Loud: The Complete Series (A Bad Boy Alpha Male Romance) (17 page)

Emerson and Chris were safe.

For now.

CHAPTER
EIGHTEEN

Emerson

I sat staring at the cactus I'd
bought from Brooke. I was supposed to be studying, but my mind kept wandering.
Maybe having the plant sitting on my desk wasn’t the best idea since I thought
about her every time I looked at it. Chris had already given me a load of shit
for buying it, but I didn't care.

I couldn’t help but be impressed
with Brooke. She really seemed to have her life together. Not many adults I
knew seemed to be as together and focused as her. Nor did they think of someone
other than themselves. I hadn't taken her for the type who'd get into charity
work, but it was something she was passionate about. That was obvious by the
way her eyes lit up when she had talked about helping the less fortunate.

I could honestly say I'd never
met a girl quite like her in my life. No, Brooke was totally different — refreshingly
different from any of the girls I had dated before, and especially different from
girls like Melissa and her friends, who I doubted had ever done a single thing
for anyone besides themselves.

The front door opening yanked me
from my thoughts. I heard Chris come into the apartment. A minute later, he and
Ciara, one of Melissa’s friends, were standing in the doorway of my bedroom.

“Yo, bro,” he said as he leaned
against the doorframe.

“Hey, Emerson,” Ciara chimed from
behind him.

“Hey, guys,” I replied. “What's
going on?”

“Not much, broski,” said Chris.
“Other than we just scored ourselves a bottle of tequila. Wanna have some fun?”

I shook my head and leaned back
in my chair.

“Nah. It's a Tuesday night, and I
need to study for a test I have tomorrow. No drinking for me.” I shot him a
serious glare. “I'm pretty sure you've got a test tomorrow, too.”

“Aw, come on, Emerson,” Ciara
urged, “don't be such a bore. Jeez. It's just a little tequila.”

I rolled my eyes. “
Just a little tequila
? Seriously? Are
you guys gonna drink it with an eyedropper, one drop at a time? I'm not as
stupid as I look. I know where
just a
little tequila
leads and I told you, I don't want to drink.”

“Well, too bad, E, because we do.
And I wanna jam some tunes on my decks.”

“Dude, please! I just told you
I've got a test tomorrow. Can't you guys just go to a bar or something? Or at
least stay in your room and keep it down? I seriously can't get anything done
if you guys are in here drinking and DJing.”

“When did you become such an
old-timer, Emerson?” Ciara asked with distaste smeared across her face.

“You know what? Whatever,” I
said, annoyance coloring my voice. “I'll just go to the damn campus library and
study. You two have a good time.”

“Come on, brah, just put the
stupid books away and have a few shots with us. I even bought limes and salt,”
Chris encouraged.

“I told you, I have to study
tonight, man. And if I can't do that here, I'll just have to do it elsewhere,
right?”

“Shit, bro. Ciara’s right; you
really are turning into an old man.”

“Well, at least I’m not gonna
fail this semester, Chris,” I countered, frustrated. “Can you say the same…bro?”
I grabbed my books and stuffed them into a backpack. Moments later, I stormed
past Chris and Ciara, slamming the door behind me.

It was the fifth night in a row
he was getting smashed and I couldn't take it anymore. I'd been doing my best
to work hard and focus on my studies — and avoid drinking — but Chris just
didn't seem to care at all. He had been nothing but inconsiderate and
self-absorbed. All he cared about was partying and bringing girls over. And,
the look on his face was proof that he knew that he was going to fail the
semester. He just didn't give a damn.

I shook my head as I made my way
down the stairwell. I had to do something about my situation. Chris obviously
wasn't going to change his ways. Which meant it was up to me to figure out a
solution to my growing problem. I just didn’t know what that should be, but
something had to give.

The question was...was it time to
move out?

It was a heavy thought. Chris and
I had been best friends since I could remember. We just seemed to be growing
further and further apart. For the sake of my sanity — and my grades — moving
out might be my best option.

As I climbed onto my bike and
strapped on my helmet, I hoped I could find a solution that would allow me to
keep my grades up and salvage my friendship with Chris, but I was beginning to
have serious doubts about that.

With these thoughts swirling
around my head, I started the bike up and sped off toward the library.

***

I woke up early the next morning
and headed out for a jog, hoping to get five miles in before it got too hot and
get back in time to get ready for my ten o'clock class. While I was running, I
thought about what Chris and Ciara had said, calling me an old man. It made me
realize that I had actually done quite a bit of growing up in the past few
months. But being stuck in old patterns, and being stuck with people who didn't
share my same vision for moving forward, was holding me back.

Chris, Melissa, and the party
crew.

It wasn't that I disliked them.
Chris was still one of my best buds. It's just that our goals had diverged and
we were heading down different paths in life. I'd gotten over my partying
phase, but Chris was still very firmly stuck in his. I didn’t intend to quit
partying altogether. I mean, I still wanted to go out and have fun. Just not
every night of the week. And only when I had done everything I needed to do for
school.

Not to mention, I didn't feel
like there was much point in going out to clubs anymore. I couldn’t explain
exactly why, but I was no longer interested in chasing girls. Maybe it had
something to do with the fact that there was only one girl on my mind these
days. And with a girl like her on my mind, there wasn't room for any other
girls. Especially not airheads like Melissa.

Lost in my thoughts, I rounded my
last corner and arrived back in front of the apartment building. When I paused
for a breather before going up to take a shower, I noticed the elderly
superintendent Jenkins was having a cigarette. I walked over to say hi.

“Hey, Jenkins.”

“Emerson. Good to see ya,” he
growled in his gravelly smoker's voice.

“How's life?” I asked.

“Eh, I can't complain, I guess,
although my back's been givin' me some issues. You?”

“All's good with me. Sorry to
hear about your back, though.”

He shrugged. “These things happen
when you're old. Nothin' you can do 'bout it but accept it.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” I
chuckled.

“I'm too ancient t' be running
around like a young buck like you. These bones a' mine, they're old an'
creaky!”

I laughed.

Jenkins smiled, but then his face
took on a serious expression. “Hey, you know those two new dames who moved in
next to you?”

“Brooke and Leslie, yeah?”

“They was walkin' out earlier,
an' I overheard 'em bitchin' about the noise comin' from your place. One of 'em
was real keen on calling the cops.”

“Really? Which one?”

“My eyes ain't too good, and
neither are my ears. I couldn't tell which one was talkin' 'bout it. But it
don't matter. You two better watch y’selves. I know you two like your beer, an'
I also know you two are underage. You wouldn't want them cops comin' in your
place. That'll get ya in all sorts a' trouble.”

“Alright, Jenkins,” I said.
“Thanks for the heads up.”

“No problem, kiddo. Just take it
easy with the noise now, y'hear?”

“Yeah, I got ya. Thanks. I gotta
go. Hope your back feels better.”

“Thanks. See ya later, kid.”

I waved and jogged up the stairs
into the building. What Jenkins had said was cause for concern. I thought back
to the time in chemistry class I overheard that jerk Garrett telling Brooke she
should call the cops on me and Chris. Now I had to wonder if she was seriously
considering taking that advice or if it was Leslie who wanted to make the call.

Either way, it was bad news for
us. I had to convince Chris to stop partying in the apartment. Either that, or
I had to move out as soon as I could. I couldn’t have that kind of heat coming
down on me.

I opened the front door and went
straight to Chris's room and knocked.

“Yo, who's there?” a muffled
voice asked from behind the door.

“It's me.”

“Oh, hold on E-dawg.”

The sounds of mattress springs
echoed from behind the door before Chris spoke again.

“Okay, man, come on in.”

I opened the door and stuck just
my head in. Chris and Ciara were lying in bed, both only covered by Chris'
comforter. Barely. It was pretty obvious what I’d interrupted. Still, I cut
straight to the point.

“Dude, you've got to cut the
partying down.”

“Well, good morning to you, too,
bro,” he replied sarcastically. “So nice to see you. How was your-”

“Look, I just spoke to Jenkins
downstairs. He said he overheard one of our neighbors saying if there's any
more noise out of our place — and I mean any at all — they're gonna call the
cops.”

“So? Screw 'em. Let 'em call the
cops.”

“Chris, are you insane?! We've
been over this before, man! If the cops come in here and find all the alcohol,
we're dead! Have you forgotten who the dean of the college is?”

“You worry way too much, man.
Nobody is gonna call the cops. Jeez, just chill the hell out.”

I shook my head; it seemed
nothing I said to him would make a difference. It was looking like I might have
to consider moving out, after all.

“Look, just think about what I
just told you, alright? I gotta go shower and get to class.”

“Sure,” he said coldly. “Later.”

I walked out and closed the door,
burning frustration bubbling deep inside me.

***

I walked into chemistry class ten
minutes early and smiled as I saw Brooke already sitting there. Thankfully,
Garrett hadn't arrived yet, so she was sitting alone. I took my usual seat
behind her and tapped her playfully on the shoulder. When she turned around and
saw it was me, she smiled warmly.

“Hey, Emerson,” she said with
genuine warmth in her voice.

“Hey, Brooke. How's it going?”

“Pretty darn good, actually,” she
replied with a smile.

“Oh yeah? Why is that?”

“Well, I managed to raise over a
hundred dollars just by selling those plants! Together, the rest of the team
and I managed to raise twelve hundred dollars for the children's home.”

“Wow!” I exclaimed, impressed.
“That's fantastic!”

“How's your little cactus doing?”
she asked, a playful twinkle sparkling in her eye.

“Oh, he's good,” I replied with a
chuckle. “Surviving, despite my black thumb!”

“Good to hear. Just don’t
overwater it. It can be just as bad as not giving it enough water.”

“Don’t drown the cactus. I'll
keep that in mind.”

I thought about bringing up the
noise complaint, but didn’t want to make the conversation awkward, so I avoided
the issue. Luckily, it seemed Brooke was in a talkative mood so additional
topics weren’t needed.

“I gotta tell you, Emerson,” she
said, “I really enjoyed that Indian place, Patak's. So much, in fact, that I
had dinner there again with my parents on Sunday night.”

“Oh, did you now?” I said with a
wry smile. “Looks like I got someone hooked on Indian food!”

She laughed and blushed slightly.
Damn she was cute when that shyness came over her.

“Yeah, I think I might actually
be hooked now,” she replied with a hint of something laced in her words. “What
have you done, Emerson?”

If I didn’t know better, I’d have
thought she was flirting with me. That maybe there was a hidden meaning in what
she’d just said. I shrugged. “Oh no. Don't blame me, Brooke!”

“I have to blame someone, don't
I?” She raised her eyebrows slightly and grinned.

“I suppose you do.”

“Anyway, when I was there with my
parents, Mr. Patak recognized me and came over to say hi.”

“Oh, really? He always says he
never forgets a face.”

“Yeah, well, he wouldn't shut up
about you.”

“Me?”

“Yep,” she replied, blushing
again. “He told my parents how awesome a young man you are. Um, how awesome he
thinks you are, that is,” she quickly added.

“Nice to know he thinks that
about me,” I replied.

“Well, anyway, my mom said I
should invite you to a barbecue we're having this weekend.”

I tried my best to keep a look of
calm, cool, and collected on my face as I replied. “Oh yeah? A barbecue with
your parents?”