Page 42 of Necessary Roughness
I had never been a popular girl. I was a nerd in high school, hanging out with the band geeks and making friends with all the teachers. Going to college was a chance to start fresh, but I found myself in the same rut as before—too intimidated by the cool kids, afraid to act confidently. So for the last few years at Westview College, I’d made appearances at parties here and there but never stayed long.
It was such a rush being on the other side of things. I wasn’t exactly Knox’s date tonight, but I waswithhim in a way that put me in a different echelon as the other partiers. I couldn’t wait to return to the beer pong table and see if we could win another game while the crowd cheered us on.
Eventually, it was my turn to pee. I was surprised by howcleanthe bathroom was, considering this was a frat house. Then again, it was early. It would be a lot nastier as the night went on.
When I exited the bathroom, my mind was busy thinking of ways to flirt with Knox without beingtooobvious.
And I ran right into a man I knew, the man I thought I’d recognized down the hall.
I gasped when I saw him.
Troy Bryant. My ex-boyfriend.
He stood before me, in the flesh, like the personification of bad memories.
“Sloane,” he said, sneering in a way that made my own name sound like an insult.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“Same as you are, presumably. Enjoying the party.” He gestured around him.
“I thought you were living off-campus.”
“I am.” He tilted his head in that patronizing way I remembered. “You may not know this, but it’s possible for people to travel. For example, I got in mycarand drove two miles to get here. Radical concept, I know.”
I’d gotten used to his annoying little barbs while we were dating, but it stung extra now that we weren’t together. “Okay then. Bye.” I turned and walked away.
“Wait! Sloane!”
I ignored him and went into the kitchen, where the bar was set up on the counter. I selected a bottle of vodka and mixed myself a quick little cocktail with a can of Coke Zero.
When I turned around, Troy was standing over me. “I wasn’t done talking to you.”
“That’s too bad,” I said, looking for a path out of the room. It was crowded.
“Is that any way to treat your ex?” he asked while following me.
“Good point,” I said without slowing. “I should be a lot cuntier to you.”
Troy’s laugh was bitter. “I always knew you weren’t as mature as you pretended to be. Silly me for thinking we could be adults about this.”
“About what?”
“About our breakup.”
I laughed and turned to face him. “Ourbreakup?That’s one way to phrase it. You strung me along all summer and then dumped me two weeks before classes started!”
“I already told you. I didn’t think it was fair to—”
“I don’t care what you think is fair.” I smiled up at him. “We’re not together anymore, so you have zero control over my emotions. Honestly, getting dumped by you was one of the best things that ever happened to me. This semester is off to an amazing start. So, thanks, Troy. Thanks for everything.”
A path parted through the party, and I quickly took it. The satisfaction of telling him off was euphoric. Better than I ever could have hoped.
I was halfway down the hall when he grabbed my arm. “Wait.”
I tried to wrench free. “Let go of me.”
Troy tightened his grip painfully. “I’m not done talking to you,” he said through gritted teeth.
