Page 6 of Dear Creed

Creed opens his mouth to respond, but the creak of the back door opening interrupts whatever he was planning to say. I glance over as Caden steps out onto the patio. His gaze swings from me to Creed then back to me again. He arches a brow in question as he stops in front of me, holding out a plastic cup. “Your beer.”

“Thanks.” I take it and take a long swallow, downing half of the beer. Caden snorts, but when I glance at Creed, he’s glaring. I narrow my eyes back. Does he not approve? Does he think he gets a vote in what I do? It’s his fault I’m a mess in the first place.

“Jake.” My name coming from Creed’s mouth holds a flinty edge this time, and he pushes off the wall taking several steps toward me. When he stops, his lips press into a flat line.

He’s mad. Good. I’m mad too.

“You two know each other?” Caden asks, and I’m not sure how to answer. I know he’s not asking if we just met. The disapproval in Creed’s tone isn’t one that comes from a stranger.

Creed doesn’t seem to share the same issue, easily replying, “Yes.”

Caden lifts an eyebrow that tells me he expects an explanation at some point, but I have no intention of giving him one. He takes a step back. “Right then. Well, it’s cold as balls, so I’m headed inside. You two have fun…catching up?”

It sounds like a question, but if he’s expecting an answer, he’ll be waiting a while. He must see the reluctance in my expression because he sighs and then opens the back door again before disappearing inside. I decide I should follow and get away from Creed.

“Have fun on your date.” I don’t actually care if he has a good time. In fact, I hope he doesn’t. I do want him to know the conversation is over, and then I want to go drown myself in alcohol until I forget who the hell Creed Masters even is.

I turn on my heels to make my escape, but he moves fast, quickly stepping into my path.

My nostrils flare, and I swing a hand toward the door, a not-so-subtleget the fuck out of my way. “Can you move?”

Creed’s shoulders are tense and his jaw tics. “Can you just take it easy on the drinking tonight?”

I snort, but I don’t find any humor in the situation. “Careful, Creed. You sound like you might actually give a shit. We both know that’s not true anymore, don’t we?”

After a long moment of what appears to be some sort of internal struggle that I won’t pretend to understand, Creed sighs and steps aside.

I don’t glance his way as I move past him and open the back door, returning to the party. I decide to ignore Creed entirely for the rest of the night. This day has only gotten worse and more confusing.

CHAPTERFOUR

JAKE

I’m drunk.No, I sailed pastdrunkseveral beers ago. Now, I’m struggling to put one foot in front of the other as I stagger down the cracked sidewalk that leads from the fraternity to the street.

“Fuck him,” I whisper to myself and grind my molars as I think about the way he’d tried to tell me to go easy on the alcohol. He isn’t in any position to tell me what to do, or even make suggestions.

The ground seems to sway beneath my feet and my vision fades in and out. I pause at the curb and lean on a random sedan. Closing my eyes, I take steady breaths to calm the spinning in my head. I’d meant to get totally wasted, but blacking out wasn’t the goal. Why did I do this? And more importantly, why did I do this just because Creed had shown up at the party?

Deep brown eyes shadowed beneath long, dark eyelashes had tracked my every move most of the night leaving me on edge. Even though I’d avoided Creed as much as possible, his stare burned hot against my skin. I could feel him even when I wasn’t looking. Every time I would convince myself it was only my imagination, I would glance around the room and find Creed’s gaze focused on me. I’m not sure why he was showing sudden interest, or paying me the slightest attention, but it’s messing with my head.

I glance across the street and down the block at the row of chapterhouses. Once I feel like I won’t fall on my ass, I step between two cars parked along the curb. I cross the dark street and reach for the tailgate of a beat-up, red pickup truck parked on the opposite side of the road. I lean on the truck, using it to steady myself as I step up the curb onto the sidewalk. The dorm isn’t too far of a walk, but I’m not confident in my ability to make it there in one piece. Unfortunately, Caden left the party an hour ago, so I’m on my own.

“This was a bad idea,” I mutter to myself, teeth chattering slightly as I shiver. I shove my hands into the pockets of my hoodie to ward off the cold as best I can. The crisp night air helps me clear my head a little at least.

The large trees bereft of any leaves masquerade as ghosts in my blurry vision, and silence replaces the music the further I get from the party.

The sound of footsteps behind me catch my attention. Even though I’m sure it’s just another student heading from one place to another, I glance over my shoulder and stop so suddenly I lose my footing. The ground rushes up at me and I catch myself just in time to avoid a collision between my face and the pavement.

“Damn it,” Creed growls. He’s standing in front of me a second later with his hand outstretched.

I don’t want to touch him, but I’m also not sure I’m capable of standing upright on my own. Reluctantly, I grab his hand and allow him to pull me to my feet. His hands immediately go to my shoulders to steady me, but I shrug him off and shoot him a glare. “Are you fucking following me?”

“Yes.” Creed doesn’t look remotely sorry for it either.

I arch an eyebrow. “Never took you for the stalker type.”

“Never took you for the getting wasted to the point you can barely stand upright and then attempt to walk home type,” he responds flatly, which only adds fuel to the anger simmering in my stomach. He continues before I get a chance to tell him exactly how mad I am. “Let’s keep walking. I just want to make sure you get back to your room.”

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