Chapter 8: Valentine’s Day Massacre

Tuesday February 14
Paul was driving Cassidy and me to school.

I hadn’t planned any grand gestures for Valentine’s Day this year.

To be honest, it was more depressing than anything else. All it did was remind me that Brook was in Cincinnati, and we were no longer officially going out. I’d learned from my breakup with Tami that chasing someone who didn’t want you was a waste of time and energy. Not to mention the broken heart that came along with it.

That didn’t mean I couldn’t give Brook a call to just hear her voice, though. I could justify it as still being friends, or at least that was the lie I was telling myself.

“Hey, Hotness,” I said and cringed.

Was I allowed to use my pet name for her now?

“I was just thinking about you. I heard you went out on a date Friday night and had a good time.”

Cassidy! I glanced over at my little ninja and gave her a pointed look.

“Did you hear what my date pulled Sunday?” I asked.

“No. What?”

“She asked me to go to Sunday school with her, and they ambushed me with a purity pledge.”

I think I made her day.

“Seriously? You?” Brook asked.

“Hey! Why couldn’t I?” I asked.

“You did break up with her, didn’t you?” Brook asked.

“We were never officially going out.”

“David,” she said sternly. “Even if you weren’t ‘officially’ anything, you still have to say the words to her.”

This was the Brook that I hated, the one that made me a better man, even if it was hard.

“I’ll do it,” I reluctantly agreed.

“There’s something I need to tell you, too. I have a date for our school’s Valentine’s dance.”

“I’ll have my mom call Ian to give him pointers on how to talk to your date when he comes to pick you up,” I offered.

Her dad was a complete pushover as far as intimidating young men was concerned.

“I’m a liberated woman. Did you not even consider that I might be picking him up?” Brook shot back.

“I knew you were into younger men. I’ll let Dare know that he still has a shot.”

She ignored my dig that her date was too young to drive.

“You okay with this?” she asked.

“Thanks for asking, but I don’t expect you to sit around and become a spinster. Just go have fun tonight,” I said, surprising myself.

Maybe I was growing up because I really did hope that Brook found someone that made her happy.

“What are you doing tonight?” Brook asked.

“Going to Wesleyan and being the fifth wheel. Tim and Wolf talked me into getting a suite at the hotel where the dance is being held. Sarah said it would be worth my while.”

“Wolf is okay with you sleeping with his girlfriend?” Brook said to put a smile on my face.

She did get my sense of humor.

“I asked him,” I admitted. “I guess we’ll see tonight.”

“You sure he didn’t put Sun up to the chastity pledge?”

That caught me by surprise and actually made me laugh.

“I miss you.”

“I miss you too. Have fun tonight,” Brook said and hung up.

I guess I had gotten lost in my thoughts after I hung up because Cassidy startled me when she touched my hand.

“You okay?” she asked.

“No. Not really,” I answered honestly.

“I miss her too,” she said, and then added, “Brook’s just trying to move on. This guy tonight isn’t someone you need to worry about.”

“It’s okay. She prepared me for this,” I said to Cassidy. “I just keep thinking that she might be the one that got away. We could have made it for the long haul.”

“Nope,” Cassidy said, shaking her head. “You and I haven’t gone out yet.”

That made me feel better.

“Maybe we wait on that. I need a little time to get over Brook,” I suggested.

“Plus, you’re not ready to settle down.”

“What high school senior is?” I asked.

When we pulled up to the school, I saw Sun waiting for me. I’d managed to avoid her yesterday. It hadn’t been hard because we ran in different circles and didn’t have any classes together.

“Hey,” we said at the same time.

“I should have warned you about Sunday school,” Sun said.

I understood why Sun had invited me. They were encouraged to ‘spread the word’ and invite other teens. What I had a problem with was the topic. It felt like Sun had asked me there so I could be judged, or it was some sort of intervention.

“No, I get it, but that isn’t something I want to do.”

“It’s not like you can pick and choose what you believe,” she said.

I’d heard that many times and disagreed. That was why God gave you free will.

“Sun, I like you as a friend, but I don’t think we’re right for each other as more,” I said to rip the band-aid off this relationship.

“Is this because I won’t sleep with you?” she asked.

I could see Sun was about to start crying. The worst part was that because of my morning ‘walks’ into school, most of the student body was out watching our little drama unfold.

“Could we maybe take this somewhere more private so I can explain?” I asked.

“No, I agree. We aren’t right for each other,” Sun said, then twirled around and marched off.

Well, hell, that didn’t go well. This Valentine’s Day was off to a terrible start. It could only get better from here. In the back of my mind, I remembered a saying about how if you want to make God laugh, you tell him your plans.

At lunch, everyone was sharing what they would be doing tonight.

“We’re going to the dance and then the party at State,” Jill announced.

I looked over at my dumbass brother.

“You better have bodyguards for this one,” I said, tilting my head towards his girlfriend.

“Why would I need bodyguards?” she asked.

“Because there will be drunk college boys there,” Wolf explained.

“We’ll be with him,” Yuri said as he pointed to Roc.

“Keep an eye on things,” I said as I looked Yuri in the eyes to let him know I was putting him in charge.

“We’ll be fine. Stop acting like my big brother,” Jill complained.

Phil looked torn, but he was too whipped to tell his girlfriend ‘no.’ Jill was a worrisome combination for the kind of party they were going to: hot, a flirt, and absolutely clueless that anything bad could ever happen to her.

I knew for a fact that Kevin, Luke, and Magic planned to get women drunk and spend some quality time with them. I worried that things would get out of hand and was regretting telling the guys about their party without me there. Magic had called and let me know that it looked like a lot of people were coming. My announcement on social media that I might attend had convinced the sorority Luke was working on to come tonight. I would bet that they, in turn, would invite frat boys. Frat boys and college football players were a recipe for disaster, as far as high school girls were concerned. Even worse if the girls were drinking.

“I heard that Sun dumped you,” Gina said to change the conversation. “Do you have anyone lined up for tonight?”

Everyone turned and looked at me. I got the vibe that Gina was asking to see if I might take her out. That wasn’t happening.

“I’m going stag tonight. Who knows, I might meet someone hot.”

“Exactly how hot? Bang her against a wall because you can’t make it to the bed hot? Or merely take her home at the end of the dance when you haven’t found anyone else hot?” Tim asked.

I smirked because Tim typically played the straight man to Wolf’s comedy.

“Men are pigs,” Cassidy grumped.

“Hey, don’t include me,” Don, her wimpy boyfriend, said.

You know that feeling you get when the hair on the back of your neck stands up because your ‘spidey senses’ are going off, and you just know you’re being talked about? Well, that’s what I suddenly felt. I looked across the lunchroom and saw Lisa Felton huddled with Sun, obviously getting the details on our breakup this morning. And by the guilty expressions on their faces when they saw me look at them, I knew I was right.

Lisa stood up and began to walk over.

I said a bad word.

“What is your problem ... oh, shit,” Gina said when she saw who was walking our way.

“I think we have our answer as to ‘how hot,’” Cassidy said.

“Dude, that is a bad idea,” Wolf warned.

I put on my best smile and heard groans around the table. I think they’d all seen this car wreck before. There was just something about Lisa that turned me on. It had been suggested numerous times that hooking up with Lisa was probably the wrong thing for me to do. The problem with that was we’d hooked up once and, let me just say, it had been spectacular.

My ex-best friend Alan had posted Lisa’s private diary online for the whole school to see, which included her description of our encounter. The only positive to come out of that was that Lisa’s reputation had been rehabilitated as best it could. From my friends’ reactions, I didn’t think it would ever be fully fixed, and that was sad. I still contended that Bill Rogers and his deviant friends had spread the unfounded rumors about her sleeping around.

“Lisa.”

“David.”

“How’s your brother?” I asked.

“They caught his cancer soon enough. They expect a full recovery,” she shared. “How’s your dad?”

“Better. They say he should be good too.”

Lisa and I had gotten to know each other better when I visited her brother in the hospital during his first cancer go-round. He’d been back in when he had a checkup that showed it was back, and I’d gone to visit him. Our hospital wasn’t all that big, so I suspected she’d heard about my dad while there. Then again, it could have simply been that we were a small town with no real secrets.

“Call me when you get a chance.”

“Sure,” I said, and she continued on.

They say bad things happen in threes. Brook announced she had a date tonight, Sun and I broke up, and now Lisa Felton had announced to the world that she had me in her sights. Was the last one really all that bad?

“Don’t you dare call her,” Gina said as she gave me this holier-than-thou attitude as if I was some kind of, well, ‘stupid boy.’

Cassidy shook her head in defeat.

“Don’t ever tell Boy Wonder not to do something because it has the opposite effect.”

“What’s wrong with her? I can totally see David taking her out,” Dare, my new best bud, said to defend me.

We were both saved by the bell before Gina could explain it to us. What Gina didn’t know was that I no longer felt the need to bow to peer pressure. I could date anyone I wanted, or so I told myself.

Tim and Wolf drove separately because they planned to spend the night and blow off school tomorrow. I had a mother who, while letting me do some stuff most parents wouldn’t dream of, would always draw the line at me skipping school.

On the way, I took advantage of the chance it gave me to talk to Paul about Scarlet.

“Paul, what do you think of Scarlet?”

“I like Scarlet. Chuck was a complete knucklehead.”

I was relieved when I heard that. Scarlet had particular desires that I didn’t wholly understand. She was much more into role-play than I had ever experienced. While it sounded like fun, it wasn’t really for me. If it worked for Paul, I figured it was a win-win. He was a nice guy and seemingly was attracted to Scarlet too. I only hoped that Scarlet would like him.

“I just want to make sure she’s happy,” I said to explain my interest. “I suggest you give her a call.”

“I’ll do that,” Paul said, and then went quiet.

I turned on some music and kicked back to enjoy the ride.

Since I was paying for dinner, I got to pick the place. I chose the Brazilian steak restaurant where the waitstaff brought around chunks of different meats on giant skewers for your dining pleasure. They also had an extensive salad bar. The bonus was that Harper was drafted to be my ‘date’ for dinner so I wouldn’t feel weird.

Personally, I would have been fine being the fifth wheel. We were all friends, and I was comfortable with my exes dating my best guy friends. I’d pushed the memories of dating Harper out of my mind after the incident in Chicago when she hooked up with an old flame at a party I’d taken her to. Then, to top the sundae with a cherry, she’d dated my archnemesis, Mike.

Somehow, Harper decided she needed to explain her and Mike’s relationship to me over dinner. That led to her voicing her confusion as to why I hated the guy.

“I never got why you didn’t like Mike. He was good to me ... well, until he wasn’t,” Harper said to defend him.

“Isn’t this where you tell me Mike’s really a nice guy? And if I spent some time and got to know him now that he’s changed his ways that I’d really like him and we’d become good friends? And maybe I’d forget the fact that he was sticking his dick in my ex-girlfriend?”

“David!” Tami chastised.

“I’m sorry, Harper, that was cruel. How about we agree that I don’t like how Mike treats women? Nor do I like how he tries to stick it to people he envies by fucking up their friends. And because of that, Mike and I will never be friends regardless if he changes his ways.”

“But he said that you used to be close,” Harper prodded.

“We were close until he technically raped my girlfriend.”

“Technically?” Harper asked.

“She was drunk. She was in no condition to consent, and Mike had sex with her anyway. You’re right. There was no ‘technically’ about it,” I said.

“He sent David a picture of the evidence when he’d finished,” Wolf added.

Harper looked confused, but Tami bailed me out when she whispered what the picture was of.

“I think I understand now,” Harper admitted with a disgusted look.

What got me was that Harper had broken up with Mike when she’d discovered that he was hitting on another girl. What was it with girls not getting it when a guy is completely wrong for them?

“Why are we talking about the douche, anyway? I thought we were going to have fun tonight,” Tim said.

“What’s going on tonight?” I asked.

“You guys go back to the hotel and change. We’ll meet you in an hour and go to the dance,” Tami said, taking charge.

“When does Sarah make this all worth my while?” I asked.

“What’s he talking about?” Sarah asked.

“I shared with him that you’d told me that if he got a suite, it would be worth his while. The dumbass purposely misinterpreted what I said,” Wolf explained.

I gave Sarah my sexiest look, which made her laugh.

“I think you’re the one who’d better worry,” Harper teased Wolf.

That was the Harper I’d dated. What I’d liked most about her was her sense of humor. Unfortunately, she had no chance to get a rise out of Wolf because he knew how I felt about going after other guys’ girls.

We dropped the girls off at their dorm so they could change. I told Tami that I’d left keys for the hotel rooms for both her and Sarah at the front desk so that she and her friends could use them freely. I reminded everyone that if they took anything from the mini-bar, they were paying for it. A bottle of water was six bucks. They could get a glass and use the sink if they were thirsty.

Tami had made it clear to me that Missy Stone was going to the dance stag. The thought of her put a smile on my face as we entered the hotel. She was one of my favorite girls at Wesleyan, and I looked forward to getting reacquainted with her, even if just for a few dances.

“Did you know the first French fries weren’t actually cooked in France?” Wolf asked and then paused for effect. “They were cooked in Greece.”

I groaned.

“Did you hear about David’s new movie called Constipation?”

Tim shook his head ‘no.’

“No? That’s because it hasn’t come out yet,” Wolf said proudly.

“Get it out of your system. I doubt the ladies will appreciate your humor tonight,” I said, trying to get Wolf to tone it down.

“Girls like a guy who has a sense of humor. I think I read that in Cosmo,” Wolf complained.

“They like a guy who’s actually funny,” Tim retorted.

I burst out laughing at the expression on Wolf’s face as the elevator door opened on our floor.

“You guys are just jealous of my obvious talent,” Wolf said as I unlocked the door to the suite.

I began to step in and then froze. Standing in the middle of the living room was Gwen Larkin, the British actress that Brook and I had met in Palm Springs. She was in a silk robe, and it was evident that she was naked underneath because the garment did little to hide the naughty bits.

“Did you miss me?”

Aw, hell, no! What was I supposed to say to that? I was a little worried because I suspected Gwen had escaped the loony bin. That was when I remembered that Paul was downstairs parking the car. Wolf and Tim pushed me into the room so that this little drama didn’t play out in the hall.

I stood perfectly still because I didn’t want to be the guy who admitted she hadn’t even crossed my mind since the last time I saw her get heavily medicated and hauled off. Gwen gave me a hard look.

“It’s a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question, David. Did. You. Miss. Me?”

“Could you give us a moment?” I pointedly asked Tim and Wolf.

“Tami would skin me alive if I didn’t stay to witness this,” Tim admitted.

“Yeah, what he said,” Wolf agreed.

I would deal with them later. I had crazy-town on my hands, and she was starting to be the bad kind of crazy if the twitch in her eye was any indication.

“Look, Gwen,” I started.

“Don’t ‘look, Gwen’ me. I came to your place in Malibu, and now I’ve made this grand gesture on Valentine’s Day. I would think you would get what I feel for you.”

“How did you get in?” I asked.

“I told them I was your girlfriend and wanted to surprise you.”

I sometimes forgot what star power could accomplish. We would have to add a warning at the front desk to not hand out a key card to my room if a celebrity asked for it. You would think that was already a policy.

My pulling a Dawson and going quiet caused her to transform into someone you would see in a horror movie. I was thinking specifically of the part where they became the killer who lost their mind and decided to go on a rampage. I wasn’t impressed when both Wolf and Tim took a step back. Then I watched in abject fascination as her facial features suddenly changed, and she gave me a sexy look and walked to me with her hips swaying. I think this was why she was such a good actress.

I heard one of the guys groan in appreciation. No question about it, she looked damned hot. I think Mr. Happy was as confused as I was when she grasped my groin. His not being aroused seemed to confuse her. She looked me in the eyes, and I could see the crazy start to come back.

“You don’t want me?” she asked in a small voice.

Seeing her look so vulnerable almost made me want to wrap her in my arms and protect her. I caught a brief flash of an expression on her face that worried me and made me stop. Then she got a determined look.

“I’m desirable, and I’ll prove it to you,” she said as untied her robe and turned to Tim and Wolf. “You both want to spend time with me, don’t you?”

She walked up to my two friends and checked their arousal. I momentarily thought of Groper, the girl who had checked everyone’s package in LA. Was this something new I hadn’t heard about? Tim and Wolf looked like they weren’t quite sure what to do as she got a firm grip. Then Wolf seemed to snap out of it.

“Hell, yeah,” Wolf said.

Gwen grabbed a hand from each of them and pulled Wolf and Tim towards one of the bedrooms. She turned her head and gave me a dirty look. The guys were focused on her magnificent body. In the past, they’d both commented on how they wished they could spend time with her. I think they’d been fantasizing about her since seeing her on screen. I stood in stunned silence as the three of them went into the bedroom, and the door closed.

Paul picked that moment to come into the room.

“We have a security breach,” I told him.

I explained about Gwen, and when we heard the unmistakable sounds of lust, I decided I’d had enough.

“Let’s get out of here. I need to go for a drive to clear my head,” I admitted.

I really didn’t want to be pissed at my friends for taking advantage of the situation. Gwen Larkin was smoking hot, but I felt betrayed that they would be so easily led into having sex with her. My personal code would never have allowed me to do it if she’d hooked up with one of them before me. At least, not without checking to see if they were okay with it. I also had a small problem with wondering if she was in her right mind or not. The more I thought about it, the more it bothered me.

We were stopped at a red light behind a couple of cars when I glanced out the window down an alley.

WTF! Did someone just fall out of a window and straight into a dumpster? Did they jump, fall, or were they pushed?

I unlocked my door and hopped out to go assist whoever had just dumpster-dived.

“David ... for fuck’s sake. What are you doing?” Paul called after me.

I ran down the alley, came to the dumpster, and heard a moan. Behind me, horns blared as Paul made an illegal U-turn and parked the car in front of the alley.

“You need help?” I asked as I looked into the dumpster.

Looking up at me was a woman on her hands and knees in bags of trash. I was guessing we were behind a bar because the smell of sour beer was overpowering.

“Eww, I’m all wet,” she complained.

Paul came pounding up behind me.

“What the hell is going on?” he asked.

I pointed at my dumpster find.

“Someone threw a perfectly good girl in the trash. I figured we better claim her before someone else did,” I said.

“I can hear you,” she grumbled.

She stood up and looked at us.

“Is one of you going to help me out?” she asked.

Her tone said she thought we were mentally challenged when we just stared at her.

Gazing back at us were sparkling blue eyes that captured my full attention. I wanted to simply look in them for the rest of the night. She had kinky black tresses that went every which way, like a rag doll you’d just pulled out of the dryer, and its hair was full of static electricity. Her small frame and delicate features made her look more like a young girl than the full-grown woman she obviously was. One look at the swell of her breasts and the curve of her hips confirmed she was older; I would guess in her early 20s.

I was about to assist her when Paul stepped forward and offered her a helping hand.

“Here. Grab hold,” he said and then hoisted her out.

When she landed on the ground, she stumbled back because one of her shoes was missing. I reached out and grabbed her before she fell down.

“Oh, no. My shoe and purse are still in there,” she said as she hobbled to the side of the dumpster and looked in. She pointed. “See. Right there.”

“I’ll help hoist you back in,” I suggested helpfully.

We locked eyes. I hated her at that moment. Mainly because Mr. Happy suddenly made his presence known, and he thought I should jump on my white charger and help her because he wanted to do naughty things with her later. The big brain couldn’t quite get over the fact that she smelled like she’d just come out of a dumpster.

“You have something in your hair,” I said, pointing.

“Get it out,” she said, freaking out a little.

I took a closer look and wrinkled my nose, which caused her to start running her fingers through her hair. When she touched the wet napkin—that was what I hoped it was—she almost lost it.

“Eww!”

Paul stepped forward and plucked it out. It stuck to his fingers, and I laughed when he tried to flick it off and it sailed onto her blouse, causing her to flail around as she attempted to knock it away. It finally came loose and splattered on the ground, leaving a disgusting wet spot. I would have to throw my shirt away if it got something like that on it. I could see her shiver in disgust when she inspected it more closely.

Paul, seeing that she didn’t look happy with him, did the dumbest thing I’d ever seen: he jumped into the dumpster to retrieve her shoe and purse.

“You’re not getting in the car if you got that crap on you,” I warned him.

I cringed a little because I sounded like my mother.

Then my phone rang. I looked at the caller ID and saw it was Tami. Frick! I’d totally forgotten that she and Sarah were coming to the hotel after they changed clothes. I hoped they were in the lobby and hadn’t gone upstairs yet.

I answered and just heard crying on the other end. Could this day get any worse?

Against my better judgment, I let Dumpster Girl and Paul get in the car so we could drive to Tami’s dorm.

“Why are we going to your friend’s dorm?” Dumpster Girl asked.

“Their boyfriends were lured into a threesome with Gwen Larkin...”

She began to shake her head.

“Stop right there. There is no way that is true. Gwen Larkin is a sweet girl who would never do something like that,” she said, obviously confusing her character with real life. “Plus, why would she be here? I think she lives in Hollywood or something.”

“She came to see me,” I said.

“Are you putting me on?” she asked and then looked at Paul in the front seat. “Is he putting me on?”

“Nope. She really did come to see David,” Paul assured her.

“Enough about my drama. Why were you dumpster-diving?” I asked.

“I went to that bar to meet a group of my girlfriends so we could celebrate the fact that men are a lower life-form and we’re lucky to be rid of them. That was when my ex showed up with his new girlfriend. I escaped to the bathroom so he wouldn’t see me. I figured I would just climb out the window so I wouldn’t have to face him. Landing in the dumpster was an accident,” she explained.

“I can see that. I would rather climb out a window and into a dumpster than have to face some of my exes,” Paul said.

We pulled up to the dorm, and Paul parked.

“I need to move the car,” Paul said, pointing at the sign that said that only people with Wesleyan parking stickers could park there.

“I’ll pay for the ticket if you get one. I just want to pop in, be supportive, and get out. While we’re there, maybe you two can figure out how to smell better,” I suggested.

“Is he always a dick?” Dumpster Girl asked.

“Pretty much,” Paul replied.

I flipped them both off and led them into the dorm. The girl at the desk recognized me and waved me in.

I found Harper and Missy consoling Tami and Sarah. The two wronged girls leaped into my arms and began to cry as soon as I walked in. I looked over their shoulders at Harper.

“Can you help those two out?” I asked as I tilted my head towards Paul and Dumpster Girl.

Once Harper figured out what was wrong, she was all business, and I could focus on my friends.

“So, what happened?” I asked as I led them back to the couch and sat down.

“We got the keys you left us. We first went into the adjoining room and didn’t find either Wolf or Tim,” Tami started.

“The door was open between the rooms, so we went into the suite,” Sarah explained.

“It is nice. I’ll have to tell my parents for when they come down for graduation,” Missy shared.

“Wait. You were with them?” I asked.

“Along with Harper,” Tami said and then blushed.

It didn’t take much to imagine what Sarah had meant when she said it would be worth my while to show up tonight. I was bummed the night hadn’t gone according to plan.

“We heard ... well, you know,” Sarah stumbled over her words.

“We thought you were with someone,” Tami admitted.

I could imagine what happened next.

“You decided to spy on me,” I offered, letting them off the hook of spelling it out.

It seemed like people found ways to watch my activities. The last time had been when I went to the party in Cincinnati with Brook. I was starting to think I might be some female voyeurs’ favorite target.

“I can’t believe they were with Gwen Larkin. How am I ever supposed to compete with someone like that?” Tami asked, and I could see she was going to cry again.

Sarah also looked defeated.

“You have to be kidding me,” I said indignantly. “I would rather spend time with both of you than touch Gwen.”

Missy began to chuckle, which caused the two girls to glare at her.

“Did you hear what he said?” she asked and looked back and forth at both of them. “He said both of you.”

Harper came back in with Paul in tow. I guess Dumpster Girl needed more cleaning up. I noticed that Paul now smelled like girly perfume, but that was preferable to freshly dipped dumpster.

Tami and Sarah gave me a suspicious look.

“Hey,” I said, holding up my hands. “What did we do when Harper dumped me?”

Sarah blushed. I turned to Harper.

“Sorry.”

“No problem. Sarah was just being a friend,” Harper said.

I almost believed her. I wouldn’t be quite as forgiving if Wolf or Tim had slept with Brook to help her get over me. Suddenly, I saw it from her side and felt horrible.