Scattered Colors (29 page)

“It’s good,” I wheezed as he lifted me off the ground, my feet swinging side to side as he rocked me. “Can’t breathe, Caleb.”

“Sorry, shorty,” he chuckled as he placed me back on my feet. “You know I can’t help myself.”

I brushed my hair out of my face and looked up into Caleb’s smiling hazel eyes, saying the same thing I’d been saying for the past two years. “I’m not short, you’re just freakishly tall.” And he was. Caleb stood right around 6’4 and was all long, lean muscles from his years of running and swimming. Seeing him and Piper together took some getting used to. They were complete opposites. Caleb was big and tall while everything about Piper was short and petite. But I honestly couldn’t picture her with anybody else. Caleb was a gigantic teddy bear.

“What’s going on here?” I asked as I pointed to all the boxes lining the breezeway outside his apartment door.

“Ah, new roommate’s moving in today.”

“Another one?” I asked in bafflement. “Eddy only
just
moved out, like, a week ago.”

That was another thing I loved about Caleb. He was incapable of meeting anyone who didn’t instantly become a friend. Everyone who met him loved him. In the time Piper and I had been living together, Caleb had probably had about six roommates. Every time one left, there was another one right around the corner.

“What can I say, I get lonely,” he replied with a wink. “And with you and Pipe wrapped around each other’s little fingers, I can’t get her to agree to move in with me. Gotta have someone to cuddle with on those long, cold nights.”

My head tipped back in laughter as he smirked. “Does your new roomie know what he’s in store for once the sun goes down?”

“Not yet.” Caleb winked again. “He’s in for a pleasant surprise.”

“You’re still coming out tonight, right? You better not miss it, Caleb, or so help me…I’ll have Piper kick your ass!”

Caleb reached down and bopped my nose. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world, Feisty Freya. It’ll be a little later, but I’ll be there. Hey. You want to meet the new guy?

Standing on my tiptoes, I waited for him to lean down to my level so I could plant a kiss on his cheek. “Nah, I’m already late. I have to get upstairs before your girlfriend starts raining holy Hell down on me. But bring him to the club tonight.”

“All right, sweetheart. I’ll see you later.”

I rushed up the stairs and pushed my front door open as quietly as possible, hoping I could sneak into my bedroom without Piper hearing.

No such luck.

“You’re late!”

Dropping my bags on the couch, I rolled my eyes as I responded, “I know, I know. I got held up on campus.”

“Always with the excuses.” Piper stepped from the hall where the two bedrooms were. Our apartment was small, but cozy. The living room and kitchen were both open, only a bar area separating the space with a small dining nook off to the side. Down the one and only hallway were both bedrooms and the common bathroom. The master bedroom had an attached bath so when we didn’t have guests, the hall bath was all mine.

I took in Piper’s tight black leggings, brightly patterned, sleeveless tunic and sky-high ankle boots. It always amazed me how she was able to walk in heels so high, but she refused to wear flats, claiming vertically challenged women should always were at least four extra inches on their feet. Her short, honey-blonde hair was styled to perfection and, as usual, her makeup was flawless. The dark, smoky color of her eye shadow highlighted her caramel-colored eyes beautifully.

“You’re already two shots behind,” she called as she scurried into the kitchen. I could hear glass clinking against the countertop and had to suppress a cringe at the thought of downing tequila so early on in the night. “Move your ass! We’re not leaving this apartment until you’re good and buzzed.”

“Doesn’t getting sloppy drunk before the night even begins kind of defeat the purpose?”

“I never said sloppy drunk, I said
buzzed
. Is it my fault that after all our years of friendship, you still can’t hold you liquor? And besides, I already promised Stell I wouldn’t let you come home without making out with
at least
one dude tonight. And I’m
such
a good friend that I plan on staying sober just to make sure you don’t pick an ugo.”

I lifted one of the shot glasses to my mouth and downed it, the tequila burning a path down my throat before entering my belly. God, I really hated that stuff. “You and Stella being friends should be outlawed. I’m not making out with some random in the middle of a club.”

“Are, too,” Piper bossed as she lifted the last shot glass to my lips. “Now drink. We have a full night of drunken debauchery ahead.”

With the last shot down, I narrowed my watery eyes playfully. “And to think my dad believes you’re such a good influence.”

“That’s because your dad has good taste. You’re lucky I love you so much. You should be thankful.”

“Should I tell him you got me a fake ID for my birthday?” I giggled as the alcohol began to loosen me up.

“I’ll deny it ‘til the day I die,” she teased. “Who you think he’s gonna believe? You or the pre-law?” I stared up at the ceiling thoughtfully for a few seconds before heaving a defeated sigh. She was totally right. “Yeah, uh-huh. That’s what I thought,” she snickered.

Over the past couple of years, my dad had held true to his promise and visited me as much as possible, never hesitating to hop on a plane when I needed him. Even with miles and miles between us, we were able to build on the foundation of our relationship, making something that was even stronger than before my mother passed. I missed him tremendously. I knew I’d be able to see him more if I made trips to Sommerspoint, considering my schedule was much more flexible than his, but even after all this time, I still couldn’t bring myself to set foot inside that town. Guilt ate away at me on a regular basis even though he insisted he understood.

After leaving for college, I’d never been back. For me, the only good that came from that place was my relationship with my father and Stella. Everything else had been stripped away by the one boy I’d been stupid enough to fall in love with. Time passed and my heart began to heal, but it carried more scars than it had before. I was wary of who I gave pieces of myself to, and being in a relationship was the furthest thing from my mind. Maybe over time I’d be able to face the town I used to live in without the constant fear of seeing his face again. However, it was not that day.

I felt weak, cowardly when it came to the thought of seeing Parker again, and I hated myself for allowing him to take so much from me. But I couldn’t do anything about it right then. There was no use in dwelling on the past, not when I had so much to be thankful for in the present. I had my dad and my friends. I had a bright future in front of me full of love and color, and I’d achieved that without placing my happiness in someone else’s hands.

“Get a move on, girly,” Piper demanded with a swift smack to my butt. “Get cleaned up and changed. The night is young, and we’ve some living to do!”

My body moved in an easy rhythm as Calvin Harris’ “Outside” pounded through the speakers. Piper kept her hand firmly in mine as we danced together, wrapped up in the sea of bodies on the dance floor. I lost track of how much time had passed since we walked through the doors of Hurricane, the new ‘it’ place to be among the FSU students. The music was loud and the drinks were flowing, and just like Piper had demanded, I was well past buzzed and quickly on my way to full-on drunk. A bead of sweat traveled down my spine as I danced and laughed without a single care in the world. Life was good.

“I need a drink!” I shouted over the thumping bass so Piper could hear me. “Let’s take a break!”

She nodded and pointed over my shoulder. “Everyone’s here anyway!”

We made our way off the floor to the table Caleb and a few other friends had managed to commandeer near the dance floor.

“Nice moves, Feisty Freya,” Caleb said as he pulled me into a big hug. “Although, I’d been hoping you two would grind on each other a little more.”

I laughed and began passing out hugs to the rest of the group which had finally filed in as Piper reached over to smack her boyfriend on the back of the head. Most of them were little more than associates, but they were nice people and I always had a good time when we hung out, so I was glad they came.

“So, where’s your new roommate?” I called out as I scanned our little table for an unfamiliar face.

“He’s at the bar, said this round’s on him.”

“Ooh, I like him already.”

Piper took a seat on Caleb’s lap while I plopped down in an empty chair across from them. “So, the plan is to get Freya drunk enough to make out with some strange guy tonight,” Piper leaned in to tell Caleb. He looked over at me and raised an eyebrow, his hazel eyes full of humor. “I think I’ve gotten her pretty far along, but I’m counting on you to help me push her the rest of the way.”

“Anything for you, baby,” he told her before planting a loud, smacking kiss on her lips.

I glared across the table at my so-called friends. “I hate you guys, you know that?”

“Oh, you love us. Don’t deny it,” Piper said with a casual wave of her hand before her eyes suddenly grew huge at the sight of something over my shoulder. “Oh, sweet holy hell. I think I found your make-out buddy for the night, Freya. Seriously, I think my insides just quivered a little bit.”

“And that would be my new roommate,” Caleb deadpanned as he scowled at Piper.

“What? Oh, come on, baby. You have to admit, the guy is hot.”

“I’ll admit no such thing, woman!”

“But I’m still totally crazy stupid in love with you.”

“That’s better.” Caleb planted a kiss on the tip of her nose before turning around to address everyone. “Guys, I want you to meet my new roommate…”

I turned my head to get a look at the guy Piper was all but swooning over when the world stopped all of a sudden. It was like the screech of a record as the sight and sound of everyone around me came to a halt. I tried to suck in a panicked breath as I met those familiar deep, dark eyes, but it was as though every ounce of oxygen had been sucked from the building. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t form one functioning sentence as I stared in wide-eyed disbelief.

This couldn’t be happening.

I clenched my eyes shut against the onslaught of emotions racing through me, hoping and praying it was just the alcohol in my system playing tricks on me. I refused to let myself believe that he was really standing in front of me, but at the sound of his deep raspy voice, I knew I was screwed.

“Hey there, gorgeous.”

Her voice.

God, I felt her voice throughout my entire body, like a recovering addict who had just relapsed. Except I wasn’t recovering. I’d spent the last two years up to my neck in my addiction to Freya, refusing to let it go, to let
her
go completely. As I stood in the living room of my new apartment clutching a box of my belongings to my chest, my heart was beating so loudly I was certain my new roommate and the girl who owned my world could hear it from outside. I stood there, frozen by the fact that the person I came so many miles for was just outside my door, only feet away from me.