Someone Like You (2 page)

I hear him chuckle. “Is she hot?”

“Not the point Carter. Dude, I have to get rid of her. Can you help? Can you organise one of your legendary parties?”

“Sure man. I can be over at yours in an hour … with plenty of company.” he tells me and I can just hear his smug grin down the phone.

“Hey, leave some of the ladies for me!” I tell him with a laugh and then hang up.

I then quickly type out a text message to everyone
I
know:

‘Party @
mine! Bring yr own beer. Friends welcome!’

Let’s see how
Little Miss Nerd copes with a house full of drunk and noisy strangers.

Sure, it’s a
low blow but sometimes you have to play a little dirty … and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to get rid of her.

She has to crack eventually.

I mean the girl is obviously all studious and shit … so if she can’t study, she’s bound to pack up her crap and go.

Happy with that comforting thought,
I quickly make myself a sandwich and inspect the fridge for beer.

After grabbing two bottles, I stretch out on the couch again and wait for the party to get started.

Game on Nerd Girl … game on.

Chapter Two

Temperance

I come back to the flat
some time after eight o’clock to find a party raging. The music is blaring and the living room is crowded with people I don’t know, currently drinking their way to insobriety.

I push past the crowd of drunken guys blocking the kitchen and am horrified at the mess. There are beer bottles everywhere and there are various crisps and nuts ground into the floor.

Furious, I search for Priestly. It takes me two minutes before I find him chatting up some blonde.

“HEY!” I yell over the music.

Priestly rolls his eyes at me while the blonde shoots me daggers.

“HEY!” I yell again and this time Priestly chugs back his beer and turns to look at me.

“What?” he asks with a sigh.

“What the hell? I have class in the morning! I won’t be able to sleep with this going on!” I tell him furiously.

He shrugs. “My class doesn’t start until eleven-thirty so that’s not my problem. You don’t like it, go elsewhere.”

I stare at him, shocked. He knows that I don’t have anywhere else to go and I really don’t want to start a fight.

Eventually, I sigh and settle for trying to reason with him. “Look, it’s pretty damn obvious that you don’t want me here but I have nowhere else to go. Can you please just turn the music down then?”

“Whatever.” h
e replies, rolling his eyes before wandering off into the kitchen to grab another beer.

Shaking my head in disgust, I make my way to my bedroom where I find a couple getting pretty cosy.

Horrified, I kick them out and flop down onto my bed. It’s not long before I hear the music volume increasing.

Exhausted, I
lie back on the bed and cry.

Why is he acting like such an asshole?

Suddenly, my door bursts open and I bolt upright.

“Whoops! Thought this was the bathroom!” a guy mumbles before glancing at my face.

“Wow … is this a bad time?” he asks, slowly approaching the bed. “You okay darlin’?”

I glance up at him and deduce that he is harmless when I notice that he has friendly brown eyes.
Besides, he’s calling me darling – I think it’s safe to say that I’m not his type.

He sits down beside me as I
try to calm down.

“I’m … fine.” I gasp. “Bad day.” I tell him.

He pats me on the arm awkwardly. “It’s okay darlin’. Do you want water or something?”

I nod and he disappears out the door. I notice that Priestly looks in on his way past. His expression is unreadable but he hesitates outside the door for a second.

I frown, wondering if he’s going to come in when Brown Eyes comes back.

Priestly then quickly moves on, wrapping his arm around
a girl who whispers something in his ear.

“Here you go.” Brown Eyes says, handing me a bottle of water.

I thank him, take a gulp, and glance at him again. “What’s your name?”

“Anson.” he replies, pushing a dark curl out of his eyes.

“Temperance.” I say with a smile.

He throws me a funny look. “Seriously?”

I nod. “I know. My mother said that I looked very wise when I was born.”

Anson laughs. “Well, are you?”

I laugh and nod. “Probably too wise.”

He grins at me
and I finally start to feel relaxed.

“So, how do you know Priestly?” he asks.

I shrug. “He’s my flatmate. There was a housing screw up.” I explain.

Anson nods. “I wondered
… you’re not exactly his type darlin’.”

I
stare at him, wondering if I should feel flattered or offended. What do I say to
that
?

Anson then seems to realise he’s offended me and apologizes.

“Sorry, that came out wrong darlin’. I didn’t mean it like that. You’re very attractive – just not to me obviously. Your beauty is wasted on the likes of me honey!” he tells me dramatically.

I smile. “It’s okay. So how do
you
know Priestly?”

He laughs. “I went to high school with him
darlin’.”

“Oh, has he always been so … unfriendly?” I ask hesitantly.

“Well, he can be kind of an asshole. He’s super hot all right but he’s still an asshole sometimes.” Anson admits.

“I figured.” I say
with a frown.

He chuckles. “Don’t let him get to you
darlin’. He thrives on thinking he can get his own way all the time. Just fight back is all I can tell you.”

I nod. “I’m not much of a fighter though.” I admit reluctantly.

Anson shrugs. “Just don’t take any crap from him.”

I nod and take another sip of water. “Okay, thanks for the advice.”

Anson stands and flashes me a grin.

“No pro
blem … see you around Wise Girl.”

***

Priestly

Okay, so maybe I shouldn’t have been such an asshole to Nerd Girl when she told me to turn down the music. But I can’t have her busting up the party – especially when I’m so close to hooking up with Brittany. The girl has been checking me out all night and hell if I’m going to give up now.

However, I
do feel bad about the whole thing with Little Miss Nerd.

See, I’m not a complete asshole!

So, I walk past her room and glance in.

Ah, shit
. She’s been crying. This is not good.

I swear to God, a girl crying is
fucking blackmail. It just makes you feel so damn guilty – no matter if you’ve done anything wrong or not – and have the bizarre urge to make her feel better.

I hesitate slightly, wondering if I should go in when Anson pushes past me.

Good. He’ll do a better job of cheering her up than I would. I don’t do emotions so it will save me from pretending to be concerned.

The chick needs to stop being so damn sensitive.

I return to the party to find that Brittany has copped off with some other guy.

Great.

Annoyed, I grab another beer and down it in one. I then glance around the room again, scoping out all of the other girls. It’s then that I see that Anson has reappeared - alone.

Good,
it looks like Temperance is going to leave me alone for the rest of the night.

I grin evilly and congratulate myself on how well my plan is working. A few mor
e nights like this and Nerd Girl will be running out the door!

I grab another beer
and make my way over to Carter.

“Hey, nice one man.” I tell him, downing the rest of my beer. “Some hot chicks here.”

Carter grins. “No problem. So, was that your nerdo roommate I just saw? The redhead?”

I nod. “Yeah, housing really fucked up.”

Carter raises an eyebrow. “Maybe not as much as you think man. The chick kinda has the sexy secretary thing going on!”

“Dude, how drunk are you?” I ask with a laugh. “Have you seen the baggy shirts and glasses and shit?
I think if a guy hit on her, she’d freak out.”

Carter shrugs. “Hey
, all I’m saying is that the scenery might not be as bad as you think. You get to share a flat with a relatively attractive chick. Embrace it man.”

I shake my head. “You’re crazy. I don’t want to
embrace the scenery
, I want
rid
of her Carter! She’s fucking up my game. Brittany just hooked up with another guy because of
her!
”

Carter grins. “Chill man, there’s plenty of chicks here … including the brunette over by the couch who keeps staring at you.”

I raise an eyebrow at him but check out the mystery brunette. Sure enough, she’s smiling at me as she gives me the onceover.

Hmm, maybe my luck will be in tonight after all.

I throw her a charming grin and she starts to make her way over.

“Told you man.” Carter says quietly before he slips off with some blonde.

Hmm, looks like this night just might end on a high after all …

Chapter Three

Temperance

I wake up at 6am, tired and pissed off. Priestly partied until 4am and I managed to doze off an hour later. However, I am now wide awake and in dire need of caffeine. Slowly, I get up and make my way to the kitchen.

Oh. My. God.

The flat is a total mess!

I thought it was bad last night but it is even worse than I imagined.

There are beer cans and bottles stacked up into a tower in the middle of the kitchen floor and there is food ground into the carpet in the living area.

I am going to kill him!

Angry, I storm into Priestly’s room and find him passed out on top of his bed.

“Are you going to clean up the mess you made last night?” I yell at him, giving him a shove.

He swats away my hand and opens one eye before scowling at me.

“Nope.” he tells me and then closes his eyes again.

“If you don’t help me, I’m going to complain to Housing.” I threaten.

He lifts his head
, squinting slightly and then smirks at me. “Are you now? I’m pretty sure they told you the same thing as me – there’s nowhere else to go.”

Damn, he’s right. I’ll probably end up homeless – because really, who is going to believe
me
over him? The guy would probably charm the pants off anyone to get his own way.

Defeated, I heave a sigh. “Whatever.”

It looks as if I’m going to have a lot of cleaning up to do.

After a quick trip to the shop, I arrive back half an hour later, armed with bin bags and cleaning sprays.

Priestly is still in bed … Surprise, surprise!

Hell, I may not be able to kick him out but two can play this game. If neither of us can leave, then I’m just going to have to beat him at his own game.

I grab my iPod dock and scroll through the song list on my iPod until I find something appropriate.

I grin as I turn up the volume and hit ‘play’.

Game on Priestly …
game on.

***

Priestly

What the hell?

I bolt upright in bed when I hear the music.

I had just dozed off again – after being rudely awakened the first time by Little Miss Prickle Pants – just for her to piss me off again.

Although, is that
Hendrix? Really?

I really didn’t peg her for a Jimi fan. The
girl strikes me as a boyband lover, not classic rock.

As
Voodoo Chile Blues
blares, I stumble into the kitchen, pissed off and bleary-eyed.

I find her dancing about as she picks up beer bottles and fires them noisily into a bin bag.

I wince at the loud noise and stare at her.

What the hell?

She’s too damn perky for not having slept the night before.

I eye her suspiciously and she smiles sweetly at me.

Damn, she actually looks kind of adorable.

Wait. What the fuck am I saying?

Get a grip Priestly!

It’s just the whole
sexy secretary
thing that Carter said last night playing on your mind.

I shake off any thoughts that involve her looking adorable and shoot her a death glare.

“What the fuck?” I shout over the music. “There’s people trying to sleep here!”

She shrugs. “Oh, wel
l my first class starts at eight-thirty so that’s not my problem. You don’t like it, go sleep elsewhere.”

Shit. The girl is
playing dirty, throwing my own words back at me.

Damn,
I’ve totally underestimated this chick.

***

Temperance

I smile to myself as I hear him stumbling into the kitchen. I glance around and find him throwing me daggers.

Good. Let’s see how he likes not being able to sleep!

I smile sweetly but I quickly find myself staring at him when I realise that he’s only wearing his boxers.

I gulp as I take in his well-defined chest in the flesh.

Oh. My. God.

The boy is fine.

Wait. What the hell am I saying?

I quickly avert my eyes, feeling my cheeks burn and continue throwing beer bottles into the bin bag.

“What the fuck?” he suddenly yells. “There’s people trying to sleep here!”

Finally composed again, I turn to face him and shrug.

“Oh, well my first class starts at eight-thirty so that’s not my problem. You don’t like it, go sleep elsewhere.”

Ha! Take that Mr Party Animal!

He stares at me, shocked and then shakes his head.

“Whatever. Just hurry up and get the hell out.”

I watch as he stumbles out of the room and then turn back to my cleaning.

Ugh! He can be so damn rude!

I really don’t know if this arrangement is going to work out after all.

After cleaning the flat from top to bottom, I make my way to my first class – English Literature.

I am one of the first to arrive so I take a seat near the back of the lecture hall and wait for the teacher to appear.

Suddenly, a guy flops down in the seat next to me.

“Hey,” he says, inclining his head towards me in a brief nod of acknowledgement.

I smile at him and take in his dark brown hair and tall, lean build. He’s dressed in a cardigan, chinos and a polo shirt. I then glance at his honey-coloured eyes that are highlighted by his wire, round-framed glasses.

Ah, finally … a man of my own kind! Plus, it doesn’t hurt that he’s
actually pretty cute.

“I’m Nixon
,” he tells me with a wide grin.

“Temperance.” I reply with a
smile, trying my best not to blush.

He grins. “Really?”

I nod and he laughs.

“So, Temperance … do you wanna grab a coffee after class?”

Wow, I didn’t know nerdy guys could be so forward!

But hey, he
is
cute and I could do with socialising more.

“Sure,” I tell him. “I’d love to.”

Nixon grins. “Great. I’m gonna need a shitload of caffeine after this. I really shouldn’t have gone to a party last night.”

I laugh. “
I know how you feel. I’d a late night too – though only because my asshole of a flatmate partied until four this morning.”

“Ouch.” Nixon replies, lounging back in his seat. “Who’s your flatmate?”

“Priestly Sawyer.”

Nixon stares at me. “Seriously? You’re
sharing with Priestly? Damn, I feel sorry for you.”

“You know him?” I ask curiously.

It seems like everyone knows him.

Nixon nods. “Dude went to high school with me. He was a bit of an asshole to me.”

I frown. “Well, he hasn’t changed any. What did he do?”

Nixon looks uncomfortable. “Ah, it was nothing. Just a misunderstanding is all.”

I don’t push for any more details since he looks so freaked out. Instead, I change the subject.

“So, where do you wanna go for coffee after?”

“Dunno – there’s a café just off campus.” Nixon suggests.

I nod. “Sounds great.”

Our conversation is then brought to a halt by the arrival of our lecturer.

However, despite trying my best to pay attention, I can’t stop looking at Nixon
.

He
is
pretty cute but I can’t get the fact that Priestly was a dick to him out of my head.

It looks like I
have been stuck with one really sucky roommate.

***

Priestly

I can’t believe she cleaned the flat. Seriously, the girl is disturbed.

I’ve tried acting like a dick and being rude to her but she’s not biting. I had thought for sure she would have a mental breakdown when she saw the mess of the place – especially when she had cried over something so stupid last night.

Although, this morning’s events did show me that she just might be a little bit tougher than she looks. Blasting her music was a bold move.

I sigh heavily as I quickly shower and dress before making my way to my first class.

However, on the way, I feel the effect of last night’s antics hit me full force.

Shit. I need coffee.

Stifling a yawn, I make a quick stop at the café just outside the campus.

It
is then that I notice Nerd Girl looking pretty damn cosy with Nixon Kingsley.

Shit. I thought that little prick accepted a place overseas. Guess not.

Now, as much as I can’t stand Little Miss Nerd, I can’t just let her hang around with someone like Nixon.

I approach their table and notice that Nixon spies me first. He visibly pales and takes a large gulp of his latte.

Good. The little prick has a right to be scared.

“Temperance.” I say, throwing Nixon a menacing stare. “I need to talk to you.”

She stares at me from behind those thick-framed glasses, looking quite stunned.

“Why?” she asks eventually, frowning at me.

“Just walk with me.” I tell her impatiently.

However, just as she is about to stand, Nixon jumps up.

“I gotta go anyway Temperance. I’ll call you later.”

He then disappears out the door in a flash.

Temperance lets out a heavy sigh. “Great. Thanks for that! What do you want Priestly?” she asks, obviously annoyed.

I shrug. “
I just want to warn you. If you ever wake me up like that again, I’m going to get you kicked out on your nerdy little ass … and that’s a promise!”

And with that, I grab my coffee to-go and saunter out of the café.

***

Temperance

Well, it’s official … Priestly Sawyer is an asshole.

I couldn’t believe it when he showed up in the café and demanded to talk to me. Poor Nixon was so uncomfortable that he just bailed on me.

Although, at least he promised to call me later.
Nixon is actually pretty cool and we have loads in common – unlike Priestly and I.

Ugh, I don’t want to face him again but I need to show him that I’m not scared of his threats.

I make my way back to the flat and discover that Priestly isn’t back yet.

Breathing a sigh of relief, I quickly cook myself some dinner and then settle on the couch to study some Chaucer for my Lit class.

However, an hour later and Priestly bursts through the door, carrying a six-pack.

Great. Looks like I’m in for another night of partying.

I heave a sigh and try to concentrate on my book but it’s a little hard when Priestly turns on some music.

A quick peek at the kitchen reveals that he is standing in the doorway, chugging back a beer and smirking at me.

Damn, he really is an asshole.

I throw him a challenging look but don’t say anything. He obviously wants me to say something about the music but I’m not going to give him the satisfaction.

Instead, I get up and go to my room, closing the door firmly behind me. It’s difficult enough to concentrate with the music blaring – never mind having Priestly staring at me.

Besides, if he’s going to throw another party, I’m going to have to study as much as I can before I’m deafened with the noise.

***

Priestly

Okay, so my first Business class sucked. It was so damn boring that I left when the teacher gave us a ten-minute break. I then spent the rest of the day, checking out all of the girls in the canteen
with Carter, which is where I met Jessica.

The girl is super hot. Seriously. I have never seen such long legs.

So, of course, me being the charming guy that I am, I invited her to a party at my place.

Looks like Little Miss N
erd is going to have another sleepless night!

Oh, how I love torturing the girl! At this rate, she’s bound to cave sooner or later and head for the hills.

After grabbing some beer from the store, I make my way back to the flat to find her with her nose stuck in a book.

Shit. How can she be bothered?

The chick seriously needs to find a new hobby.