Indigo (6 page)

My cell phone vibrates in my pocket, diverting my attention. I see from the screen that it’s Shawn.

“Hey man,” I answer, reluctantly taking my eyes off Indigo, and heading back toward the cafe.

“Happy Friday. I got us a pizza, you done for the day?”

“Yeah, I got to do something quick and then I’ll meet you back at the room.”

We hang up and five minutes later, I’m surprised to find myself standing in front of the school store, not my mom’s office. I head inside, checking out all the Fairbanks memorabilia. It seems as if every item imaginable was slapped with a school logo and put on display. I wander towards the back and look at the selection of sweatshirts. My eyes land on a black and white zip-up and I scan through the rack, taking out the only XS there is. The pink sweatshirt on the rack over catches my eye, and I stand there debating like someone who has any clue about fashion.

Deciding on the black one, I make my way toward the front of store to check out. It’s not until I’m standing in line that my brain catches up to me.
What the hell are you doing
? I look down at the sweatshirt and wonder how it got there. I don’t even know this girl, so why am I buying her some lame school sweatshirt? I can’t remember a time I even bought a girl dinner. I almost put it back, but the cashier calls me up, and before I know it, my wallets out.

When she rings me up, I notice she keeps trying to catch my eye smile. It’s obvious she’s looking for an in to a conversation, so I keep my eyes down to avoid it. Nothing about the cat and mouse game I’ve played in the past seems interesting to me now. Grabbing the sweatshirt, I think about her wearing it and my chest swells.

On the way back to the room, I stuff the bag in the trunk of my car so Shawn won’t see it and ask questions. That’s the last thing I need, because I don’t what the hell kind of answer would come out of my mouth. I’m still pondering my actions when I open the door and see Shawn lounging on his bed, his mouth full of pizza.

“Sorry, I couldn’t wait,” he says around a mouth full of food.

I grab a slice and sit down in my desk chair. “Thank god it’s Friday.”

“I know. I just ran into Sabrina and confirmed our plans and good news, she’s got a fake ID so she said she’d get us drinks.” He takes another huge bite of pizza. “How long until your 21 again? I hate relying on someone younger than I am.”

“A couple months.” A thought occurs to me. “Wait, then I’m not driving.”

He shakes his head as he swallows his food. “Na, we’re going to call a taxi. We’ll have it come here first then swing by to get them over at Dow.”

“You’ve got things all figured out, nervous for your big date?”

He scoffs. “If we do go on a date, it would be Sabrina taking me. That girl is all independent woman. I’m into it.”

“I can’t picture you on a date,” I say honestly.

He narrows his eyes. “The only thing weirder than that is you having a girlfriend.”

“True.”

INDIGO

“Wow, this place is awesome,” Sabrina exclaims. Arms full of dresses, two pairs of heels and a makeup bag, her eyes scan my spacious room before she plops all her stuff down on the bed. “It’s like I’m living in a closet compared to you.”

I run my fingers through my wet just-showered hair, feeling a little guilty about my special housing treatment. “Are the freshman rooms that bad?”

She sits down on my bed and begins sorting through her things. “I hate being a sophomore in a freshman dorm, but otherwise, not really. My roommate is, though. Her high school boyfriend called her about 50 times last night and she refused to pick it up or put it on vibrate. So finally, I answered his call and told him in no uncertain terms to get a life, so I think she hates me.”

I laugh and sit down next to her on the bed, picturing her doing just that. “For some reason, that isn’t hard to imagine.”

“I ran into Shawn earlier, they’re going to grab a taxi and pick us up in about an hour. Do you know what you’re wearing?”

“Actually, I do.” I get off the bed and reach into the box to grab the new shirt my got me. I hold it up to my body and bite my lip, feeling stupid. “Do you think it’s too much?”

Her eyes go wide and she reaches out to finger the soft material. “Are you kidding? It’s perfect! Red is definitely your color and is going to look amazing with your hair.” She reaches behind her and grabs a yellow spandex dress. “I’m thinking of going with this, what do you think?”

“It’s lovely, but let’s see it on. That green dress looks pretty too.”

She agrees and hops of the bed and begins to strip, proving she doesn’t have a shy bone in her slender body. Sabrina and I have been texting a lot the past few days, and I’m really starting to like her. She doesn’t press me for information, she does most of the talking, and on the plus side, she thinks I’m funny. It’s been a long time since I’ve had someone besides my mother to really chat with, and the girl time has done me some good after a difficult start to the week.

I cross the room to my blow dryer, and flip my head upside to dry my hair. When I look up a few minutes later, Sabrina is pivoting around my room in one of her dresses as if she’s looking for something.

“Wow! Definitely the yellow,” I say truthfully. The dress fits her tall willowy frame to perfection, and her long legs look incredible. “I’d love to have legs like yours. Shawn is going to flip when he sees you in that. He’s definitely likes you.”

“He better be,” she tells me with a quick nod. “I spent a fortune on this at the store today.”

I’m about to turn the blow dryer back on when her next question stops me in my tracks.

“Where’s your mirror?”

I clench my fist around the handle of the blow dryer, and find I can’t meet her eyes. “Oh I, um, forgot my full length one at home. There’s a smaller one in the bathroom.”

The moment it comes out of my mouth, I realize my mistake. I try to call her back but she’s already on her way there, muttering under her breath about college girls who don’t have full length mirrors.

I quickly turn back on the blow dryer to avoid the confrontation that I know is coming, but hope won’t happen. Maybe she’ll just keep her thoughts to herself.

Yeah right. Even though I was expecting it, the tap on my shoulder nearly makes me jump out of my skin. My eyes travel up Sabrina’s tall frame to meet her narrowed expression. She’s holding my towel in her hand and piercing me with a heated gaze. “Indigo, there was a towel hanging over your bathroom mirror.”

I turn off the blow dryer, keeping my face blank. “Yes, there was.” What else is there to say in the face of the truth?

She doesn’t respond at first, just balls up the towel and drops it at my feet, her gaze never leaving mine. “I hope there wasn’t a towel on your mirror, for the reason I’m thinking there was a towel on your mirror.”

I sigh and meet her glare head on and decide to be honest. “Just because it’s impossible to forget that my scar is there, doesn’t mean I want to look at it all the time.”

I see scan my face, and when she looks back at me, she narrows her eyes. “I’ve barely known you a week, and I don’t know the details of your situation, so--and I can’t believe I’m saying this--I’m going to hold my tongue and not lay into you about how mad that makes me. But I will say that as your newest friend, there will be no more towels.” Without waiting for a response, she turns around and stomps off back into the bathroom.

I hide back under the sound of the blow dryer. Everyone has to look in a mirror every now and then, so it’s not like I’ve completely avoided it. After it happened and I was home, I couldn’t stop studying my scar. I would spend hours in front of the mirror learning ever rough curve and brutal mark in my skin. But after the first year, it became the only thing I would see when I looked at my reflection. I run my fingers roughly through my drying hair, trying to rid myself of the dark thoughts and hold onto my happy albeit nervous mood.

With Sabrina distracted in the bathroom, I quickly change into the red top and a new pair of dark jeans, then slip into a pair of matching heels. I’m adjusting the buckle when Sabrina comes out and spots me, her hair freshly straightened.

“Girl, you are hot stuff,” she says, looking me up and down. “I need some ballet shoes if it’s going to give me a body like that!”

I tug at the hem of my shirt, trying hopelessly to cover a little more skin over the slightly bared midriff. “You don’t think it’s too much?” I repeat my question from earlier as she walks into the room toward her makeup bag.

“Too much for Kennedy to handle maybe.” She winks at me and comes toward me with a skinny tube. “That man was salivating after you like a dog that day in the cafe.”

I feel my cheeks heat at the impossibility. “What! He was not, we don’t even know each other.”

“From what I heard, Kennedy doesn’t really care about whether or not he knows the girl if you know what I’m saying.

Her statement fills me with dread, and a sad feeling of inadequacy. I’m so not on his level. What am I doing going out on some sort of pseudo date? I’m so distracted, I let her lean down into my face and spread something over lips. No one besides my mother has been that close to my scar and it takes all my willpower not to bat her hand away. “I’m not like that so I hope he’s not expecting that from me. I don’t even…know him,” I repeat dumbly, as if I say it enough times it will matter to him.

“That’s what tonight is for,” she replies. Her eyes squint at my lips, admiring her handiwork. “Perfect.”

“He seems nice,” I admit, my stomach still in knots. “So does Shawn, but we don’t even know
him
for that matter. Is this really such a good idea, do you think, that we’re going out with them the first weekend? They are older and everything, and what if they’re secretly psychopaths?”

“Calm down,” she tells me gently. “Boys in college are usually only after one thing and that’s the only thing we might have to worry about tonight. What I’m interested to see, however, is how he will go about trying to get it. That’s the fun part.”

She kneels down to put her heels on, and I bite the skin around my nails. “I’m not interested in learning that with Kennedy, or anyone.” And that is the truth. Thinking of any sexual contact makes me cheeks turn as bright as my blouse. And not in a good way.

She shoots me a disbelieving look. “How can you not want to climb that man like a tree? Both of them are beyond sexy, not bad for our first night out.”

The first part of her comment makes me uncomfortable because for a second, I picture just that. “There’s no way a guy like that would be into someone like me.” He’s too good looking. Too experienced. Too…much.

Sabrina rolls her eyes harder than I’ve ever seen someone roll their eyes before. “Indigo, I’m into you like that, and I don’t have a lesbian bone in my body.”

KENNEDY

The taxi comes to a stop outside of Indigo’s dorm, and Shawn pulls out his phone to shoot Sabrina a quick text to let her know we’re here. I look up at the large brick building and note the three stories, remembering what my mom said about Indigo not wanting to be on the ground floor. Scanning the windows, I wonder which one is her room and if she feels safe. A wave of protectiveness floods me out of nowhere, and I clear my throat, shocked at the intensity. I don’t even know her, why am I fighting back the need to demand she tell me if she’s comfortable in her room?

“Let’s hope they’re not the type of girls to keep a man waiting,” Shawn murmurs. 

“I can’t wait forever,” the taxi driver comments rudely over his shoulder. “It’s my busiest night.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Shawn mutters. His phone buzzes and he checks the screen. “Relax buddy, they’re coming down now.”

I watch the double doors, recognizing that I’m really looking forward to seeing Indigo again. I won’t lie to myself, and while I don’t have any no intentions for the night as I have no friggin clue how to proceed with this girl, I’m hoping that she’ll at least let me dance with her for a song or two. The PG thought makes me smile, as I have anything but PG thoughts when it comes to her. But if there’s anything I do know, is I’ve got to take it slow with this one.

Several seniors pile through the double doors, but I can tell they’re preoccupied by something from the way a few of them are looking back over their shoulders. Two of them stop before they’re all the way through to hold open the doors, which I then see is to let Indigo and Sabrina walk through.

“Holy, God,” I hear myself say. I instinctively lean forward to get a better look at Indigo and what she’s wearing. My eyes hone in on the sexy sliver of her bare stomach and my chest tightens as I watch her glide gracefully toward the car in the way that she has. She’s wearing some red shirt that clings to her chest and little arms, and I picture peeling it off her like a second skin. I swallow roughly, and then wonder if my fucking mouth just watered.

Shawn claps his hands together and rubs them in anticipation, “This is going to be a great night.”

I’m not getting shown up by the seniors. Fuck that. I scramble out of the taxi to hold the door open for her. I haven’t been able to drag my eyes away from her, but she doesn’t meet my gaze until she’s by the hood of the car. When she does and her blue eyes touch mine, I feel it in my balls.

“Hello again,” she says with a small smile and an even smaller wave.