I Called Dad

Kimberly's POV

I don’t know where I was going...

I first went back to my dorm and tried to sleep, but I couldn’t shut my eyes. Each time I close my eyes, I see Raymond and I hear his laughter replaying in my head.

“She’s my free maths coach and she still thinks I'm in love with her.” He’d said. He forgot the time his father almost cut him off his inheritance and I helped him get his grades up to get back his father’s approval.

Thinking about it makes me so fucking furious. I couldn’t sit still for one second because I was boiling in rage. I took a few shots from a bottle of whiskey Ray left behind in my room. I thought it would numb my feelings, but it only made me feel hot and angrier. So I walked out of my room with no destination in mind. I only knew I couldn’t stay in that room another minute.

For two years straight, I had defended his excuses and guarded his secret, and he had been laughing at me the whole time, calling me dumb.

“You’re the one with bad grades, Raymond!

You’re way dumber than I am!” I screamed at no one in particular, acting like a damn lunatic. I wiped my cheeks with my shirt. I was done crying over him He’s so not worth it.

As I walked out of the building, just near the girls' dormitory, a group of guys stood around a black SUV, laughing. I recognized the one leaning against the hood before I saw his face. Black T-shirt, faded jeans, dark hair a little messy, hands in his pockets, like he had all the time in the world.

Caspian Ashford...

He is Raymond's rival on the ice and his enemy off it. Everyone at Waverly knew that. They’ve been at each other throats since forever. And somehow, Caspian always ends up winning him in everything. One of his friends spotted me and laughed.

"Look, it's the maths tutor!" the guy said, laughing hard.

"Hey, nerd! The library's that way!" another one called to me, making the others to join them in the laughter, teasing me. I was used to it. Usually I kept walking. Tonight I just didn't have the energy.

"Good evening to you too," I said dryly. They whooped and screamed excitedly because this is the first time in responding to them like this.

"That's enough," Caspian said. He didn't raise his voice, he didn't need to. The laughing stopped at once. But his voice carried authority that they couldn’t ignore.

"Stop calling her names. Find something better to do." He scolds them. I stared at him, surprised to hear him speak up for me. Raymond had never done that, not once. He used to laugh along and call me his maths coach himself.

Why didn’t I see the signs?

I was so stupid to love and trust an idiot.

“Where has this guy been all my life?” I thought within me. Then an idea hit me and it was ridiculous and perfect at the same time.

Raymond hated Caspian more than anyone alive. If I hooked up with Caspian , that would get him so mad. I wanted to see his face if I walked into campus beside Caspian. That would be the best revenge.

"Where are you guys going?" I asked.

"A bar," one of them said slowly.

"There will be music, dancing, and drinks. No books there, nerd." He laughed.

"I know what a bar is, asshole. I wonder if you could recognize a book if you see one.” I fired back at him, earning a chuckle from the rest.

“Can I come?" I asked, my eyes fixed on Caspian. There was silence for a brief second. Then they burst out laughing.

I ignored them and looked at Caspian. He wasn't laughing. He was studying me as if I were a problem he had been trying to solve for a long time.

“You’re sure?

I wouldn’t want your boyfriend to get the wrong ideas.” He said.

“I’m sure Cassie, let me come. Pleaseee...” I said, sounding so naughty I couldn’t even recognize my own voice. Am I flirting with him?

“Get in,” he said, and opened the door. I noticed the way his throat moved, but I didn’t think much into it as we drove to the bar.

The bar was loud and dim, packed with people who looked like they belonged there. I looked like I had wandered in from a lecture hall, in an oversized sweater and flat shoes. Caspian pressed a glass into my hand.

"Juice. I checked." He told me. I smiled and place the juice on the table,

"That’s so thoughtful of you, Cassie, but I don’t want juice tonight. Can I get some shots of tequila?" I asked him, making him chuckle softly.

“Can you handle tequila?” he asked.

“I can handle more than tequila,” I said, making his eyes go wild.

“That came out wrong,” I said, making him chuckle softly.

“I would love to see how you handle me,” he smirks, making my face turn bright red. Caspian steps out for a bit and when he appeared beside me again, he pressed a shot into my palm and I downed it in one go, shutting my eyes firmly when the sensation hit my brain.

He chuckled and just stares at me, trying to figure me out, I guess. His friends had already disappeared toward the bar. That left just him tall, close, watching me with those dark eyes.

"You don't belong here," he said. I bristled.

"Because I'm not wearing a miniskirt?"

"Because you're looking at everything like it's a puzzle you're trying to solve." He leaned against the wall, arms crossed.

"Most people come here to forget. You look like you came here to figure something out." He said, his eyes never leaving mine. I didn't have a response for that, and he just smiled slightly.

"Come on. Dance with me."

"I don't dance."

"Neither do I. We'll be terrible together."

Before I could argue, he took my hand and pulled me toward the floor. The music thrummed through my chest, and Caspian's hands found my waist, light, tentative, giving me room to pull away.

I didn't...

We moved together, clumsy at first, then something closer to rhythm. His thumb traced a slow circle against my hip. Our eyes kept meeting. His breath brushed my temple when he leaned in.

"You're different than I expected," he murmured.

"Because you expected me to trip over my own feet?"

"No." His voice dropped.

"Because I expected you to be boring." He said. I laughed despite myself.

"And I'm not?"

"Nah... You're just full of surprises." He smiles, leaning to brush his lips with mine softly. I didn’t kiss back, but I let him kiss me, and dear Lord, I wanted him to kiss me deeply. But he pulled back to study my face, as if testing my limit.