at me.

“Halloween.  What are your plans?”

“Dude.  That is so far away still.”  Have I ever mentioned that Sarah is a planner, and I’m definitely not?

“Three weeks and six days to be exact.”

I shook my head and rolled my eyes at her.  “I don’t have any plans.  You should know better than that.”

“I figured.  So I was thinking that we could double date and go to the corn maze and haunted house?  And then come back to campus because there are several big parties going on.  I mean, if Chase is still talking to you after last night.”

I narrowed my eyes at her, but knew she was just giving me a hard time so I chose to ignore her comment.  “I’ll talk to Chase about it and see what he thinks.”

“And maybe we can find a foursome costume?  Or have a theme as couples?”

“Yeah, whatever.  Let me make sure he doesn’t already have plans before you come up with some great idea and I have to ruin it because Chase can’t make it.”

“Well, if he ditches you could always ask that hot detective.”

“Let me guess, Maddie?”

“I’m surprised I didn’t find out from you!”

“There is nothing to find out!”

“Uh huh, keep tellin’ yourself that.  Maddie said the sexual tension was dripping off the both of you and forming some gross mingling puddle on the floor.”

“Liar.”

“Maybe those weren’t her exact words...”

“Or maybe she didn’t say anything like that at all?” She then threw a pillow at me and hopped up to head to the common area.  I dragged myself out of bed to follow her.  For breakfast, of course.

While we were curled up on the couch eating bowls of cereal, Sarah asked me about tennis.

“The rest of the month is going to be crazy.  On Wednesday we leave for Oklahoma and won’t be back until Tuesday the 21^st.  Then we leave early morning that Friday for Iowa and won’t be back until Monday the 27^th.  But that’s the last of the invitationals.  After that we don’t compete again until regular season starts in January.  What about track?”

“Don’t forget the field part!  We have our intrasquad meet December 13^th, but don’t hit the ground running, or in my case throwing, until the middle of January.”

“Ugh, it’s always the same in the spring.  Between me traveling for tennis and you and Maddie traveling for track and field,” I emphasized, “we are never going to see each other.  Plus with you having a boyfriend, that’s going to be even less time!”

“He’s not my boyfriend... yet.”

“Yeah, key word ‘yet.’”

My phone buzzed just then and I grabbed it and saw a text from Chase.  Good morning, beautiful.  Feeling better?

I couldn’t stop the grin from taking over my face.  “He isn’t repulsed by me,” I sang happily.

“Duh,” Sarah simply said, getting up and taking her bowl to the sink.  Since I was going to be out of town the next two weekends, Sarah and I were meeting a group of people downtown at a sports bar to watch the Huskers game.  It was going to be a tough one, since they were playing Michigan State, but I was really hoping they could pull through.  We spent the day lounging around and prepping for the game.  I also was texting back and forth throughout the day with Chase.  I made sure to invite him out to the bar and he said he wouldn’t miss it.

We had quite a large and rowdy group at the bar.  We got Elena and Jeff to come out along with Maddie and Gavin.  Sarah and Matt were of course there, and Chase.  There were also some other people from the track team and some of Jeff and Gavin’s friends.  We also invited Nellie.  While everyone was decked out in Husker gear, Nellie wore what could only be described as a velour leisure suit that looked like it belonged in the 1970’s.  In mustard yellow.  Sarah and I suggested she wear some Nebraska-ish, but she said she was comfortable.  To each their own, I suppose.

During half-time, while my soul was hurting from the pounding our team was taking, we decided that shots were in order to dull the pain.  Chase and I offered to go to the bar to get them.  Unfortunately, in the battle of girls versus boys in what shot everyone was to take (there’s strength in unity), the boys won, and Jager bombs it was.  I hate Jager.  That should’ve been the first clue that the night was not going to end well.

The second clue should’ve been right after our massive group downed the shot, I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to come face to face with a girl I had gone to high school with: Amanda.

Now, Amanda and I weren’t friends in high school.  We weren’t enemies, either, just not friends.  We didn’t run in the same circles.  We didn’t hang out.  I could probably count the amount of words spoken to each other on both of my hands.  And while we weren’t friends or enemies, one of her best friends, Amber, hated me.  With a passion.  Amber had thought that her boyfriend had a thing for me, so she had spread rumors about me and treated me like dirt.  Whether he actually did or didn’t, I don’t know and will probably never know.  We were lab partners in Chemistry (how fitting, right?), but that was it.  So when she gave me a sugary sweet smile and opened up her arms to hug me, I was definitely surprised. 

“Uh, hi, Amanda.”

“Aleah!  O. M. G.  It’s so good to see you!  I feel like we haven’t talked in forever!”

“Yeah, because we haven’t.”  I’m sure the smile plastered on my face was about as fake as the Coach knockoff she was carrying.  I’m not typically judgmental of people’s possessions, but something seemed very off about this, and I was already on the defensive.

“Sooo, who are you here with?”

I turned and looked over my shoulder at the massive group of people, but didn’t want to introduce her.  Too much work to get everyone’s attention.  Plus I didn’t want her sidling up to anyone and joining us.  “Oh, just a group of people from school.  What about you?”

“Amber.”  Oh, speaking of the rumor spreading devil herself.  She haphazardly threw up a pointing finger somewhere towards the bar.  I looked over and didn’t see her, but it was also crowded, so I wasn’t surprised.  “Still with Zach?”

I furrowed my brows at her now.  I was sure she already knew that answer.  “Oh, no, but I’m dating someone.”

“Is he here?  I’d love to meet him!”

This was getting really strange now.  “Um, sure, hold on.”

I went to find Chase, who had a lively conversation going with Gavin, Jeff, and Matt about what Nebraska needed to do in the second half to try and come back from the massive deficit.  “Hey Chase, sorry, could I steal you away just for a sec?  A girl I went to high school with is over here and I guess she wants to meet you."

“Of course,” he smiled at me.  We turned around to go back to where I’d left Amanda standing and ran straight into Amber and Amanda, who had followed me over there.  Amber was smirking at me and Amanda was very obviously checking Chase out.  

 But Chase’s expression was the priceless one.

His eyebrows were raised high, and he immediately looked uncomfortable and unhappy.  “Amanda,” he sighed.