SOPHIE BROOKS:
Party, hook-up, hangover, repeat.
I don't do rules, responsibility, or monogamy.
So when the chance to sleep with the hottest Olympian swimmer in the country presents itself, you can be damn sure I take it.
And sneak out before he wa...
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"Are you going out tonight?" Jen is leaning against my doorway, looking at me sprawled out on my bed, a book propped up in front of me.
"That's the plan," I say absentmindedly as I flip to the next page.
"At the Cloud?" she continues.
"Mhmm," I hum, nodding my head slightly. "For happy hour."
Every Thursday night, the Cloud Bar has Happy hour, and I've made it a habit to swing by. The place is less crowded since it's a weeknight, and the patrons tend to be under fifty. Cheap drinks, good music, and hot people, what's not to love?
I still have yet to lift my head from my book, hoping to finish the chapter before I start getting ready, but Jen continues hovering. My eyes flick up to her, eyes narrowing a bit at her slightly nervous demeanor. "Why?"
"Can I join?" Her fingers are playing with the cross hanging around her neck, teeth gnawing at her bottom lip.
"Sure... Don't you have class in the morning?" Jen rarely goes out with me on weekdays, and Darren takes up most of her time on the weekend.
"Not till ten," she says dismissively.
"Alright, of course, you can come." I sit up, throwing the book aside. "Want me to do your makeup?"
After we both get ready, Jen gets out her car keys, and I lock up the apartment behind me. I slide into the passenger seat of Jen's car, which she got back from the mechanics today. She's been weirdly quiet the whole night, and I notice her fingers nervously fidgeting with the steering wheel.
"You know you didn't have to drive, right? We could have gotten an Uber," I say, frowning at her.
"I don't want to drink. Besides, I'm not staying long," she replies casually, but I've known her for too long not to notice the slightly tense undertone.
"Jen, is everything okay?"
"Yeah." She shoots me a somewhat convincing smile. "Why wouldn't it be?"
I raise an eyebrow, blinking at her slowly. "We both know you're gonna tell me eventually."
Her teeth sink into her bottom lip, and she looks over her shoulder before turning left. "I had a fight with Darren."
It's a testament to my perfect poker face that I don't immediately scowl at this. "What happened?"
What I really want to ask is; what did he do, and how badly do I need to beat him up? But Jen wouldn't appreciate me assuming he's at fault, although I would be willing to bet my left kidney that that's the case.
"He thinks I should drop out of school." She keeps her eyes on the road, which I suppose is responsible for a driver, but it seems more like she's trying to avoid my gaze.
I close my eyes briefly, fighting the urge to throw open the door and hunt down the sleazeball, but I stay in my seat.
"We've talked about me staying home once we have kids, at least for the first couple of years, and I really think I want to do that." She glances over at me, an earnest look on her face as if she's trying to prove to me that she means it. She doesn't have to; I believe she thinks that's what she wants. It doesn't explain why he wants her to stop her education now, though. "He says it might be nice for me to have more time for wedding planning, and I suppose he has a point. And he says it doesn't really make sense for me to do another two years if I'm just gonna end up staying home, which I guess makes sense."
