Never Say Never

Six

CHAD P.O.V.

I knew I shouldn't have left. I shouldn't have walked out on her, but I panicked. She'd used the R-word. Relationship. It gave me hives or, at least, it used to. On reflex, I freaked out. After I left, however, I slowed down enough to think about it and, for the first time ever, it didn't give me hives. Having a relationship with Erin sounded pretty damned good, actually. Then that line of thought started to scare me. What did I know about being a boyfriend? I'd probably suck at it and Erin deserved nothing but the best. Sure we'd been at each other's throats for years, but now I wondered if I'd treated her like that as a way to cover my real feelings. Now that I was finally figuring out how I felt, I couldn't stand the thought of anyone else touching her. She was mine.

So hours later, after I got my head out of my ass, I went back to the house with a smile on my face. I was going to take the plunge. I'd already taken myself off the market, even before Erin, so now I wanted to make it official. I found an empty house though, so I texted Erin, asking if we could talk. When I didn't get a response, I texted her brother to see what he was doing. Maybe they were together.

Eric's response was: KAPPA TAU. THE PARTY IS SLAMMIN. GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE.

I tipped my head back and closed my eyes. I didn't want to go to a damned frat party, but then I wondered...so I texted: YOUR SISTER WOULDN'T HAPPEN TO BE THERE, WOULD SHE?

His response was immediate: FUCK YES. WE'VE ALREADY HAD WORDS.

I clenched my phone in my fist before sending: I'LL BE THERE SOON. I didn't bother changing. It didn't take me long and as soon as I arrived at that party, I knew my shitty night was about to get a whole lot worse. The party was thumping. I didn't think I'd ever seen the Cappa Tau house so packed before. I moved through the crowd, heading for the spot I figured I'd find Eric. Sure enough, he sat on the back deck in a circle of a select few. He caught my eye and stood, heading my way.

He frowned, "Who pissed you off already? Do we need to kick some ass? Wait, what the fuck are you wearing?"

I glanced down at my T-shirt and sweat pants with a shrug, "Didn't care enough tonight. So what's the deal with your sister?"

He snorted, "She's in there flirting with any guy who glances her way. She's currently chatting it up with Cohen Montgomery."

"That fucker?" I asked, jaw clenched.

Eric nodded, "I told her that he's a user and abuser, but she won't listen."

I wanted to rip someone's head off, preferably Cohen's, but I didn't want to let on to Eric where my feelings were at. I didn't want to give him the chance to shut me down before I even took a chance with Erin. So I forced a bored expression and asked, "Want me to try to talk some sense into her?"

Eric slapped me on the shoulder and said, "Thanks, man." Then he moved back to his seat and pulled a girl onto his lap. Seeing that, I knew he'd be occupied for the rest of the night. So, with renewed purpose, I reentered the house. A few girls made a grab at me. One stopped me and literally wrapped herself around me. I disengaged from them all and continued my search. Then, as if an answer to a prayer, the crowd suddenly parted and I saw the most beautiful girl in the whole place. Her dark brown hair had been curled and her face was glowing, as she smiled up at the douche bag. She wore a skin tight, black tank top and a jean skirt. Her outfit was a little more casual than her last party attire, but she owned the room. Feeling sick to my stomach, I made my way over.

Another girl stepped into my path and I had a rejection ready on my lips, until I looked down and saw that it was one of the twins. I really needed to figure out a way to tell them apart, I thought wryly. Then she snapped, "I don't think so, Buster."

"Excuse me?" I asked with a frown.

She put her hand on her hip and I saw several guys nearby eyeing her like she was a sweet dessert. She was pretty, I'd give her that, but she was too skinny for my liking. Her duplicate suddenly appeared beside her and now they wore matching glares. I studied their faces slowly, until I finally saw it. One of them had a trio of freckles on her left cheek. I pointed at her, demanding, "Which one are you?"

Her frown deepened, "Seriously? I'm Coral."

I nodded. Ok. Now that we had that settled, "Well ladies, it's been real, but I've got something I need to discuss with Erin."

I tried to sidestep them, but they moved as one, continuing to block my path and then Chloe growled, "You have nothing that Erin wants to hear. She has filled us in. Since she refused to be just another booty-call for you, then there is nothing more to talk about. Now, she's having a grand time, so why don't you run along and find yet another tramp to take home for a meaningless romp that will leave you feeling nothing but emptiness until you find the next slut to hit your mattress."

I winced, "Look, I'm done with that. Regardless, that guy isn't a good guy."

"What do you mean?" Coral asked, straightening into a mama-bear stance.

I nodded. Yes, that's what I liked to see. I elaborated, "Cohen Montgomery uses girls for sex and then tosses them aside as soon as he gets what he wants."

Coral snorted, "How is he any different from you then?"

I blinked and shook my head, "No, no, no. The big difference is that I've never lied to get a girl in the sack. I've told them straight up that's all I'm interested in. She could either walk or she could give me what I was after. Cohen will pretend to be into a girl, but only until they bang. Then it's adios Cohen. That's not even the worst of it though. He's been rumored to have hurt girls."

"Hurt them?" Chloe prodded.

I shrug, "Smack them around. Get too rough in the bedroom. There has even been talk about him raping them.  Nothing has been reported against him, but I've heard enough rumors to know where there is smoke there is fire."

"How do we know you're not lying?" Coral asked with a glare.

I'd come to realize that now wasn't the time to tell Erin where my head was at, so I shrugged and said, "What reason would I have to lie?"

They both watched me closely, before Chloe nodded, "Alright, we'll pass along the message."

I knew I'd been dismissed. I swallowed and looked at Erin once more, only to find her watching me. I gave her a soft smile and then told her friends, "Please don't leave her alone with that guy."

"Yes, Dad." Coral said with an eye roll.

Even though it about killed me to do it, I walked away. I went back out to the deck and got Eric's attention long enough to tell him, "I did what I could, Dude. I told her friends that Cohen isn't a good guy and asked them not to leave her alone."

Eric nodded and shook my hand, "Thanks, man. I can always count on you."

I felt sick again and told him, "Look, I'm just not feeling the party vibe tonight. I think I'll head out."

"That's two weeks in a row. What will the female population do?" He asked, with a chuckle.

"I guess you'll have to pick up my slack."

He threw his head back and laughed, before saying, "Its a tough job, but somebody's gotta do it."

I nodded and headed out. I went around the side of the house, so I wouldn't have to pass by where Erin might still be laughing it up with that asshole. I couldn't bare to see it again. On my drive home, I wondered if I'd screwed up my one and only chance with her.