What Happened at East Houston Street

Chapter 14

Lauren threw her cellphone across the room, hitting a lamp on her bedside table. Once she had gotten back to her apartment, she had called Brent five times with no answer. An hour earlier, she had helped Kelsey get into her dorm room and wiped the mascara off of her cheeks with a warm wet cloth. She tucked her into bed and laid next to her, while soothingly running her hand up and down her back. Kelsey choked out details of the night's events, becoming hysterical when she got to the part about Brent's assault.

"I'm so sorry, Lauren! I tried to tell him no, but he wouldn't stop!" The girl, hyperventilating at that point, was heaving up and down while laying on her side, clutching her pillow to her chest.

"Ssshhhhh." Lauren whispered, never stopping her hand motion over Kelsey's back.

"I shouldn't have been that close to him," she continued, once she got her breathing under control again. "I knew about you. I knew I shouldn't have let him keep kissing me."
Kelsey continued to sob, burying the sound into her pillow, unable to look Lauren in the eyes, guilty that she was so intimate with the older girl's serious boyfriend.

"Hey, hey, it's okay, Kelsey," she reassured her.

The truth was that Lauren wasn't angry with Kelsey. She knew what these frat parties were like. She knew what Brent could be like when he drank too much, because unbeknownst to anyone, he had done the same thing to her during their freshman year.

Lauren had attended a party at the Kappa Sigma frat after the "Spring Freshman Fling" dance. Dressed in an above-the-knee velvet cocktail dress, she had a great time at the dance, grinding on the dance floor with her roommate and some friends from their dorm. Still high on good music and laughter, the girls decided to continue their night by going to the off-campus party. As soon as they arrived, they were met with eager advances from the guys and unfriendly glares from the older sorority sisters who were there, unhappy to have competition at the party.

As the night went on and the girls drank more, they made their way to the makeshift dance floor in the living room, kicking off their heels so they could break out all of their moves. The wood floor was sticky from spilled fruity mixed drinks and the room was dark. The music thumped as Lauren and her friends promiscuously danced, trying to outdo the other with their ridiculous moves. Lauren would run her hands from her shoulders down to her knees, crouching all the way down to the floor and back up. Her friends would laugh at her as she pouted her lips to make a duck face. They were more so trying to make each other laugh, as opposed to attracting the men at the party. They were having a great time together all night, just dancing and laughing and drinking fruity cocktails.

After about a half hour of hardcore dancing, the girls fell onto an empty couch, giddy and exhausted by their goofy antics. A few of the guys at the party took this as an opportunity to approach the girls. One, in particular, was extremely friendly to Lauren.

"Hey," greeted a tall guy with some extra meat on his bones, who was wearing a backwards baseball cap. He sat on the arm of the couch, directly next to Lauren.

Lauren, half slumped on the couch, dress riding up her thighs a little, looked over at him.

"Hi," she gave a soft reply.

"How's your night going?" He continued the conversation.

"It's good," she replied, a little bored.

The guy, holding a red plastic cup, tilted his head back and chugged the rest of his drink.
"I'm Brent. Wanna dance a little?"

Lauren, tired now from having already danced for the majority of her night, answered. "Um, I left all of my dance moves on the floor earlier, but I am a little thirsty." She raised her empty cup and her eyebrows at him, hinting that she could use a refill.

"You got it!" He took her empty cup from her and walked out of sight into the kitchen. A moment later, he returned with a full drink for Lauren.

"Thanks," she said, retrieving the cup from him and taking a sip. After finishing her beverage, she was feeling energized and ready to dance again. Turning to her friends on the couch, she tried to rally them for round two on the dance floor. "Get your bitch assess up, ladies! Let's go bust a move!" She twirled her arms over her head at the last sentence. The girls didn't move, still slumped on the couch, amusingly annoyed at their friend's second wind.

"Fuck no, Laur! My feet are killing me!" her friend, Abby, shouted from her seated position. The other girls chimed in with their agreement that their feet hurt too and that they had no intentions of dancing.

Watching the exchange from the side of the room, Brent took this opportunity to offer his services. "I'll dance with you, babe," he interjected, pulling Lauren backwards into him. Surprised by the sudden contact, she stumbled back, falling into his tight embrace.

He was really tall and strong and Lauren was in the mood to dance, so she let Brent lead her to the middle of the living room where they moved their bodies together to the beat of "Gold Digger" by Kanye West. Having danced closely with guys at parties before, she wasn't the least bit surprised when she felt his erection push into her when they got a little too close. Brent took Lauren's nonchalance as a sign that she liked it, so he pulled her closer, pushing his hips up to meet her clothed core. At the brazenness of this action, she decided it was time to go home.

Lauren pushed herself out of Brent's embrace, letting him know it was time for her to leave. "I'm gonna get going. I'm tired and I need to find my friends." She craned her neck to look around the dark room, not seeing her friends anywhere. She went back to the couch they were sitting on earlier, but found a new group of people occupying it now. She pulled her cellphone out of her wristlet and opened the group text the girls had going.

Where the fuck did you guys go?

She hit the send button and waited for a response. Meanwhile, Brent had made his way over to her, shifting his pants around, readjusting himself. Lauren, still staring at her phone screen, still waiting for a response, didn't notice him behind her.

"Hey, I can walk you back if your friends left," he offered. She jumped slightly at his voice. "It's late and I live in the dorms too," he added. Lauren looked at Brent and weighed her options. She could wait to see if her friends texted her back and possibly have to walk a half mile to her dorm or she could take him up on his offer to walk with her. Commonwealth Avenue could get a little scary at this time of night and she didn't exactly have on running shoes, she thought while looking down at her three inch heels.

Brent spoke again. "I'm sorry about earlier. I know I was dancing a little too close, but I got excited. You're a really pretty girl so I got a little out of control," he blushed, looking down at his hands. She found his shyness at this moment endearing and decided to let him walk her home.

As the two walked at a slow pace, mostly because Lauren was wearing heels, they talked about their hometowns and their families. One of the first things Brent talked about was his family's real estate holdings, naming all of the towns they were eyeing for expansion. Lauren, not really interested in business, wasn't paying close attention. She gave an "oh cool" or "hmmm" here and there to be nice, but her mind was mostly focused on how much her feet hurt in the heels. She stumbled a few times over the uneven bricks on the sidewalk, which he noticed and offered to help.

"Here," he stopped walking and crouched down, offering her a piggyback ride.
Laughing at the childlike gesture, Lauren started to warm to Brent. She happily jumped onto his back and away they went. He held the back of her knees tightly as he ran down the curving sidewalk, bringing them closer to the reservoir.

"Hey!" Lauren chuckled, bouncing up and down from the force of his running. "Campus is the other way! Where are you going?"

Brent didn't respond, continuing his fast pace down towards the edge of the reservoir. Lauren had stopped laughing by now and the force of the bouncing against his broad back was becoming painful. Her legs were starting to throb and her arms were tired from holding onto his thick neck.
"Brent, wait," she choked out jaggedly. "It hurts! Stop running!"

He slowed down once they got to the running trail that edged along the water, crouching down to let her jump off.
"Finally!" she said, rubbing her wrists that were sore from holding onto him so tightly.

"Wow! What kind of a thank you is that?" he snorted, shaking his head. "I carried you all this way, while you were choking me, I might add, and this is how you act?" He tried to give off a teasing tone, but Lauren sensed a hint of anger in his voice.

Before she could apologize, he had his arms around her waist and stared deep into her blue eyes.

"I'm sorry," he said, a small smirk forming on his lips. "I'm like a bull in a china shop with you. I don't realize my own strength sometimes." His words dripped with sincerity.

Lauren, liking this softer side of him, decided to give him a chance. Soon they were kissing open mouthed right there along the edge of the water. Brent was the first to pull away and said, "Let me make it up to you. Can I take you to dinner tomorrow night?"

Lauren, stunned by his sweetness, didn't say a word. She gave her response with a soft kiss to his cheek and nodded.

Brent met Lauren the next evening in the lobby of the dorm building. He wore a navy suit jacket over a lighter blue dress shirt. Though his outfit was nice, there was some minor lack of attention to detail. His dress pants were wrinkled and he wore a pair of slip-on boat shoes that didn't really go with the rest of his ensemble. He paced the small area of the lobby with his head down and his hands in his pockets.

"What? No tie for our first date?" Lauren, dressed in a short black skirt, flowy top, and wedge shoes, chuckled as she greeted him at the front door.

A smile lit up Brent's face as he took in her appearance, his eyes lingering a little too long on the area just below her neckline.

"What? No three inch heels for our first date?" he retorted. "I guess I won't be giving you any piggy back rides tonight, huh?" He wiggled his eyebrows at the last sentence.

The two made their way to an Italian restaurant in the North End. Brent opted for them to take a taxi, and they sat in the rear of the hired vehicle, his legs spread out far, taking up two-thirds of the backseat. Their knees touched due to the lack of space and Brent took Lauren's hand in his, holding it a little too close to his crotch area. The ride across the city was silent for the most part, but Brent took a few opportunities to point out buildings in the downtown area that his family had either sold or purchased at one time or another.

Dinner was awkward at first. Lauren chewed on bread as she looked around at the Italian artwork on the walls of the tiny restaurant. Brent slumped in his chair, playing with the wrapper from his straw. They each ordered their meals and, after the waiter left, Brent pulled a silver flask out of the inside pocket of his suit jacket. Lauren looked at him with wide eyes, a mischievous grin spreading across her face. He took this as a signal that she wanted some and sneakily poured some vodka into her Diet Coke. He did the same to his own drink and put the flask back into his pocket.

"Cheers to underage drinking!" he toasted, holding his glass of soda up to meet Lauren's.

"Cheers to the existence of flasks!" she added, as she clinked the rim of her glass against her date's.

As the two stumbled out of the restaurant onto the cobblestone sidewalk, Brent pulled her into a tight embrace. She shrank into his tall stature and pressed her cheek to his chest, mostly to get air.

"I don't want to go back to the dorms yet," he said. "I'm having so much fun with you. Let's go for a walk along the water." His voice was low and his eyes shone with the standard amount of lust for a guy his age.

Lauren smiled, looking down as she composed her reply in her head. She liked him. He was really sweet at times, so she didn't see the harm in continuing the date with a walk around the water. It was a beautiful night and it wasn't even late yet. There were still people around.

They strolled down Hanover Street, sharing swigs from Brent's flask, giggling the entire way. It was a lot quieter at the end of the street, away from the restaurants and bars, the area becoming more residential. They found a small park that edged the harbor and they stood together, swaying, watching the calm water. Brent wrapped his big hands around Lauren's waist and goofily smiled down at her, eyes half open.

She giggled at the big oaf in front of her. "You doing okay there, Brent? Don't fall asleep on me. I won't be able to carry your ass home!"

He kept smiling at her, giving no response to her teasing. Instead his mouth fell open onto hers and he was soon sucking on her bottom lip, leaving sloppy trails of spit on her chin. She didn't return his kiss. Unbothered by her lack of participation, Brent continued, now moving his hands down past her hips and under her dress, to the edges of her backside, aggressively squeezing her flesh in both hands. She let out a shrill noise, her skin stinging from his grip. She stood motionless, her hands resting against her chest. He brought her down onto the grass behind a bench. With one hand, he had managed to lower his pants and then lift her skirt with the other, bunching it around her waist, not waiting for permission before he thrust himself into her. The mixture of vodka and lust made his motions sloppy and he would fall flat on top of her after every few thrusts. He was heavy and tall. Lauren had no chance against his oversized frame. She stayed quiet the entire time and hardly moved a muscle, in disbelief that she was becoming a date rape statistic. She felt nothing except humiliation.

Brent hailed a taxi for them and they sat in silence during the ride home. He leaned back against the seat and she inched as close to the window as she could, holding her head in her hand. When the car arrived at the at the dorm, Lauren jumped out and slammed the door, running to the front entrance of the building and stopping to look for her key in her purse. Brent threw $30 at the driver and left the taxi in a hurry, rushing to Lauren, who was still fumbling through her bag in front of the locked door.

"Hey, hey," he said in a low, stern voice once he caught up to her. She didn't even look up, on a mission to get inside the dorm and away from the large barbarian next to her.

He persisted. "Lauren," he said, softer now.

She stopped her search for her key and let out a long sigh, looking up at him, tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry," he pleaded, tears in his eyes too. "I just...I really like you. You're so beautiful. I got carried away."

Her hands fell to her sides as she let out a sob that she had been holding back during the car ride home.

Brent wrapped his big arms around her and whispered, "I'm sorry. It won't happen again. I promise."

She continued to cry into his chest, allowing him to hold her. How could he be so sweet one minute and turn into a complete monster the next? she thought. She was used to cocky rich boys from her upbringing and never found them attractive. Brent was different though. He had a sweet side. She really believed him when he said he was sorry, his puppy dog eyes brimming with tears.

"Okay," she whispered into his chest, not raising her head to look at him.