Chapter 6: Portia

Bart knocked, and Jet opened the door to our room. The two of us had spent the last hour getting ready for our first frat party, and Bart, Chet, and Todd were here to escort us. Bart whistled through his teeth when I spun around, but it was Chet who scanned my body from head to toe. There was no way he missed the blush that warmed my cheeks with his attention.

Bart took Jet's hand and lifted it above her head so she could twirl for him, and then he repeated the same with me. "You guys look fantastic."

"Thank you, thank you." My roommate beamed with his praise.

Bart wasn't at all shabby himself. There wasn't a flaw that I could find anywhere on his body, and he was a nice guy to top it off. Ever since I'd met these three the day I'd arrived, they'd all spent time getting to know me, and by default, Jet. Bart and Todd were older than I was and both juniors. Chet, however, was the little brother of a guy Bart went to high school with, and he was a sophomore. One year didn't seem that monumental until I realized just how much I didn't know.

Jude was the only guy, other than Ernie-who didn't count-that I'd ever been close to. The attention these three lavished on me sent me soaring.

Jet bounced in her heels, and her hair moved with it. She was gorgeous, every guy's fantasy come to life, which was probably why Bart, Todd, and Chet welcomed her with open arms. The first few times we'd all hung out, I'd believed I was the go-between for one of them to get to her. Oddly enough, if they had wet dreams about her, none of them made a move toward changing any of them into a reality. Chet, on the other hand, made a noticeable effort to grab my attention.

We had Chemistry 101 together, and since I wasn't friends with anyone in the class, he picked me as his partner. It didn't escape my attention the way the other girls in the lab glared at me. Chet was on the lacrosse team, chiseled, and had piercing, blue eyes. His dark-brown hair was long on top and shaved on the sides, which I thought went out in the nineties, yet it worked on him. And while his confidence could be suffocating, once I'd spent a little time with him doing labs and homework, I enjoyed his company.

"Portia, you ready?" Chet leaned against the wall with his ankles crossed.

Just hearing my name roll off his lips brought unfamiliar sensations to strange places. It wasn't that I didn't like it; I did. I just didn't know how to extinguish the fire or fan it. Chet was the first guy who'd ever shown any real interest in me. I couldn't stop staring at his mouth, and when he chuckled, I snapped my attention to his eyes. Bright blue. They reminded me of the ocean, pretty to look at but danger lurked inside.

I dismissed my trepidation for inexperience and smiled.

"I'll take that as a yes. Come on." He jerked his head toward the hall as he pushed off the doorframe, and when I met up with him, he extended his hand.

I took it with hesitation. I didn't want to stare at his fingers, and I was afraid to let him see the insecurity I tried to disguise. The warmth of his palm pressed to mine, and the gentle, yet confident way he held on to me as we walked the halls of Sander set me at ease by the time we hit the quad. Heads turned with each step we took. I wasn't sure if it was the guys or Jet who people took notice of, but for the first time in my life, I ran with the big dogs.

Bart, Todd, and Jet were close behind us, even though Chet and I were in our own bubble. I had no idea what to expect when we got to this party, and my heart raced with anticipation-not just the magnitude of what we were about to walk into, but whose arm I would do it on. Chet's thumb stroked the top of my hand. Obviously, I wasn't doing as well as I'd thought at hiding my emotions.

Frat row consisted of eleven houses that each flew a flag-with letters I didn't know-indicating which fraternity lived there. And there wasn't just one porch covered in people; they all were. People lined the streets and the sidewalks and shadowed every window. It was after ten, yet it was easy to spot those who had started to party earlier than the rest. I didn't drink, and I didn't do drugs, nor had I ever hung out with anyone who did. I didn't have a problem with alcohol when consumed responsibly. I was not a fan of knee-walking drunks, who slobbered on my ear or pulled at my clothes when they staggered.

We hadn't been there fifteen minutes, and I'd already been felt up by a chick trying to get to the guy who held my hand. She spilled beer down my arm, and all I could do was smile. I recognized her as one of the other students in our chemistry class, but I didn't know her name and had never spoken to her. I didn't want to be that girl...the one who thought she was better than everyone else and acted like a snob, but I had a hard time not pushing her off me with a grunt of irritation.

Chet dropped my hand and pried the girl off my leg. "Let me find some paper towels or something to clean off your arm. I'll be right back."

I twisted around in the mass of people, expecting to find Jet and the other two guys behind me, yet none of them were there. In a continued search, I located Jet and Todd dancing in the living room, although there was no sign of Bart. In the other direction, I came face to face with the girl Chet had just removed from my thighs. She now stood-wavering-with a stare so hateful that if it had a fist it would have packed a mighty punch.

"He's just using you." Her words were slurred, yet the sentiment was loud and clear. The girl's neck twisted, and her eyes bulged. Cleary, she believed she illustrated a bold point, regardless of how foolish she appeared doing it. "Upperclassmen only have interest in fresh meat for one thing. As soon as he gets it, he'll drop your naïve ass faster than he can chug a beer."

Before I could respond-not that I had a clue what to say-Chet returned with a handful of napkins.

"Here you go, Portia. I couldn't find anything else." He ignored the blonde to my left, who still hovered inches from my face and reeked of vomit and beer.

She stumbled, but remained upright. "Portia? Like the car? That's rich. Or maybe just trashy." The beer in her red Solo cup sloshed over the side and onto the floor.

"Carolyn, why don't you back off?" Chet's jaw was set, and the muscles ticced with each passing second.

My eyes flitted between them both, wondering what kind of history they had to make her so aggressive. I kept my mouth shut, and when he wadded up the napkins, he took my hand and led me away from the monster who'd dumped beer on me.

"Sorry about that," he apologized as we walked into the kitchen to a large trash can.

"Why?" I wasn't sure I wanted the answer.

Chet had been nothing other than kind to me. He was attentive in class, and we often ate lunch together with Bart or Jet, and sometimes Todd. I'd get random text messages from him, and he always stopped to talk when he saw me around campus. At first, I hadn't seen tonight as a date so much as friends hanging out-special friends, maybe. The guys were aware Jet and I didn't know very many people, and they had kind of taken us under their wings to show us the ropes.

"That was uncalled for." He took a cup of beer from the guy manning the keg and then lifted our twined hands to point toward the spot we'd last seen Carolyn. "I don't understand why girls think that kind of behavior attracts guys."