Page 43 of Pin-up Girl

The crowd cheered, hooting and clapping, getting rowdier by the second with each step the girls moved closer to the concrete edge. They were picked up and tossed unceremoniously into the fountain. Water sloshed up the inside of the fountain wall, pretty anticlimactic for the churning emotions inside me.

Although, now I was much calmer and able to breathe a little easier. These vain bitches wouldn’t try anything again, they would realize the next time would earn something far more sinister than a quick dip in the fountain.

The girls jumped up, their clothes soaked, sticking to their bodies as they shrieked. Their arms crossed their bodies to hide their bras as they tried to climb out of the fountain. It might not look very deep, the water only a standing a few feet, but the inside was sunken in. No one dared to help them, too afraid to draw attention to themselves.

Felix came over to us, his hands in his pockets while the students in the courtyard slowly dispersed. The sun glinted off of his golden hair as he flipped it out of his face.

“Hey man, let me know if they give you any problems, this was fun.” Felix grinned a shark’s grin. “I know Desiree, and she’s a real bitch. She needed to be shot down a peg or two.”

Elise curved her arm around my front, hugging me from the side. “Thanks, that was super sweet of you.”

Felix flicked his gaze over Elise, and lucky for him, he stayed on the curious rather than lewd side. “Anytime. Catch you back at the Shack.” We exchanged nods, and he rejoined the brothers.

“Ready to get out of here? After all that excitement, this girl needs a taco.” Elise took my hand this time, leading the way toward the street.

I flashed my phone at her,We can walk, Tiny Tacos is only about three blocks from here.

She nodded, and we fell into the comfortable silence that came so easy to us. Usually when I wanted to fuck, the girls would chatter my ear off. Elise wasn’t like that.

At the taco stand, Stew was working the front window. It wasn’t so much a stand, but a permanent food truck parked on the outskirts of campus. Easy to catch the business crowd, but close enough for me to haunt when I felt like it. On the other side of the street was a small park overlooking a pond with a few large trees. When I needed to ghost the frat for my sanity, that was where I went.

“Jules! My man, what’s up?” Stew wiped heavy drops of sweat from his brow with a less than white dishcloth laying on the counter. His grease stained white T-shirt covered stomach hung over his apron, shaking as he talked.

I lifted two fingers in greeting. Tiny Tacos kept a menu on the metal counter, making it easier for me to order without the help of my phone, adding another reason this was a favorite for me. People either thought I was weird to type my order on my phone, or assumed I was some kind of special needs. It was tiring.

Pointing at the sampler, I held up two fingers.

“Sure, sure. We can do that. It’s nice to see you out with a lady friend.” He waggled his eyebrows. On anyone else, it would have been a fun gesture. On sixty-year-old Stew, it looked like mature caterpillars crawling across his face.

Why couldn’t funny, goofy Stew have been my family? I could have been a normal, solid middle-class guy without all of the headaches of detangling motives and manipulation.

“Do I get an order?” Elise lifted up on her toes to peek at the menu.

I got two samplers so we’ll have a little bit of everything.

“Sweet. Waters?” She turned to Stew.

He smiled, flashing a missing tooth. “Sure thing, pretty lady.”

In five minutes, we had our tacos and water, and were strolling lazily through the park toward my favorite spot. Elise must have liked it as much I did, because she headed right for the sole picnic table in the shadows of a large tree.

“Thanks for lunch,” she said as she twisted the cap off of her water to take a sip.

Don’t make this awkward,I typed out on my phone.

She huffed a laugh, her blue eyes sparking in amusement. “That was a little too much first date, wasn’t it? I guess we’re beyond that.”

A little.

We laid out the two sampler trays, picking the tacos that we wanted. Other than a few appreciative hums, conversation stopped. Only after we were finished and I tossed the trays in the nearby trashcan, she asked a question.

“So, Jules, what’s your story?”

My steps faltered.

Do you want to stay in the park or go somewhere else?I was stalling. I couldn’t remember the last time someone actually wanted to know more about me than surface level. These types of questions were useless with Emmett and Milo, they’d been there will me every step of the way. Even at my darkest time, when I tried to shove them away at every turn, they dogged my steps.

“To my spot. Don’t worry, I’ll hold your hand so you can type and not worry about tripping on a rock.” She tangled her fingers through mine.

---