Page 2 of The Change Up
I need another drink.
Pushing my way through the crowd, I don’t even flinch when my shoulders bump into others. Nothing is getting in my way from getting another drink and getting me back to the girl who is going to distract me one last time from the one girl I can’t have.
“Cody!” A platinum blond pops in front of me flinging her arms around my neck. I guess I was wrong. There’s only one person I’d let get in my way. Scratch that, there are two, but only one who would actually make the move.
I can’t fight the smile that breaks free. She releases me before stepping—stumbling—away from me. I reach out and grab her by the crook of her elbow, steadying her. “You a little drunk, B?”
The mischievous smile that spreads across her face is answer enough. “Maybe.” She slurs, eyes full of happiness, and a slight glaze.
Happy looks good on her.
Brynn Wilder has been through a lot. But you wouldn’t know it. Her stubborn ass kept it buried deep inside her. Hell, I considered her my best friend, and she never once let on that she’s had to deal with insurmountable guilt and grief at such a young age. Once she finally let us all in, so much of her wild behavior began to make sense.
The endless cycle of men. The spontaneity. The weed and alcohol. The wild nights of endless partying. I mean, it’s college, and we all love to party, but B took it further than most. It all clicked into place when she decided to be real and share the nitty-gritty details that made up her fucked up childhood. She was living to forget, to escape the past. And no one could fault her.
But since falling in love with Quinton, she’s always happy. Happy in a real sense of the word, not the fake happy bullshit so many of us put on as a front.
“Having fun, Cody?” Brynn’s eyes bounce to mine as she tries to get a read on me.
“I’m having more fun now that you’re here.”
“Aw, Cody,” Brynn slurs. “You know I’m always down to have some fun with you.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Quinton staring as he makes his way closer to us. One of my favorite things to do in life is rile Q up. I like to see how far I can push him with my flirting before he steps in with his alpha-possessive ego. It’s fun and innocent because those feelings just aren’t there for Brynn and me. There were two seconds where I thought I had feelings for Brynn, but those feelings quickly faded away. She’s my best friend, and that’s it.
“You wanna get out of here?” My voice carries over the music. She must see him approaching too because she turns up the charm and fights the laugh that’s desperate to break free.
“The fuck you two will,” a voice shouts. I watch as two muscled black arms wrap around Brynn’s waist. I can’t fight the booming cackle that erupts from me.
“Wassup, Q?”
“What’s up is I come to check on my girl and find your punk ass propositioning her.” Q’s eyes narrow into slits, his chest huffing and puffing as he stares me down. Quinton has an inch, maybe two on me. But where I’m built like a baseball pitcher, Quinton is built like a brick shit house. I have no doubt that he would pummel my ass into the ground in a heartbeat. I mean, I’d still manage to get one, maybe two, good shots in, but he’d have me destroyed in no time.
Brynn stands there, resting her weight in Quinton’s arms, and watches as her boyfriend tries to intimidate me. Keeping a straight face, I stare right back. I’m not one to back down from a challenge. A few minutes pass—okay, a few seconds—before my eyes flick down to meet Brynn’s gaze. Our eye connection has Q tightening his grip. In the next breath, the two of us erupt, Brynn clutching onto Quinton’s arm as her body shakes in hysterics. No longer able to keep up the charade, I stick my fist out for Q to bump.
“Jesus, bro. Take that alpha-male bullshit, and get the fuck out.” My grin takes over my face, and I can’t help but laugh harder when I watch the serious expression melt off his face into pure confusion.
“You’re such a pain in my ass, Jacobs,” Q grates, finally hitting my fist with his.
I watch as Brynn turns her body in his arms. She glides her hands up his arms, over his chest, before finally resting them behind Q’s head. “Relax, Q. You know I’ve only got eyes for you.”
His lips find hers and suddenly the room feels a bit too small for the three of us. Clearing my throat, I glance around the room before mumbling, “I’m just gonna…” I let the words trail off as I point over my shoulder. Leaving the two love birds alone, I continue my search for the booze.
I found the booze. Oh, did I find it. I am drunk, working my way to wasted.
The alcohol has spread through my veins leaving me in a state of blissful intoxication. Music is pumping from the speakers, the beat flowing through me. I don’t know if my heart is beating from the alcohol, the music, or the adrenaline, but my blood is flowing.
The party isn’t showing any signs of ending. The crowd has thrown the ‘E-A-G! L-E-S! Eagles! Eagles! Eagles!’ chant out only a hundred thousand times. This campus was desperate for a championship trophy, and we are fully embracing the celebrations.
A few of the more popular football players—Quinton; Tyler Harris, the quarterback; Jeremiah Prince, dubbed JP, one of thedefensive backs; Crew Riggsby, a tight end; and a few others—all participated in their best touchdown celebration dances.
It helps that Monica has found her way back in my grip. At this point in the night, it’s welcomed. We both know how we are ending this party.
The music changes to a Drake and 21 Savage song. The beat is sick, and Monica must feel it too. She’s backing her ass up against my dick and moving her hips to the beat. Goddamn, this girl can move. It’s one of the reasons why I slept with her the first night. She knows what to do in bed. That might make me sound like a douche, but I don’t even care. It’s the truth. Even if, for me, it’s all she’s good for.
Gripping her hips tighter, I pull her in closer, driving my hardening cock into her ass. I feel the moan reverberate through her body.
Leaning forward, I brush my lips against her ear. “One more night?”
