Full Count (3 page)

When your crack whore of a mom
abandons you at the hospital, just hours after being born, and then were ping
ponged back and forth through the foster care system because no one wanted a
crack baby, you sort of have to live that way. And yeah, I’m not afraid to
admit it; I definitely have some trust issues. Other than the Chapmans, I’ve
really never had anyone in my life that I could trust and depend on.

When I ended up with Chris as a
roommate almost three years ago, it was like fate or something. I had an
instant family built in that welcomed me with open arms. His parents, Tim and
Susanne, were so warm and accepting, I just kept waiting for them to say
something nasty to me. I wasn’t used to it at all.

And then all of his siblings,
Bryce, Jared, and Kitty. Sure, they fought from time to time, the normal
sibling rivalries intact, but you could tell how much they loved each other and
were always there whenever needed.

 Just like today. Tim had basically
demanded that Chris make sure Kitty found her way around campus all right. Not
that Chris really needed any instructions for that, all three brothers had a
soft spot for Kitty and I could see why, when she was actually nice to me.

“Please remind me how you actually
have girls that regularly just come over for sex with you again? I just don’t
get it; don’t they ever want more? It seems a little degrading.”

I shrugged my shoulders and
answered him back in between bites of my burger. “Dunno, what can I say, the
ladies just keep coming back for more. It’s all my mad skills, word gets around
campus and they all come flocking. Sara and Mia knew that was all I was
offering and they agreed; no strings attached.”

“Whatever, dude. I just can’t wait
till you finally meet someone that will settle your ass down. Hopefully, you
don’t get someone pregnant before then.”

We finished our late lunch and sure
enough, I ended up with the waitress’ number, I tucked it into my pocket on the
way out, throwing a wink her way. Maybe I would put it to use later. I was
instantly assaulted by the thick heat that I still wasn’t used to.

Growing up in the Midwest and
having to deal with the oddball weather up there, never prepared for me for
South Carolina weather. As soon as I turned 18 and was out of the system, I
knew where I was headed. Even having to switch schools every couple of years
when I was shuffled around, I still managed to keep my grades high at the top
of the class and joined the baseball team at each school. My hard work paid off
and I got a full ride to the university on a baseball scholarship.

I followed Chris around to a few
stores while he picked up some things before the new school year started. I
rolled my eyes every time he pulled out the credit card I knew his parents
footed the bill for.

Tim and Susanne were very well off and
although their kids never acted spoiled, they still had just about everything
they wanted. I was more used to working for my money and I kept pretty busy
juggling a job during baseball season along with school.

“C’mon, Kitty says they’re ready to
go,” Chris pulled out his keys and I followed him to the parking lot, running
straight into his back when he abruptly stopped and turned around, staring at
me with narrowed eyes.

“And don’t even think about trying
anything with Kitty’s roommate. I know she’s not really your type, but she’s a
beautiful girl. And I know you. So please, just don’t.” He clasped his hands
together like he was actually praying that I wouldn’t do anything. Did this guy
seriously think I couldn’t keep my dick in my pants? Well…..I snickered aloud,
the thoughts that I already had of Paige running through my head, conjuring up
again.

“I mean it,” he bit out. “Kitty
already hates you as it is, for whatever reason. Wait,” he put a hand on my
chest and I bit down the grin that was fighting to come to surface. Yeah I
might be afraid of all three Chapman brothers put together, but I was well over
six feet tall and had a much more athletically built body than Chris. And he
knew it. “You didn’t mess around with Kitty behind my back did you? Because if
you did, I will…”

“No dude,” I interrupted, brushing
past him with my shoulder. “You don’t have a thing to worry about. I might be
an asshole, but I’m not that big of an asshole.” I wouldn’t do anything to
damage the relationship with the one true family I had ever had and I was kind
of offended that he would even think that. The Chapmans were the perfect
substitute family and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Now, to leave Paige
alone would be the real challenge.

Paige

“I didn’t know shopping could be
this much…..fun.” Kitty grinned as I followed behind her with my arms loaded
down with bags. I figured I would get bored after awhile as she flitted from
store to store, but it never happened. And she didn’t try to push her style off
on me, a few suggestions here and there, and I practically had a whole new
wardrobe.

We hit up a home goods store too
and I was able to pick up a black and white flowered comforter, along with
towels and a few other accessories to make my side of the room more me. After
our shopping was complete, we stopped off at a salon to get our hair and nails
done. When all was said and done, I felt like more like a girl than I ever had
before in my life. It was actually kind of nice.

“There you two are,” Dylan called
out, leaning against the truck with one foot propped up behind him and his arms
crossed over his chest. Yup, my assumptions were correct. That body of his was
one that belonged in magazines. His dark gray shirt was pulled tight across his
chest and I’m pretty sure I could count his abs. And he easily towered over me,
even more so than Jake did.

“Here let me get those for you.” He
reached out to grab my bags and I pulled them back closer to my body. His brown
eyes lit up with amusement and he took a step back. “I can carry my own bags,
thank you very much.”

He held his hands out in front of
himself in surrender and I felt like punching that cocky smirk right off of his
face. “Alright, Sparky. Simmer down.” He hopped in the truck and slammed the
door behind him, leaving me feeling a little guilty.

He was just trying to be polite. It
probably had a lot to do with the fact that I wasn’t use to any guys offering.
Whenever I was around Jake and his friends, I was treated just like one of the
guys.

He was probably just trying to be
nice so he could get in my pants though. Kitty had filled me in on some of his
conquests while we were doing our shopping and he sounded like the kind of guy
to avoid like the plague.

I followed Kitty into the backseat
after we had our bags safely tucked away and Dylan turned around as soon as I
slammed the door. “You look gorgeous, by the way,” he picked up a strand of my
hair and twirled a curl loosely around his finger.

“Uh huh, how many girls have you
told that to?” I questioned back flatly. Yup, definitely trying to get in my
pants. “Oh and by the way, what’s with the whole Sparky thing? Should I be
offended that you nicknamed me after a dog?”

The truck cab filled with his
booming laughter and I couldn’t help but smile. Kitty didn’t look pleased at
all and it made me wonder if there was something going on between her and
Dylan. They seemed to have a little bit of a love/ hate relationship.

“Uh, no,” he answered back. “Far
from it. Actually it’s after Sparky Anderson, you seem like you have a little
bit of feistiness in you.”

“If you say so.”

“So Dylan,” Christopher gave him a
sideways glance, looking back at me. “You gonna give that chick from the
restaurant a call? She could barely keep her hands off of you during lunch.”

Dylan answered back with a grunt
and the rest of the ride back to the dorms was eerily quiet, I kept waiting for
Dylan to hit on me again, but it never came. Which was probably for the best,
Dylan Turner seemed like bad news, I mean apparently, he had just gotten some
other girl’s number and then he was flirting with me. My new thing for school might
be why not, instead of why, so I could have more experiences in life, but I had
a feeling if I kept that motto when it came to him, I would be in trouble.

                                                                *****************************

Over the next few days Kitty and I
got to know each other even more, I was surprised how well we actually got
along. We also met our last suitemate, Kylie, who basically looked like Kitty’s
clone with her tan skin and blonde hair, the only difference was hers was more
of a platinum blonde and fell into loose curly ringlets. I figured her and
Kitty would hit it off right away, but they seemed to clash. They were
constantly fighting over bathroom times and somehow Kitty’s clothes kept
disappearing from her closet.

Kitty and I attended orientation
together and I knew I had made the right decision in coming here, after
exploring the campus even more. Florida might be the Sunshine State, but they
definitely got it right when calling South Carolina the state with Smiling Faces
and Beautiful Places. People all over campus emulated southern hospitality and
I hadn’t met a person I didn’t like yet.

I was a little awestruck and my
feet hurt by the time orientation was over. The campus was huge, but
breathtaking. Gorgeous trees lined the walkways and I could already imagine
myself studying in the grassy areas or by the bubbling fountains that were
placed all around campus.

I hit my alarm button as soon as it
went off. I had already been awake for at least a half an hour, with
butterflies in my stomach. It was the first day of classes and I was beyond
nervous. I peeked an eye over at Kitty, whose eyes were still covered by the
pink sleep mask she wore to bed every night. We had compared our schedules and
I knew almost every one of her classes was in the afternoon. She definitely liked
to get her beauty sleep.

After a quick shower, I dried my
hair and let it fall down in loose curls down my back. I had picked out my
clothes the night before, with help from Kitty; it felt strange to get this
nervous over what to wear to school. Normally a jeans and t-shirt were the
typical uniform, but I wanted to start things off different.

I slid on the pair of white shorts
that helped to deepen the faint tan that my skin would only allow. No matter
how much time I spent out in the sun, I would never be able to achieve the sun
kissed skin like Kitty. I paired it with a black tank top that had a racer back
with a see through lace material and black wedge sandals. There, new and
improved Paige Brinton.

I grabbed my bag and headed out for
my first class. Luckily, with the help of orientation and Kitty, who knew the
campus like the back of her hand since everyone in her family had attended
here, I knew where I was going. I wasn’t sure about my major, like most freshmen,
so I pretty much had all general education classes, besides my Psych II class.
If anything, that seemed interesting to me and I had easily placed into the
course for upperclassmen. I was a little worried about keeping up, but I
figured there were plenty of resources if I started to struggle.

I took a seat in the classroom that
was surprisingly small. I was expecting some huge auditorium with hundreds of
other students, but that wasn’t the case. I pulled out my phone and grinned as
soon as I saw the messages from Jake, wishing me luck. He knew how nervous I
got on the first day of school, even back in our hometown, where we had gone to
school with everyone for years.

“Is this seat taken?” I glanced up
at the grinning boy, who had close- cropped hair, but you could still tell it was
an almost white blonde. He was tall and lanky, with an almost infectious smile
and he looked vaguely familiar.

I shook my head and he scooted his
desk just a little closer to mine. “You don’t remember me do you?” I squinted
my eyes at him and tried to recall who he was, but it wasn’t coming to me.

“Nope, sorry. I’ve seen so many new
faces this past week, it’s like they all just blend together.”

He pulled out a pen and fresh
notebook that looked almost identical to mine. I loved the smell and look of
new school supplies. “Ben Davies, I went to school with Kitty. I think she
introduced us as we were walking opposite ways, so my feelings aren’t too hurt
that I wasn’t that memorable.” His easy smile returned and hazel eyes sparkled
back at me.

“I do remember you now that you
mention it.” He had a disbelieving look on his face, but I just shrugged my
shoulders. Kitty knew a lot of people on campus since she lived only about an
hour away in a little community situated right on the ocean. She had said that
half of her graduating class had chosen to come here and I think I had met
pretty much all of them. For some reason, Ben really had been the only one that
stuck; I think it had to do something with those eyes of his.

Class started before I could
reassure him that I in fact did remember him, but I surely wasn’t going to tell
him it was because of his eyes. That might just come off a little creepy. Syllabuses
were handed out and we went over various projects and papers that we were going
to do, before I knew it everyone was rushing for the door at the end of class.

“Mind if I walk with you to your
next class?” Ben stood above me with his arms looped through his backpack and
one hand tucked into the front of his jeans. “Sure, I’m heading over to
Barnwell. I think it’s near the horseshoe.”

“Great, I’m headed that way too.”
We made small talk as we weaved our way through other students making their way
to classes or stopping in groups to catch up with each other. Ben seemed to
know almost as much as Kitty about the campus and he told me how most of his
family were alumnus as well.

“So what class you headed to?” We
lingered in front of Barnwell and I glanced at my phone seeing that I still had
twenty minutes before class started. “Psych II, I’m not gonna lie I’m a little
worried about it.”