“Thanks,” I said and felt myself warming. “I wasn’t so sure about the outfit. I thought maybe it was too….” Revealing? Slutty? “Not me,” I decided to explain. “I’m not used to showing so much of my body.”

Was I really trying to explain my outfit choice?

“Why not? You have a body that was made to be shown off.”

Almost immediately Turner put his hand over his mouth and closed his eyes. “I’m sorry, that sounded wrong, totally wrong. I didn’t mean to say that… Or at least to make it sound so pervy.”

“It’s fine.”

He had about the same amount of confidence that I had.

“I’m not that type of guy,” he continued to explain. “My mother taught me to be a gentleman and she would have my ass if she knew what I said.”

“Well, then maybe I should give her a call,” I teased. “I’m kidding. Turner, you worry too much, did anyone ever tell you that?”

I was the same way though.

“More than once.  I’m what they call a ‘worrywart’.”

“That makes two if us.” I smiled. “I’m a bit neurotic myself.”

The elevator opened and we stepped out into the first floor. Turner rushed forward to open the door. We stepped into the night, the warmth and humidity encompassing us like a blanket.

“Thank you.”

“My pleasure.”

Turner held out his arm and I linked mine through, letting him guide me towards the Great Lawn. Turner was a… Gentleman. It came off as a little cheesy but at least he was nice. Others were milling about, all slowly making their way to the grass. I could smell the booze from where we were and the hum of voices greeted us as we sifted into the crowd.

Sabrina was sitting on a rock, a cigarette in one hand and a drink in the other. Sabrina smokes? I couldn’t help but wonder if the cigarette was to look cooler and fit in better. Elizabeth stood next to her, nursing a red solo cup.

“Hey guys,” I said and waved at my roommate.

Sabrina waved back and the two of them blatantly stared at Turner and me as we passed. Turner nodded at them but didn’t remove his arm from mine.

“Have fun!” Sabrina cried out. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!”

I ignored Sabrina’s comment and held Turner’s arm tighter. I didn’t want him to think that I spent my time gossiping about him.

“Can I get you a drink?” Turner asked when we finally stopped a bit of a ways from the crowd.

 I shimmed up on a rock, keeping my legs crossed and putting my jacket over my lap to stop myself from flashing anyone.

“Sure. Whatever you’re having.”

Turner squeezed my arm.

“I’ll be right back,” he said and disappeared into the crowd.

I shifted on the rock, trying to relax, as I looked at the scene in front of me. People were already drinking and dancing even though no music was playing. I averted my eyes from a couple of people grinding up against each other, the girl’s skirt riding up on her tanned thighs. Any higher and she would be showing off everything. That was probably her plan. She wanted to be noticed, no matter what it meant. She didn’t care about what people said about her as long as they were talking about her.

A twig snapped to the left of me and I turned my head to see a guy sauntering up to me, a cocky grin covering his face.

“Are you an angel because I’m sure I just saw you falling from heaven.”

You have got to be kidding me. Could he be any cornier?

“I’m sorry, do those lines actually work on girls?” I asked.

The guy paused and then threw his head back in a boisterous laugh.

“Usually, except now.”

“I’m so sorry that I have more than two brain cells in my head,” I retorted. “Can I help you?”

“I don’t know, can you?”

Oh, I was dealing with a smart ass. This was perfect. I looked around for Turner but didn’t see him emerging from any part of the crowd.

Come on Turner, come back already.

“I’m Nash.”

“And I should care because?” I said as I stared at him.

Was he seriously standing there and bothering me with his lousy pick-up lines? Did I not make it clear enough that I wanted nothing to do with him?

“I’m the main singer in the band you came to see.”

“Good to know.”

I looked Nash over. He was good looking, I would give him that. He had a mop of black hair, the color that most couldn’t pull off, but it complimented his green eyes and tanned skin that were covered in tattoos. He wore a button down shirt, opened, and I could see the faint outline of muscle tone. Against my will my body started to hum.

Come on Lily.

He’s sexy…

He’s also incredibly dumb.

His narrow waist disappeared behind loose fitting jeans, ripped at the bottom, and his sneakered feet.

“So…do you have a name?”

“Of course I have a name…”

Again Nash laughed but it wasn’t a malicious laugh. It was a whimsical laugh that disappeared with the wind.

“Okay, I’ll admit it. That was a stupid question. It’s probably one of the stupidest questions I’ve ever asked.”

He took another drink.

“Well at least we’re in agreement about that,” I said.

This time I smiled at him, my cold shoulder growing warmer by the minute. Nash shifted on his feet and ran a hand through his hair. It bounced once and then lay back down exactly in the position it started in.

“So can I have your name?”

“It’s Lily…”

I opened my mouth to say more when I finally spotted Turner. He carried two cups and was smiling as he walked towards me. His smile abruptly disappeared when he saw Nash.

“Nash,” Turner said.

“Turner,” he replied. “Long time no see. How are you doing buddy?”

“Fine.”

Turner stepped between Nash and me, blocking him from my view.

“Do you want to walk around a little? I want to check everything out.”

I wanted to ask Turner what exactly he hoped to check out. It wasn’t as if things changed a lot, at least to him. From what he told me, the concert was the same, year after year.

But Turner’s face lost all its color and his chin trembled just slightly. There was something between these two guys… What had happened between them? Why, when Turner saw Nash, did he change so much?

“Sure,” I said and carefully slid off the rock.

I peeked around Turner’s shoulder.

“See you around Nash.”

“Thanks.”

Nash never lost his smile, even as Turner took my hand in his and pulled me away. Turner didn’t talk to me. I just followed him through the crowd of sweaty, drunk college students. My feet were killing me and I knew now why I hadn’t worn heels until that night.

I wanted to ask Turner to stop, or at least to slow down, but his grip on my hand stopped me from making the suggestion. I knew that Turner wanted to get me as far away from Nash as possible.

Finally the two of us stopped. I had no idea where we were, or where Nash was. Turner pulled me away from the crowd and we hung out against a tree, watching students continue to arrive. I could hear the echo of conversations fluttering over to me but I couldn’t hear what they were talking about. Turner turned to me and frowned, distracted.

“Turner,” I said slowly, tentatively. “What was that about? What’s with you and Nash.”

“Nothing. Nothing is going on.”

I knew it wasn’t my business, I knew that, but I pushed anyway.

“That wasn’t nothing.”

“Lily-”

“I know it’s none of my business and I know I shouldn’t be asking but you look so… Angry. You practically dragged me away from him like I was some kind of child.”

“I’m sorry,” he said and pulled me close to him.

He held my hand and stared into my eyes.

I could feel our bodies mixing together and I wouldn’t have minded if he just kissed me.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s not a big deal.”

I was telling the truth, it wasn’t a big deal. It wasn’t the first time I saw two guys circle each other like two animals ready to attack.

“Nash and I go back… Way back. I’ve known him since we were kids.” Turner cleared his throat and I stood there, waiting. “We were inseparable.”

“So what happened?” Turner laughed a short, harsh laugh.

“What happened?” Turner repeated. “What didn’t happen? One night I come home after a long day of work and find the asshole screwing my sister.”

My eyes popped and I gasped.

“Are you serious?”

Turner nodded.

“He had her up against the wall like some kind of whore. It was sickening.”

I nodded, sick myself. I couldn’t imagine what Turner felt when he walked in on the scene in front of him. I knew that if that happened to me I would have flipped out.

“What did you do?”

“I grabbed the douchebag by the collar of his shirt and threw him out of the house. I told him that I didn’t want to see him at my house anymore and if I did, I would ruin him. Thankfully he listened. Now, the only time I see him is at these stupid concerts.”

Turner shook his whole body out and then smiled at me.

“And now I have made this, officially, the worst date ever.”

“It’s not ruined,” I assured him. “We still have the rest of the night.”

After a moment of hesitation, I pulled Turner down and kissed his cheek.

“Let’s make the most of it.”

Chapter Five

The music was deafening. Turner was next to me, jumping up and down. He had a drink in his hand that he expertly kept from falling and took glugs from every few minutes. It was his fourth drink while I just finished my second. I wasn’t sure if he was drunk yet or still getting there but I didn’t want to find out. My feet were killing me and so was my head. All I wanted to do was go home and climb into bed.

It was easy to get me drunk since it was my first time drinking that much.

I tugged at Turner’s arm, attempting to get his attention, but he didn’t feel it. He screamed at the top of his lungs at the music and fist bumped the guy next to him. Turner was having the time of his life but I had no idea why. If Turner hated Nash so much, how could he enjoy the music so much? Didn’t that contradict each other?

It had to be the alcohol.

Finally the music stopped. My ears were ringing but the pounding in my head became worse. I felt nauseous and disoriented.

Was I really drunk?

I started laughing to myself. Who asks themselves if they are drunk or not? Most already know the answer to the question. Turner downed the rest of this drink and then turned to me. His cheeks were rosy red and his eyes were glazed over.

“Alright all, The Renegation are taking a little break. The other band is going be filling in for us for a bit. Rock on!” Nash said and the band exited the stage.

A bunch of college girls screamed Nash’s name even though he wasn’t on stage anymore. He could probably get a date with any of them.

“Isn’t this awesome?!” Turner cried as he squeezed my hand.

“I don’t feel that great,” I admitted.

Turner’s face contorted into a look of concern.

“You look… Sick.”

“I think I am. I’m sorry, Turner. Now I’m the one who is ruining the date.”

I took a breath but it only made me more nauseous.

“I think I need to go back to the dorm and sleep this off.”

Turner looked at the stage, then at me, then back at the stage. It was obvious that he was torn about leaving the concert or leaving me.

What a first date this was.

“I can get back to the dorm by myself.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah it’s fine,” I said. “You’ve looked forward to this night for a while. I don’t want to ruin it for you. I’ll call you tomorrow or something?”

“Yeah, I’ll stop by tomorrow morning to see how you are.”

“Great,” I smiled at him. “I did have fun tonight, you know, before I got sick.”

Turner bent down and before I could react, his lips were on mine. They were swift and chilled, tasting like jack and coke.

Then he let off.

“See you tomorrow,” he said.

 Too dazed to do anything else, I waved to Turner and then started to weave through the crowd as the new band began to play. I got out of the crowd just as they started to get rowdy.

Thank goodness.

I kicked my shoes off, hooking them around my fingers. I started to walk through the thick grass, letting the blades slip through my toes. All I wanted was a bed.