Avoiding Decisions (Avoiding 1.5)

“Whatever.”

Great comeback.

“I’m totally going to this concert with you, and I’m bringing the guys,” Seth said with a crooked smile. “I hope you f**k her until your dick falls off.”

CHAPTER 3

THE THEATRE

The guy sitting behind the desk was about as townie as it came in this city. He was tall and lanky. No, he was more like skinny or even scrawny. Jack was sure the guy had never heard of a gym before. He had tattoos running up and down his arms and peeking out from beneath his perfectly rumpled ironic T-shirt. Jack liked to keep his hair long enough to fall into his eyes, but this guy’s hair was just too long and stringy. Hygiene was lacking all around.

“ID?” The guy thrust out his hand while looking at Jack in disdain.

At least the feeling was mutual.

Jack handed him his fake ID, which was a duplicate of a friend of his. He didn’t think it looked much like him, but in Athens, it didn’t matter. If it said he was twenty-one, and it wasn’t just a flimsy piece of paper, then no one gave a shit.

“Great,” the guy said. He barely glanced at it before handing it back to Jack. He placed a giant black turtle stamp on Jack’s hand and let him pass.

Jack pulled open the door to the Theatre and walked into the music venue. The room was cool as if to make up for the Georgia heat, and he was glad he had worn his dark jeans and black button-up with the sleeves rolled to three-quarter length. His trusty navy Chuck Taylor’s were on his feet.

His roommates, Seth, Luke, and Michael, had come with him to the show. The conversation to get all his roommates to come out with him had been about as embarrassing as Seth could manage, and he had a talent in such things. His friends, Clark and Hunter, had been over to witness the spectacle, too. None of them liked Danielle, and they were more than happy to help Jack find someone else, so he would grow some balls and dump her. Clark was the only one who had been hesitant, but peer pressure had won him over in the end. Clark and Hunter were going to meet them out for drinks later since they had an intramural soccer game.

“So, which one is she?” Seth asked as he walked in behind Jack.

Jack made a quick sweep of the room. “I don’t see her,” he said.

He had only been here a handful of times to see some pretty popular bands or to catch a couple local bands that had a strong following in Athens. Last October, he and all the guys had come here for a Halloween blowout full of angels, devils, cowgirls, and every other variety of slutty costume imaginable. People were crushed wall-to-wall while a DJ blared club music. This was nothing like that. The venue was actually quite sad on a weekday.

About two-dozen people were standing in the center of the room, bobbing up and down to the college rap music some guy was spitting into the microphone. A handful of townies sat around the perimeter of the room on cheap couches and bar stools, drinking PBR, and ignoring the music.

And then, there she was. She was wearing a short black dress and heels that accentuated her toned legs and butt. Jack had only ever seen her in the outfits she wore to study in at the coffee shop, which usually consisted of a loose T-shirt and jeans. She had gone from hot to off the charts in that dress.

“That one,” Jack said, gesturing to the girl.

“And she’s not even blonde,” Seth said elbowing Jack in the side.

“Ha-ha,” he responded dryly.

“I’d f**k her,” Seth said with a shrug.

“You’d f**k anything.”

“Yeah. Anything that hot.”

“That’s the girl with the big tits.” Jack pointed out the girl who was jamming out to the music at the front of the stage.

“She’s actually into this music?” Seth looked contemptuous about the girl’s lack of taste. “I’m going to pass. If Chasity is working at Chamber, I’ll see if she’ll give me a blow job in the bathroom.”

“Good luck with that.”

“Anyway, go talk to your girl. I’ll take the guys to the bar.” Seth walked away with the rest of their entourage, leaving Jack alone to determine his course of action.

She was here, swinging her hips side to side as if in invitation. Her lips were moving along with the music, and he could see the shine of that damn pink lip gloss teasing him from a distance. He had come to the show with the intention of meeting that girl. He was too committed to back out now.

Taking a deep breath, Jack walked across the empty room and stood next to the girl. She was so enthralled with the music that she didn’t even notice him. Her eyes were glued to the duet on stage, and she was yelling out all the words she knew.

“You’re not bad. Maybe you should show them how it’s done,” Jack said, leaning over to her.

When she giggled, her curls bounced all around her face. One strand was stuck to her pink lip gloss, and he had to fight back the urge to brush it away. What had gotten into him?

The girl turned toward him, and the look of shock on her face was about as obvious as her friend’s flirtation had been earlier that day. She tried to recover, and damn, was it cute to watch her try.

“You think so?”

“Honestly, no,” Jack teased.

She was good, but he kind of liked to see her all flustered.

“Well, thanks. I’m very offended right now.”

Her hand fell to her heart as if she was wounded, and Jack took the opportunity to let his eyes drop to her chest. Yeah, she had a pretty nice rack.

“So...do I know you or do you always just insult people when you first meet them?” she asked.

He snapped his eyes back to her face. He could drown in those dark eyes.

She was so tiny that he had to bend down to avoid yelling over the music. He cleared his throat softly before he responded. “I think you study at the coffee shop where I work.”

He breathed the smell of her in. How did girls always smell so good? He didn’t even know how to describe it, except that it could have been edible.

“I think you might be right.” She shot him a smile that could kill.

She removed the tiny piece of hair still stuck to her pink lip gloss and then tucked the loose strand behind her ear. They never broke eye contact, and he wondered if she knew what she was doing to him.

“Are you much into college boy rap?” she asked abruptly.

He laughed at the turn in conversation. “No, not really, but this guy’s not bad. Is he a friend of yours?”