Into the Deep - Young Samantha - Страница 7
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The student union had a number of locations across the university, but the one we were headed to was Teviot. Teviot was housed in a beautiful, old, Gothic-style building on the main campus at Bristo Square. It had a nightclub inside, a couple of different bars including this really cool Library Bar Claud and I had checked out the day we got our IDs.
Beck had texted Claud to let us know they were in the Teviot Lounge bar. We followed our roommates up the stairs and into a crowded space that had the typical look of a British pub. Everywhere was dark wood, low lights, comfortable seating, and hardwood, hardwearing furniture. The smell of stale beer was a little overwhelming but it was a given in a bar with carpeted floors. We squeezed past the students milling around the doors, and I followed Claudia as she checked out the room for our newest friend.
She grabbed my hand. “He’s over there.”
I couldn’t see him yet, but I followed her as she pulled me through the crowd. We came to a stop at a table around the corner from the bar. Beck was standing with Matt, while Lowe, Rowena, and some guy I didn’t recognize sat at a small table next to them.
We’d lost our roommates and for a second, I pondered looking for them. They had specifically come with us to see Beck. Then again, they were twenty years old … they didn’t need a tour guide or a babysitter.
“Charley, Claudia, glad you could come,” Beck greeted us. “Let me get you a beer.”
He disappeared before we could say yay or nay and Matt, the blond from the party, smiled at us. “We met last night,” he nodded to me and then turned to Claud, “but I definitely would remember meeting you, and we definitely did not.” Matt’s grin widened.
She smiled politely back. “I’m Claudia.”
“Claudia, this is Lowe.” Lowe winked at her and then lifted his beer in greeting to me. “Rowena.” She gave us a friendly wave. “And our buddy, Denver. It was his party last night. Poor guy got stuck in different accommodation from us.”
Denver had messy dark hair that fell to his chin. He wore a lot of silver jewelry, a tight Black Sabbath shirt, and a pair of black skinny jeans and motorcycle boots. Matt seemed to be the odd one out, but still, there was something about the group…
“Are you guys in a band?”
Matt grinned. “Yeah. We play a lot in Evanston.”
“We have a few gigs lined up here,” Lowe added, his gaze fixed on me.
I was impressed. “How did you manage to swing that so quickly?”
Lowe shrugged. “We sent out demos to a couple of pubs and bars before we got here. Arranged some dates. We have to rent a drum kit, which is a bummer, but it would be an even bigger bummer to be here for a year and not play one fucking gig.”
“What are you guys called?” Claudia asked, seeming interested, which surprised me since she wasn’t big into music unless it was classical or country.
“The Stolen.” Beck appeared behind us with two beers. I thought that was impressively fast considering the line at the bar. No doubt he charmed his way through the crowd. “We’re indie rock.”
“I told them people will love them here,” Rowena piped up with a big smile.
“Oh my God, you’re Scottish,” I replied, somewhat stupidly.
“Aye.”
Feeling like an idiot, I tried to explain my “duh” moment. “I just thought you were American with you being with the guys and …” I drifted off, actually not sure why I’d assumed she was American.
She shook her head. “I live across the hall fae Denver. Ma flatmates are aliens. Denver saved me fae them.”
“She’s our token Scot,” Denver joked, throwing his arm around her shoulder. “We’re keeping her around for the accent. It does help, though, that the girl knows good music.”
Rowena looked perfectly happy tucked into his side and I wondered absentmindedly if she was more than his token Scot.
We all fell easily into conversation, Matt hogging Claudia’s attention, his gaze almost stunned as they talked. He was captivated and I instantly felt bad for him because I knew Claudia didn’t feel the same. When Claudia liked a guy, she was pretty obvious about it. Beck could attest to that—Beck, who, I noticed, was watching Claudia with an intensity that surprised me for someone who apparently wasn’t into her. He finally caught me studying him and he grinned, his expression teasing as he stepped near me.
“So,” he leaned his head down close to mine, “I know your friend is a good girl, but I still haven’t made up my mind about you.”
I didn’t know if he was coming onto me or just making conversation, but I thought I better lay it out for him anyway. “I don’t do bad boys.”
His eyes narrowed. “Anymore.”
My gaze sharpened at his insinuation and Beck shrugged. “Jake’s like a brother. He tells me everything.”
I looked away, my heartbeat picking up at the mention of him. Trying for nonchalant, I took a swig of beer. If I was to go by Beck’s next comment, I’d obviously failed.
“Look, the guy feels like shit about the way he treated you. You should give him a chance to say it.”
Making a face that I’m sure screamed “bitter,” I turned back to Beck. “He knows where I live. He’s known for three and a half years and he’s had that whole time to apologize.”
Beck sighed, every ounce of bad boy melting out of him as he told me solemnly, “It took Jake a long time to get over what happened. When he finally started to breathe again, he realized how much he’d fucked it up with you … but it was already done. It was too late.” He made a helpless gesture. “I could go on for hours, but it’s not my place. Just give the guy a chance to explain, okay?”
Everything he said reminded me of the pain and anger in Jake’s eyes. The blame and guilt. He’d aimed it at the wrong person but that didn’t mean he wasn’t entitled to those feelings. I knew that. It just made the whole situation between us that much harder. However, I didn’t know if I could be in the same room with him and be okay. I chewed on it, my eyes slipping away from Beck’s to gaze around the room. They didn’t get very far.
Standing in the crowd around the bar was Jake and the brunette he’d been with last night. That sharp pain in my chest resurfaced as I watched Jake cradle the nape of her neck in his strong hand and hold her as he spoke to her.
He used to hold me in that exact same way, except he always had to duck his head a little to meet my eyes. Although I teased him about his alpha-male handling of me, I’d secretly loved it. I always imagined he’d held me by the nape because he wanted my entire focus on him. It was at once protective and sexual.
And I’d thought it was only for me.
I felt Beck move closer as I watched them. I tilted my jaw a little in his direction without taking my eyes off Jake. “He definitely looks like he’s over the whole thing now.”
“Melissa’s a good girl,” Beck replied, drawing my attention back to him. He watched Jake for a minute and then turned to me with a sad shrug. “She’s helped him a lot. He deserves that kind of happiness. Don’t you think? After everything … he deserves a good girl to stand by him.”
He had a good girl who stood by him, I thought angrily, my eyes flashing before the pain overtook.
Beck must’ve caught that pain because he instantly flinched and cursed under his breath. I felt his fingers graze my cheek gently. “Charley, ignore me. That was the wrong thing to say. I know that. Jake knows that. But … actually, you know what …” He shook his head. “I don’t know about any of it from your side, so I’m just going to shut the fuck up.” He chucked my chin affectionately and turned back to the group, throwing out some off-the-cuff remark to Matt who sent him a death glare for mocking him in front of Claudia.
I could only stand there, frozen by the knowledge that not only was Jake Caplin here at the same college as me, but he was also here with another girl he’d fallen in love with.
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