Page 1 of Necessary Roughness
1
Sloane
“I’m majoring in Education!” I said above the pounding music that was thumping through the house party. “I want to be a teacher!”
The college girl I had been talking to leaned in close to reply. “That’s great! You like kids?”
“Love ‘em! I want a whole big family. At least three kids running around.” I gulped down beer from a red solo cup, then scowled. “Troy, my ex, hated kids. I should have known our relationship was doomed.”
“Oh,” she replied, looking surprised.
Jayden, my friend who was watching the conversation while nursing his vodka soda, gave me a pointed look. The kind he gave me when I was drunk and making an ass of myself. But I was just having a nice conversation with a new friend, so I ignored him.
“I wasted two of my best college years with him,” I complained. “My entire Sophomore year. Then all of Junior year. Can you believe that?”
The girl, whose name I hadn’t learned—or couldn’t remember—gave me a warm hug that lingered a few seconds longer than I expected. “That really sucks.”
“Yes! It sucks!” I agreed. “You’re so nice. Where do you live?”
Before she could answer, Jayden tapped me on the shoulder. “Sloane, sweetie? Can I borrow you for a minute?”
He smiled at the nice girl I was talking to, then took me aside in a private corner of the house party. “What are you doing?”
“Making a new friend!” I replied.
Jayden glanced over his shoulder at the girl, then narrowed his eyes at me. “She’s a lesbian. She wants to get in your pants.”
“You think so?” I glanced at the girl, who smiled at me. “Aww, that’s so sweet!”
“You know what’snotsweet?” Jayden asked. “Leading her on.”
“I’m just being friendly!”
“By hugging her three times? Yes, I’ve been watching you.”
“What’s wrong with hugs? Hugs are innocent!”
“Hugs are how it begins,” he warned. “Casual physical contact. Oldest trick in the book, Sloane. I know it’s been a while since you’ve been single, but come on.”
I didn’t believe him, so I returned to my friend. “Hey, are you trying to get in my pants? This is my friend Jayden, but we call himGayden.You’re probably wondering why.”
“Because he’s gay?” she offered.
“Yes, exactly! You’re so smart. Gayden is gay, so he thinks he hasamazinggaydar. But I think you were just being friendly to me because you’re a nice person.”
“I was just being friendly,” she replied.
I turned to Jayden. “Hah! Told you!”
“But…” the girl ran a hand through her pixie cut and grimaced. “I was also maybe trying to hook up.”
“Aww. You’re so sweet.” I touched her arm, then yanked my fingers away. “Sorry if I was leading you on. I’m not a lesbian. Or bisexual. Or pansexual, I guess? That’s a thing now, right?”
Jayden cleared his throat. “Focus, Sloane.”
“Right. Sorry. You’re sweet, but I’m very straight. Ilovedick. It’s, like, the best. Sorry.”
“Thanks for letting me know now,” she said, giving another quick hug. “If you ever want to put your sexuality to the test, I live in Johnston Hall.”
