Floor 6
...
I just wanted to thank you guys for the support you've given me so far for this story. I smile every time I see a new review, favorite, or follow. I'd like to especially thank my beta Bluebell140 for helping out. Also, I'm starting classes this week, so there probably won't be any more surprise updates. I should be running of my every other Sunday schedule from now on. Anyway, enjoy the chapter!
...
It was nearly midnight when Gabriella arrived home from her date. The evening had been worry-free and full of bliss - a form of paradise if you will. She still couldn't believe she actually had a boyfriend. A real boyfriend! The only thing that kept her from questioning whether or not she was in a dream was the charm that hung about her neck.
But now it was time to jump back to reality. Praying that her roommate was already asleep, she quietly unlocked the door and stepped gingerly into the apartment.
The coast was clear.
Gently shutting the door behind her, she tiptoed to the dresser and rummaged around for nightclothes in the dark of the room, not wanting to risk waking Troy by turning on a lamp. She hadn't talked to him since their little incident, and hoped to keep it that way for the time being. Once she found what she needed, she locked herself in the bathroom to change, emerging a short while later.
Tensely, she climbed the steps to the loft, afraid to make any sudden movements. At one point she thought she was losing her footing, but she soon regained balance and completed her brief journey, all without hearing a peep from Troy.
Mission accomplished.
Climbing beneath the covers, she looked at her phone to see that she'd received a text from Dave. Hey, have a good sleep, babe. See you tomorrow. xxx.
Her face brimming with joy at his message, she replied with, You, too. See ya. xxx. Tucking the phone beneath her mattress for safe keeping, she nestled into her stack of pillows. The bear Troy had given her lay abandoned at the bottom of the bed.
"Mmm," came a groan from the other side of the loft.
Dammit, he's waking up. Closing her eyes, she pretended to be asleep.
"Brie?"
She remained silent. Fuck off, Troy.
"Brie?" he repeated. She heard him sit up this time.
I'm not here. I'm not here. She sank further into the covers and froze. When she heard him lie back down, she breathed a sigh of relief. That had been a close call.
Quietness settled over the room. Gabriella slowly peeled the covers off her face, her eyes resting on the stream of moonlight that was shining through the curtains. She could predict right then that she wouldn't be sleeping well that night. It was practically impossible to do so knowing she'd be facing Troy in the morning.
Letting out a groan, she rolled onto her side, taking care not to bounce the loft for fear of her roommate waking up again. This whole thing was a mistake, she told herself. A damn mistake.
...
"Morning, Brie," Troy greeted, walking out of the kitchen with a cup of coffee in his hand. "I made some eggs and bacon if you want any."
Shrugging, Gabriella silently picked out her clothes for the day and walked into the bathroom. After performing her daily ritual of a shower, hair styling, and makeup, she ventured out to the refrigerator.
"Brie, I made breakfast. There's enough left for you...you can probably reheat it if you're hungry."
She ignored him.
"Brie, I-"
"Shut the hell up!" she shouted, hurrying off into the main room with orange juice and a bowl of cereal.
"It was an accident, Brie. I'm telling you, it was nothing more than a pure accident. If you don't wanna hang out anymore, fine, but you at least have to talk to me." Troy slammed down his coffee mug.
"I don't have to do anything." Rolling her eyes, she shoved a spoonful of Frosted Flakes into her mouth.
"But you should," he rephrased. "I know it's awkward now, but it's only gonna get worse if there's no communication between us."
She didn't respond. It wasn't that she was still necessarily angry, she was simply mortified that the incident had happened. How was she supposed to live with and be friendly toward a guy who knew what her breasts looked like? Not to mention that he was probably either inwardly mocking their appearance or jerking off thinking about them - most likely the latter.
After finishing her breakfast, she placed her dishes in the sink and grabbed her purse, completely ignoring Troy's efforts to make conversation. It was time for her to go to work; she didn't have the time or energy to make amends, nor did she feel she was ready to. All she wanted to do was focus on getting through her shift so she could meet up with Dave again. Her boyfriend. The word still sounded foreign to her, but at the same time delightful. And that kiss! It had been pure heaven last night.
Shifting her car into drive, she fingered her necklace, which she had resolved to wear daily. She couldn't help but smile. If she wasn't the luckiest girl in the world, she couldn't say who was.
...
Butterflies fluttered through Gabriella's stomach as she took a deep breath and knocked on the door of Dave's fraternity house. The last time she'd been there hadn't been her best experience, but he had invited her to join the guys and their girlfriends for a simple dinner that evening - an offer she couldn't refuse.
"Hey, babe." The door swung open to reveal Dave standing there, a lopsided smile on his face. "Come on in."
Upon stepping into the poorly lit room, she was greeted with a friendly kiss. "Hey," she returned when he had finished the gesture.
"So...why don't we head to the dining room? I'll introduce you to everyone."
"Okay." She was a bit skeptical about meeting all the brothers, as the glimpse she'd already gotten hadn't been the most promising. However, she was willing to give them a second chance.
A chorus of welcomes met the pair as they joined the rest of the crew. Damn, there's a lot of guys, thought Gabriella, a streak of anxiety flashing through her.
"Alright, so you already know Brad, the president," Dave began. "And Craig."
"Good to have you back, Gabi," Craig said with a nod.
"Then we have Kevin, Colin, Seth, Zac, Ethan, Pete, Luke, Danny, Shawn, Leo, Andy, and the lazy ass Chris, who's better known to us as Scoonie." Smirking, Dave motioned toward a skinny man in hipster clothing. At first glance, he appeared to be older than the traditional college student, and gave off an uneasy vibe.
"Hey, chica." Scoonie waved at Gabriella.
"And then we have the girls," Dave went on, pointing at the group of females huddled in a small cluster beside the men. "The redhead is Jackie, the brunette is Vanessa...uh...the tall blonde in the pink top is Sarah...the short one is Ashley, the one next to her is Claudia..."
Gabriella instantly recognized Sarah as the one who had mistaken her for a man.
"...then the other brunette is Jasmine, the chunky one is Dara...the dirty blonde is Lily...the one hanging on Brad's arm is Louise..."
"...and the one with the big boobs is mine!" Scoonie shouted, grabbing a girl's arm. "Gabi, meet Sabra, AKA Fruitcake."
Gabriella stifled a giggle. Who the hell would nickname their girlfriend Fruitcake? Was the guy on crack or something?
"So, that's the bunch," Dave concluded, wrapping an arm around Gabriella's waist. "What do you think?"
"They're certainly...well...unique..." she remarked, her eyes darting about the room.
"Hey, is everyone hungry?" That was Brad.
The question was answered with eager nods and exclamations of, "It's about time!"
Within the next few minutes, five boxes of pizza, a large tray of wings, and a cooler full of beer and soda were dragged into the room. After being invited to dig in, the group mobbed the table, greedily snatching up what they wanted.
"You want to sit in here or on the patio?" Dave asked Gabriella.
"The patio," Gabriella decided, not wanting to be crowded in by sluts in mini skirts and men who smelled like cigarette smoke.
After filling their plates with food, the pair headed out the back door and found a table at which to sit. It was nice out there - nothing like it had been during the party. The glowing sun hung low in the sky and a gentle breeze swept through the atmosphere, causing the peaceful water in the pool to ripple. Birds could be heard in the distance, their soft chirping a cheery accompaniment to the picturesque scene.
"Is the food good?" Dave questioned as they ate.
Gabriella nodded. "Very. I love pizza."
"Me, too." Smiling, he reached over and touched the charm that adorned her neck. "So, I see you're wearing your necklace again today."
A glow of color settled into her cheeks. "I like it."
"I'm glad to hear that." He caressed her hand with his thumb.
Finishing the last few bites of pizza, she leaned her cheek against his strong shoulder. "I'm so damn sleepy," she remarked.
"You should rest, then, hun." Placing a chaste kiss upon her lips, he ran his fingers through her hair, causing delightful shivers to crawl up her spine.
"Yo, Dave! What'cha doing out here?" called Ethan, stepping out of the house with Claudia on his arm.
"She likes quiet," Dave explained, motioning toward Gabriella.
"Oh. Sorry to hear that, buddy." Chuckling, Ethan gave Dave's arm a friendly punch.
"What's there to be sorry about? She's a nice girl whether she likes our ways or not."
It was then that Gabriella recalled Ethan as the one who had made the comment about her going skinny dipping at the party. What a jerk.
The door opened again. This time Jasmine emerged with Leo following at her heels. "Hey guys, Leo and I are going in the pool. If anyone wants to join, go ahead." She pulled her sundress off to reveal a tiny string bikini.
Biting her lip, Gabriella lifted her head and leaned back against her chair. She'd always considered herself attractive. But after seeing the other girls with their waist-length hair, prominent chests, and designer clothes, she was starting to rethink her opinion. Maybe she really wasn't as pretty as she'd made herself out to be.
"What's on your mind, babe?" Dave's voice broke into her thoughts.
"Nothing," she lied with a shrug. "I just get like this when I'm tired."
"I'm guessing you're not ready to go back to school tomorrow, then?"
"Hell no."
"Yeah. Me, neither. That bio class sucks ass. Do you know when the withdraw deadline is?"
"Sadly, I don't."
"I'll have to look into that." He sighed. "Ugh, I hate that crap."
"I'm not sure if it's the actual subject I can't stand, or the damn teacher. She's so...I don't know what the word is..."
"Bitchy?"
"Yeah, pretty much. All she does is give lectures on how we're lazy, then expects us to learn stuff. Maybe if she'd actually get her effing notes out and teach, we'd be doing better."
"Totally. She's just terrible." He paused. "Hey, wanna go to the pledges' room and put a movie in?"
"You mean...you mean a...a bedroom?" Her voice was nearly a whisper.
"Yeah."
"I don't know..." A blush settled over her face as she chewed her lip. "I'm not that type of girl..." Her fingers reached up to touch the charm on her necklace.
"Oh, babe, not for anything like that. I just thought that maybe you'd prefer a cuddle on the couch and a movie to staying out here with everyone."
A sense of déjà vu enveloped Gabriella. She remembered Troy telling her something similar to that when he had invited her to spend the night in his bed. Pushing that thought away, she cast a timid smile at her boyfriend. "In that case, yes, I'd love to."
"Alright, then." Dave stood up and held out his hand, which she readily took. "Let's go."
The pledges' room proved to resemble a prison more closely than it did a bedroom. Along both walls, there were bunk beds - four of them in total. Gabriella quickly took notice that the tops of two of the bunks were filled with junk, while the bottom of one was serving as a bookshelf for the guys' textbooks. A torn couch was located beneath the small window, which sat in the center of the two walls, and a vintage TV was placed on a rickety table in front of it. The beige carpet was stained with beer while condom packets littered the tiny bits of floor that weren't covered by odds and ends.
"So, what do you think?" asked Dave. "I know it's not the best, but..."
"How many pledges are there?" She wondered, choosing not to comment on the state of the room.
"Five. There's me, Ethan, Craig, Danny, and Colin."
She nodded in acknowledgement.
"As we move up the ranks, we'll get better housing," he went on to explain. "For example, Brad, the president, and Zac, the vice president, have the largest of the bedrooms. The middle class brothers have the next biggest spaces and are arranged three or four to a room. We pledges just get this puny closet for now."
Giggling, she leaned against his arm. "Living here is better than a dorm, though."
"True." He walked over to one of the boxes and took out a stack of movies. Tossing them onto the floor, he said, "Choose one."
Her eyes scanned the scattered DVDs. "I pick...hm...I wanna watch 21 Jump Street."
"Okay, then. Go ahead and gave a seat. I'll set it up."
Gabriella complied. Once Dave joined her, she cuddled into his side, her head falling onto his shoulder. She closed her eyes as she felt his fingers sort through her loose curls.
"Hey, babe." He reached under her chin, turning her face toward his.
"Hm?"
"Nothing." He shrugged. "I just wanted to see your pretty eyes."
"You really think my eyes are pretty?"
"Of course. I wouldn't be saying it if it weren't true, now would I?"
A smile beamed upon her face. Reaching up, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, her lips only inches away from his.
"You wanna be kissed, don't you?"
"It would be nice." She giggled.
"Ask and you shall receive."
"Alrighty. Can I have a kiss?"
"You certainly can." He pressed his mouth to hers.
Satisfied with the affection, she settled back against his arm, her small hands clutching his bicep. Yawning, she focused her attention on the movie, momentarily content with life.