You and Me

Chapter 8: Zac Attack

Wes’s POV

A month had passed since that first date with Lori.  And I spent every waking moment thinking about her.  And when I’m not awake, I dream about her.  I don’t know what’s wrong with me.  I don’t know why I’m so attracted—no, captivated—by her.  This has never happened before.  I’ve dated before, but never one girl at a time.  Never this seriously.  And never for this long.

But she’s different.  She’s intelligent.  And unintentionally funny.  She didn’t fall for my usual tricks like other girls.  She’s not afraid to fight back, which might seem annoying, but it’s actually refreshing.  And most importantly, she has made me unwilling to let her go.

Slowly by slowly, we discovered all of Atlanta together.  From the most popular tourist attractions to the local hotspots, we’d seen them all.  CNN, Coca-Cola, Centennial Olympic Park, you name it.  And yet I still wanted to spend more time with her.  I wanted to spend all my time with her.

The weird thing was that I never introduced my lady friends to Zac.  Never.  These girls were temporary, and I never made a move that would give them a more permanent hold on my life.  With Lori, that wasn’t the case.  She and Zac were good friends, too.  As surprising as this was, my former experience made me want to pull her even closer.

5. If a woman befriends your best friend willingly, she’s not just a fling.

She and Zac were great friends.  In fact, they were at a Tech party together right now.  But I wasn’t comfortable going there.  I didn’t want to cause another scene like at the aquarium.  So, I told them I couldn’t find a babysitter for Cassy, who had taken quite a liking to Lori as well. 

6. If your baby sister doesn’t cry at the sight of her, she’s not an evil witch.

Lori was really genuine.  Even at her tender age of 4 years old, Cassy was a great judge of character.  And she warmed up to Lori right away.   Lori wasn’t temporary anymore.  So I decided to make things even more permanent.

I asked her to be my girlfriend.

And she agreed.

* * *

Lori’s POV

Five.  That was Zac’s fifth beer, and I was really starting to regret coming to this party.  See, Zac and Wes had been invited to a party on campus.  Wes told me that never went to frat parties because he didn’t want to be a bad influence on Cassy, his adorable kid sister.  And since he was out of the picture, Zac begged me to come with him. 

I thought it would be fun.  I thought I’d get to meet people and let loose.  And plus, I wanted to hang out with Zac since I spent the majority of my time either with Wes or at work.  So, I agreed to come along.  But after watching the intense grinding and the constant puking, I realized that I was better off staying home with Wes and Cass.  At least if Cassy threw up on me, it wouldn’t be from an endless intake of alcohol.

So, I banished myself to a corner and watched Zac get more and more drunk by the minute.  Sigh. 

* * *

It was about 11:30 pm when I had finally had enough.  A drunk football player was hitting on me, and I didn’t want to go to jail for murder.  My curfew was midnight, so I decided to grab my incredibly drunk friend and head home.  Surprisingly enough, Zac was still conscious; I found him flirting with some girl on the front steps. 

“Zac!  Come on!  Let’s goooo!!” I called to the drunken idiot.  The boy simply looked at me.  He walked over to where I was standing.

“Loorii, I’m gonna geh laaaaaaiid,” he slurred, trying to keep his voice down and failing miserably.  The girl he’d been talking to clearly wasn’t as drunk as him.  When she heard his words, she wobbled her way over to us.

“You asshole!  I’m not sleepin’ with you!” she exclaimed.  With a hard slap to his face, she turned and walk back inside the frat house.  Zac fell down the stairs from the impact of the slap, and I quickly ran down beside him.

Zac was dazed, but he seemed more upset at the lost opportunity than the fall.  “Awww, Lor!!  Why’d’ya do tha…?  Kelly woulda come ‘round,” he complained.   “Or was it Kayla? Or Kylie...?”  He continued to spout names as I watched. 

Amused at his drunken behavior, I took his hand and helped him to his feet.  “Come on, Zachy.  You probably wouldn’t be so desperate if you weren’t so drunk,” I finished, mainly to myself.  We walked a few steps when Zac responded, “Yeah… Maybe nah.”

We struggled to walk, but we slowly made our way off campus and to our neighboring homes.  The entire time, Zac kept mumbling something about parties and getting girls.  I mainly ignored him until a familiar name caught my attention.

“…and Wes gets sooo drunk…,” Zac was saying.  Wait, what?  "But he always wins..."

Wins?  "What do you mean, Zac?" I asked, unable to control my curiousity.

He answered slowly, "Wes and Matt, our friend, have a bet to see who can get the most girls at e'ry partyyy."

“Wait,I thought Wes said he doesn't come to these parties?” I questioned.  I could feel my heart beating rapidly.  Maybe he used to but doesn’t anymore… 

“Yeaah…he comes.” Or not.  “‘Cept tonight.  Cuz o’ you,” he replied, barely coherent.  Me?  He didn’t come to the party because of me?

“What do I have to do with him going to a party?”  I was desperate to find out.  My heart was sinking slowly into my stomach.

“Cuz he can’t get action from da ladies wit you watchin’,” he stated as if it was obvious.  Action?  Ladies?  As in multiple?  So he is a player.  And he lied to me.  Yes, I was angry.  Butmore than that, I was hurt.  I thought he was different.  I was starting to fall for him.  But to him, I was just another girl.

I thought I’d been analyzing this newfound information silently, so I was shocked when Zac answered, “‘M surprised too.  Wes is all ‘bout getting some and movin’ on.”  Every word Zac uttered hit me in the gut like a punch.  Zac was Wes’s best friend. Meaning, he knew him better than anyone else.  If Zac thinks Wes is a notorious player, then he is.  Wes was just waiting for me to give myself to him.  This was just a game for him.  And when he won, he would move on.

At this point, tears were falling silently down my face.  I would wait to throw the whole tantrum when I got back to Aunt Cynthia’s condo.  I refused to call that place home anymore.  That wasn't my home.  Home is where the people are that care about you.  And I'm pretty sure I didn't have any of those here.  

Could my life get any worse?

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(Picture of Cassy)