Chapter 13

Jake slid into the driver’s seat of his Mustang, the leather creaking under him as he settled in, his easy confidence being clear as he draped one arm around his wheel. “Tonight is going to be fun.” he said, giving his pretty blonde date a wink before his other hand wrapped around the gearshift, fingers drumming once, his eyes still on the coed in his passenger seat. Tammy sat stiff as a board, that little red purse clutched tight against her lap like it might fly away if she let go. Her hazel eyes flicked up at him, then dropped again almost instantly, a blush spreading across her cheeks. The way she looked at him and then looked away made him want to lean over and kiss her now. The bashful little attitude when they both knew she was into him drove him wild.

Jake smirked. ‘Classic. Seen that look a dozen times on other girls. Shy. Nervous, And oh so eager. Exactly the kind of thing he expected when he went out on a date with a pretty little thing that thought she was dating someone out of her league like him. Mmm, she’s already worked up just sitting next to me, and the night hasn’t even started yet. Emily has done me a solid with this setup.”

Turning the key, the Mustang’s engine growling to life, a sound he always loved and knew made an impression. “Relax, babe,” he said, voice low, smooth. “You just sit there and look beautiful and I will do the rest and if I do say so myself… you are doing a great job so far.”

The way she glanced up to him, the small smiling flashing on her face told him his compliment had landed home. He watched as Tammy’s hands tightened on the purse strap, like she was expecting her to gun it in his car. Her lips parting like she might answer, before shutting them again only drew his gaze more to her lipstick covered lips as she even fluttered her lashes. Jake read it as another checkmark in his favor. ‘Little nervous, but she wants me.’

Grinning wider, he eased the car into gear and rolled them down the street. One hand stayed loose on the wheel, the other resting easy on the shift. From the corner of his eye, he caught her still stealing glances at him. The way she looked away quickly, cheeks heating, told him plenty.

“See, that’s cute,” he said casually, flicking his eyes towards her, giving her a little smile. “What you're doing, I notice you, noticing me.” he said, his eyes sliding to her pantyhose encased legs, then back to the road. “The way you get all shy around me. Don’t worry, Tammy. I like girls who blush.”

He let the words hang there, savoring the quiet that followed. Her silence told him he had hit the nail on the head.

By the time they hit the main road, Jake’s grin had settled into his normal easy grin. “So,” he started, one arm stretched along the top of the wheel, “you probably already heard about that last Delta party, right? The one where things got a little… messy?” He shot Tammy a sidelong glance, catching partial shrug, smile still in place. To him, it wasn’t obvious if she had heard or not, but either way he was sure she was dying for him to tell the story.

“You see, this guy comes up to me, big mouth, no brain. Starts yapping about how OOKays are washed up, how we couldn’t even fill a house without begging. Real original, right? I kept it cool, gave him a chance to back off, but he wouldn’t shut up. Finally swung on me. Stupidest thing in the world for him to do, really I had hardly said a word back to him, but I guess he took offense and you see I barely had to move. Bam, he hit me, but it was hardly a blow and a sucker punch at that, then though… I dropped him clean with one shot. Room went quiet for a second, then boom! Place erupted. Everyone cheered my name…” Jake paused for a moment, as he thought back to the party. He had been pretty drunk, but he was sure his name had been cheered, or at least yelled and his partial memory told him it might have been an angry sound to the voice or voices. “Still…” Jake continued. “Bartender sent me a drink on the house. I mean, it is just one of the people there handing me a shot, but they are sort of like a bartender when they do that. Well the Delta boy had to be dragged out by his buddies. Haven’t seen him show his face at a party since.”

Tammy’s lips curled into the faintest smile. “Oh yeah,” she murmured, just enough for him to catch. Jake smirked, his chest swelling. That was all he needed. “Yeah,” he said in return, tapping the steering wheel with his thumb. “That’s the thing about me, sweetheart. I don’t start fights, but I finish them. Girls like knowing they’re safe with a guy like that. Makes ‘em feel protected. You don’t have to worry about anything when you are with me.”

“Tell me more” Tammy said, making Jake feel like a king.

“Protection’s not the only thing I bring to the table, though. You should’ve seen the rush week mixer last year. Everyone was trying to impress. But who had the spotlight all night? Yours truly.” He flashed his teeth in a grin, eyes back on the road but soaking in the silence he took as awe. “Pulled the hottest girl in the room onto the dance floor, had every guy there watching like I’d just stolen their Christmas morning. Pretty as she was Tammy, I would have chosen you over her any day of the week.”

He caught another glance of Tammy’s lips parting as if to respond, then closing again, and laughed softly under his breath. “See? You don’t even have to say anything. I can tell you get it. Most girls, I mean what's her name at the party didn’t, but most girls they play hard to get. But you? You’re sweet. You don’t hide how much you like me.”

The words hung heavy in the air, Jake letting them sink in while the Mustang roared down the road. Shifting gears with a casual flick of his hand in a practiced motion. Tammy, with her soft blush and whispered answers, was exactly what he needed on a week where he had to deal with some annoying pledges. In his mind, the date was already on rails, and he was the one driving it straight to the finish line.

“You know,” he said, letting his voice dip lower, more intimate, as he thought of the girl he had met at that party and what she had done to him up in his bedroom. “You’re beautiful. I can’t help my eyes be drawn to your lips as we talk and I was told you’ve been into me for a while. That’s why we’re here, right?” He gave her a sideways look, grin tugging at his lips. “So let’s not dance around it. What do you think about a BJ tonight?”

There was a pause, just long enough for Jake to feel the thrill of having dropped it so casually, then Tammy’s voice came soft, almost distracted: “Oh yeah.”

Jake’s grin spread wide, pride flaring through him like fire. That was all the confirmation he needed. Hell, it was more than he expected this early in the night and as soon as had asked the idiot question he was kicking himself, but it seemed to have worked out in his own favor. Tammy seemed to know what she wanted, and that was him.

“Thought so,” he muttered, mostly to himself, his eyes back on the road. “Knew you were something special.” He relaxed deeper into the seat, smug satisfaction written all over him. The art museum, the wine, the music, they weren’t going to exactly be window dressing, but more of foreplay. The real night would start later, Tammy was his, and she had just admitted she was eager for his cock.

The Mustang purred beneath them, streetlights flashing across the windshield, and Jake couldn’t stop the grin that settled across his face. He’d won before the date had even started.

—-

Tim sat rigid in the passenger seat, purse pinned tight against his lap like it could shield him from everything closing in. The fact the purse held within it condoms an object of protection didn’t make the purse, a thing he shouldn't be carrying around any better, it made things worse. His chest rose and fell in shallow bursts, each breath too loud in his own ears. The moment Jake slid behind the wheel, all easy confidence and charm, Tim’s throat locked. That wink, that casual “Tonight is going to be fun,” might have sounded harmless to anyone else, but to Tim it landed like a threat.

He glances at the older boy, then snapping his eyes away before their gazes could meet. Every time Jake’s warm brown eyes might line up with his, Tim looked down at the purse, at his lap, anywhere but at him. All he could think was that if Jake looked too close it would all be over. ‘Jake would see… How could he not? He would know. How can Jake not know already? Would he laugh? He would laugh... Or worse, he would tell everyone!’ The thoughts went on and on, some repetitive, others building on one another in a vicious cycle.

The Mustang roared to life, its engine shaking the seat beneath him, and Tim flinched. Jake’s smooth voice slid over the rumble. “Relax, babe. You just sit there and look beautiful, and I’ll do the rest.” Tim’s lips pulled into a strained little smile, the kind he practiced in front of the sorority mirror, but it did not feel real. He prayed it looked convincing enough to pass.

When Jake’s eyes flicked over him and the compliment landed, Tim’s face burned hot, the blush rising whether he wanted it or not. He could feel Jake watching the reaction, and he wanted to crawl out of his skin. His hands squeezed the purse strap so tightly his knuckles ached.

Jake’s next line twisted the knife. “See, that’s cute. I notice you noticing me.” Tim’s head jerked, panic prickling through him. He had not meant to stare. He had only been checking, terrified that the disguise was paper thin and falling apart. His blush deepened, but not from shyness. It was fear, the kind that made his whole body stiffen. He **** his eyes away and raised another smile he did not mean, terrified that his silence would betray him more than words.

By the time they reached the main road, his cheeks still burned and his throat felt tight. Jake’s grin stayed easy, while Tim sat beside him silently screaming, convinced that every second brought him one heartbeat closer to being found out.

As the Mustang hummed along the road, Tim sat stiffly in the passenger seat, his nylon covered legs pressed tightly together with the borrowed purse clutched so tightly in his lap that his knuckles ached. Every sound felt amplified to him, the growl of the engine, the faint rattle of loose change in the console, even the rush of his own breath as he tried to keep it steady, as if he was an exposed nerve.

“So, you probably already heard about that last Delta party, right? The one where things got a little… messy?” Tim heard the young man, one of the very leaders at the frat he was supposed to be reporting to say.

When he saw Jake’s glance slid his way, Tim’s heart lurched. He didn’t know what Jake was talking about. There hadn’t been any Delta party this year that he was aware of. Though he hadn’t heard about much of anything that happened at the level Jake lived on, that he wanted to be part of. His throat locked up, words refusing to come. Tim a noncommittal shrug, trying to keep his lips in a smile despite his level of anxiety. ‘What party? Maybe it was something some of the others… or maybe…?’ Thinking hard about it Tim had a slight memory of people talking about a Delta party, but he couldn’t recall any details. ‘Maybe Tammy wouldn’t have known about it either?’ Tim thought, unsure if it would be enough of an answer.

It felt like a bit of a relief when Jake seemed satisfied and went right on talking, his voice filling the space between them. Names, places, details. Tim caught none of it. His mind was too loud. Every second was another chance to be exposed. Another chance Jake might look harder, hear something wrong in his voice, put it together.

Then the bragging stopped. The silence stretched, heavy, and Tim’s stomach dropped. Jake was waiting. Expecting something. An old trick back from high school surfaced, one Tim had used to fake his way through classes when he hadn’t been paying attention and the teacher insisted on participation. Say something vague, and the teacher would move on.

“Oh yeah.” Tim muttered, the words spilling out in the practiced feminine voice. It was easier to speak in it now than the night before, but it felt wrong to hear coming out of his own mouth. A thing that caused yet another mental spiral and the risks it could bring to his situation.

All the while, completely unaware of the mental war inside Tim’s mind, Jake picked up talking once more with what oozed of smugness. Tim nodded faintly, still gripping the purse strap as Jake went on about safety, about how girls liked being protected with him around. Every look in his direction reminded Tim of the guillotine hanging over his own head, and when it happened in a pause in the talking, Tim did what came natural to him, still having no idea what the older boy was talking about.

“Tell me more.” Tim said, pushing the words past the tightness in his chest. Sitting there he flexed one of his feet, his foot stuck at an angle thanks to the footwear, feeling the heel of the shoe slide along the floor mat.

A bead of sweat ran down Tim’s back, things were going well? He guessed when Jake went back into whatever it was he was talking about.

“Protection’s not the only thing I bring to the table, though. You should’ve seen the rush week...”

The rest of what the taller man was talking about was lost on Tim, at first he questioned the word protection and what that had to do with a party and now not sure he was even talking about the same subject and then that faded on the two words that shook him to the core ‘Rush week? Does he know? Is he testing me? No, he wouldn’t do that, it would make him look bad… would it? No, there is no way it would, but it could. Right? Can’t second guess myself, tonight I have to be Tammy, too much is riding on this. Just be Tammy, she likes him. Of course she would like him. Just look at Jake, tall with broad shoulders and a smile that actually gets returned when he looks at girls. Not like me… no, no don’t think like that, Tammy wouldn’t think like that. Have to be Tammy, not my loser self, can’t be Tim, be Tammy, be Tammy.’

Despite Tim trying to get himself into the right frame of mind it continued to spiral and give him a growing sense of unease that he wouldn’t have guessed at room to grow at all. Tim’s mind continued spin, still caught on rush week comment he heard, not having room to grasp or come to terms with it being a fragment of a scrap of a sentence. Still he was trying to keep together, to glue the Tammy disguise more in place, all while it felt paper-thin. Pulse throbbed in his ears, drowning out whatever it was Jake’s stream of words were until he stopped speaking once more. ‘What did he say? Shit I still wasn’t paying attention… get it together, get it together… he said the word tonight.’ Only fragments having made it into his consciousness left the question completely open. The uptick at the end told him it was a question, and questions needed answers.

Panic surging, it practically flowing in his body like an ocean, it crashing forward in moments like this in waves. “Oh yeah,” Tim breathed, the uneasy **** smile not having wavered as the car moved on to their destination.

Jake’s grin widened, smug and satisfied, and Tim’s stomach twisted. Whatever the question had been, Jake thought he had his answer. Tim shifted in the seat, looking away from the young man next to him, seeing streetlights flashing across the windshield having no idea what he had agreed to, but sure it couldn’t be worse than the bargain he followed along with from Emily and Sarah to avoid a proverbial end to his life.