Page 1 of Love Set Me Free

Vomit on her hands was not how Paisley expected her night to unfold. She groaned as she held her best friend’s hair back, waiting patiently for her to finish emptying her guts into the random toilet in the frat house they were in.

Paisley’s eyes traveled around the small bathroom as her nose turned up while she tried to ignore Janelle retching into the toilet. The space was small and pretty much bare. There wasn’t even a shower curtain, just a thin plastic covering over the shower to stop water from getting all over the white tiled floor. It was cleaner than Paisley would have imagined a frat house bathroom would be, but not by much. Dust settled around the toilet, and she didn’t even want to think about the congealed yellow substance toward the wall behind the toilet.

“It’s okay, Nelle. Let it all out, and then we can go, okay?”

“No.” The word came out in a low groan as she rested her cheek against the seat of the toilet.

Paisley wanted to gag as she quickly pulled Janelle’s arm, causing her to sit up straight.

“Come on. Get up, girl. We need to get you back to your dorm.”

Janelle swatted at Paisley as they struggled into a standing position.

“Oh, little Paisley Pooh,” she crooned, trying to bop Paisley on the nose and missing her face completely. “You’re such a party pooper.”

“Okay, Nelle. I’ll be that,” Paisley said, trying to hide the irritation in her voice as she leaned her up against the wall and turned to scrub her hands.

She breathed slowly through her nose as she tried not to throw up too. Once her hands were clean, she realized she hadn’t flushed the toilet, and she sighed.

“Janelle, flush the toilet, and then come wash your hands.”

The sigh that came out of Janelle could have been Oscar-worthy. Being dramatic had always been her specialty. After three attempts, Janelle finally found success in flushing the toilet before she stumbled over to the sink and turned on the faucet.

While she washed her hands, their eyes connected in the mirror. Janelle offered Paisley a goofy grin, and Paisley couldn’t help but giggle as she shook her head.

“Love you, Paisley Pooh.” Janelle stuck her tongue out.

“You are a mess,” Paisley grumbled, rolling her eyes to the ceiling. “And since when did you start calling me Paisley Pooh? Only Kydrick calls me that.”

Janelle blew out a raspberry before turning off the faucet and looking around for a towel to dry her hands. When she noticed there wasn’t one, she tried using her black leather skirt, leaving wet streaks along the sides before giving up.

When Janelle finally faced Paisley, her hazel eyes looked sad. It wasn’t an expression Paisley saw on her best friend’s face often. Janelle was always the happy and outgoing one of their little trio. Not only that, but she was the type of woman to get everything she wanted. Janelle worked hard to have her heart’s desires, and she was the type of person that good things happened to. People gravitated toward her bubbly personality and her beauty. Her long black hair, hazel eyes, and her toffee-colored skin lent a hand to her outer beauty, but her softness and kindness showed how good of a person she was on the inside. Janelle had it all, so the small frown on her face alarmed Paisley.

“Kydrick…” Janelle sighed the name, slumping against the sink.

Alarmed, Paisley grabbed Janelle’s hand and asked, “What’s wrong with Kydrick?”

They had all gone their separate ways as soon as they entered the party. Paisley assumed Janelle and Kydrick had run off together since they were a couple, but when she found Janelle playing beer pong with a bunch of frat boys, she knew she had been wrong. It wasn’t long after she found Janelle that she was dragged into the bathroom to hold her best friend’s hair back. She hadn’t thought to ask about Kydrick until that moment, suddenly wondering if they had gotten into an argument or something. That had been happening more often, putting Paisley right in the middle to play referee.

Janelle waved her hand haphazardly.

“Nothing’s wrong with him, but… do you think he loves me? Like, really loves me?”

The question hit Paisley right in the chest, but she put her supportive friend hat on and pushed her feelings to the side.

“Nelle, you see the way he looks at you. Kyd would literally do anything to make you happy. He loves the ground you walk on.”

Janelle’s face scrunched up as she swayed. “You and him with your nicknames.”

Paisley’s brows pulled together.

“Does… does that bother you, Nelle? You know we don’t mean anything by it?—”

Waving her hand once again, Janelle cut her off. “No, no. It’s fine. I just… I don’t know. I sometimes wonder if…” Her words trailed off before her shoulders squared. “Never mind. I’m ready to go back to the party.”

Janelle brushed past Paisley and yanked the door open, causing Paisley to follow her, but the crowd of people was entirely too thick, and Janelle broke away from her easily.

“Shit.” Paisley looked around the room, the bass from the music vibrating through her body while weed smoke stroked her nostrils. With a heavy sigh, she pushed through the crowd, completely uncomfortable with the amount of white people surrounding her. Paisley’s bronzed skin looked as though it had been dipped in gold, and her golden-brown hair made her look like a melanated burst of sunlight. She looked like a goddess, and people stared at her wherever she went, but the way these white boys eyed her like she was fresh meat made her skin crawl. It was exactly why she found a hidden corner to chill in earlier, doing her best to blend into the damn wall.

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