Page 1 of The Keeper
Chapter One
“Remind me why I agreed to go to this stupid party again?” I shout to Charlie from the entryway as I shove my feet into a pair of Chuck Taylors. When I look up, I see her prancing down the stairs in what can easily be classified as a shirt and heels. “And please tell me you’re gonna put on some pants. What are you wearing?”
“I amclearlywearing a costume designed to attract male attention at an event surrounding sports,” she responds, twirling in a little circle - without teetering in the slightest - once she’s made it to the base of the stairs.
I’m always astounded by Charlie’s ability to practically pirouette in a pair of sky-high heels. My ass would be flat on the ground if I ever tried something like that. My body was made fun-sized, and I’m perfectly happy remaining close to the ground at all times. Charlie and I are essentially exact opposites. Where she is long, I am short; where she is dark, I am light. We are living, breathing antonyms.
She saunters past where I stand waiting in the entry, her shoulder-length brunette locks loose and wavy in that ‘I just rolled out of bed’ look that takes at least an hour to pull off successfully. She’s wearing a purple Laker Girls “dress” - I use that term sarcastically - with her favorite pair of heels, accentuating her long, lean legs.
“It isn’t a costume party, Charlie,” I say as she passes me. Although, internally, I wonder if maybe I missed something when Jeremy invited us. “We’re just heading over to watch the game with a few of the guys from the team.”
“Ofcourseit’s a costume party, my sweet, naive RJ. It’s October.AllOctober parties are costume parties,” she calls to me from the kitchen. “And you can’t back out because Ineedyou there!”
I roll my eyes and follow in her wake.
“You do not need me there,” I respond. “You just don’t know anything about basketball.”
Charlie looks up at me from where she stands digging through her clutch and scowls.
“Exactly!” she responds. Apparently I’ve made her point for her. “Not only are you mybestfriend, but you’re also myonlyfemale friend who knows sports and can keep me from saying something really stupid.” She snaps her clutch closed and rounds the kitchen island with a smirk. “Plus, you have a car. How else am I supposed to get to Jeremy’s? Take the bus?”
“You’re using me for my car!?” I shout with excessive dramatics, slapping my hand against my heart in feigned distress. “You’re making me reconsider our entire friendship.”
Charlie rolls her eyes, but I see a smile creeping onto her face.
“You’re an idiot.” Throwing her arm around my shoulders, she starts walking us towards the door. “But seriously girlie, you need to help me understand what’s happening on the field.”
“Basketball isn’t played on a field, Char. It’s played on a court.”
“See!” Her smile grows wider. “You’re helping already.” She winks at me, letting her arm drop from my shoulders, and turns towards the door. “Let’s go, bitch! Time’s-a-wasting!” And she struts out, heels clicking, ass swaying.
Charlie, Charlie, Charlie.
I exit our apartment, locking the door with as much sass as I can, and begrudgingly follow her out to Trusty Rusty, my light green ’66 VW Beetle.Come to the party with me, she says.It will be so much fun,she promises. I’m already starting to regret acting as her sports translator and we haven’t even left the parking lot.
“In all honesty, you don’t needmethere,” I say, as we click into our seat belts and I start the ignition. “You just need to find a guy who finds your sports-illiteracy to be charming. Like Jeremy. He won’t think you’re dumb just because you don’t know anything about basketball. If anything, maybe he’ll see it as an opportunity to lean in towards you and whisper in your ear.” I wiggle my eyebrows and give Charlie a super cheesy smile before pulling away from the curb.
“I don’t need Jeremy getting all into my personal space. Thanks, but no thanks.” Her reply is quick and sharp. I glance over and catch her eyes before she quickly turns away, her cheeks tinting to a soft pink. She acts like her lust-fueled obsession with my brother is completely off my radar. What am I? Blind?
Her infatuation began freshman year when she returned to our room one night and found him there. Alone. In the buff. Okay, he was in boxer shorts. But still, practically naked. Apparently he was mid-hook up with one of the girls in my building when her boyfriend showed up. Jeremy doesn’t ‘throw down over chicks’, so he didn’t put up much of a fight when he was shoved out of the room. Sans clothes.
He showed up at my room at 2am and asked me to go get his clothes, keys, phone and wallet, since he can’t really get back to his apartment without his keys, and security would escort him out if he just wandered around the freshman hall in nothing but his tiny little briefs. As I was smoothing things over with the girl and her boyfriend and tried to collect his belongings, Charlie returned from a party and nearly had a heart attack when she found ‘TheJeremy Jameson’ - her words, not mine - sitting on her bed. I’m surprised she didn’t drop to her knees and offer to show himjusthow welcome in her bed he actually was.
But Jeremy loved the fangirling, of course, and took his sweet time putting his clothes back on while he oozed his charm and asked Charlie all about herself.Oh, so you wanna be a nurse, huh? So if I need some CPR I can give you a call?Gag me. I could literally see the hearts popping out of her eyes as she soaked him in.
It took all of my efforts to get his ass out of my room. And then I had to listen to Charlie go on and on about him until nearly 4am. It was nauseating. It wasn’t until the following week during our weekly lunch at the quad that I let him know how I really felt.
“You’re a 21-year-old senior in college,” I growled at him. “What? You’ve already stuck your dick in everyone your own age and have to move on to the barely legal? You’re so gross.” He scoffed, but I jabbed a finger into his chest. “You should be embarrassed that you have to troll for freshmen to get laid.”
“Hey, I can’t help it if I appeal to everyone,” he said with a shrug. I just glared at him and jabbed my fork into my potato. “Besides, Charlie didn’t seem to have an issue with me.”
My eyes narrowed.
“She iscompletelyoff-limits.” Jeremy gave me a little smirk that made me think he didn’t care. “I’m serious Jer! You’ve fucked and chucked enough girls this year. Leave. Her. Alone.”
“I don’t fuck and chuck, Rachel,” he replied with what looked like mock sincerity. “That implication about my character is just rude. I’m offended.”
“Oh really? So Andi, Rebecca, Jennifer… they were serious girlfriends?” I was, of course, referring to three of my high school soccer teammates that Jeremy slept with over thecourseof the nine days he was home for spring break during my senior year. They didn’t know about each other until Jeremy was back at college and I was left to deal with the rage issues and emotional breakdowns. Needless to say, those girls and I never formed lasting bonds.
