Chapter Five: Caleb

The second that she walked out the backdoor of our frat house with the black fabric tied over her eyes, I couldn't take my own away. It amused me that we had the same idea, and I smiled for the first time in a few days as I let out a chuckle. Her shirt sat tight against her toned stomach, and I admired the way that she looked sexy without parading around naked like most of the other girls who came out tonight.

A hard elbow jabbed into my side, and I turned with a glare as the smile fell from my face. Jones leaned over with a knowing grin and jutted his chin in the direction of the girl as she approached the bar.

"One wingman coming up!" He announced before I could say anything and took off toward her.

As a best friend, he was great. As a person, he was sometimes a bit too pushy and overbearing. It made me worried that he may come on too strong and scare her away.

Jones was like an over-excitable puppy. It was hard to deter him away from something that made him happy. As soon as I told him about Diana's need for new experiences, he was on a mission to try and cheer me up.

I wasn't as sad as I should have been about the breakup. The reality was, I was angrier about the time that was wasted, as well as the fact that she tried to dump me in the middle of the packed student union. There is a time and place for everything, and that was not it. For goodness sake, she could have told me in my room where we had been hanging out just before we went to get dinner or even on the walk to the dining hall. Instead, she had decided to wait until we were both seated with an audience before giving me the news. It was humiliating, at first. Then, I walked out those doors, and I realized that I felt relieved.

Jones insisted that I needed to move on, but I didn't want to jump into anything. I stared after him anxiously as he approached the mysterious and alluring woman. At least, that was until I saw the way that her body stretched as she leaned over the bar to order. From that moment on, I didn't see anyone else around her. The black jeans she wore hugged the curve of her ass perfectly, and I knew I was staring, but I couldn't help it.

The cards in my hand clicked against the table as the game stalled without our dealer. We had been playing poker, but it had lulled when we lost a few people until we were really just fucking around.

I wasn't in the mood to go out and get wasted, but Jones was able to convince me to at least play a few rounds before he would let me leave the party. As soon as I had an opening, my plan was to make my way back upstairs. At least, that was before I saw her. She would be worth it. I could feel it.

My eyes were still glued to the girl from the bar, and I licked my lips briefly, feeling nervous as she pulled her hand away from Jones'. I wasn't sure why I wanted her to come over so desperately. When she looked over at me, I was filled with gratitude for Jones' take life by the balls approach as I finally got to see her blue eyes. They were so bright in contrast to the smoky makeup she had on that I wondered what they looked like without the mask or any makeup. Her eyes ran over me, and the most perfect smile spread across her face as she noticed my costume.

I don't know why I couldn't pull my eyes away, but I didn't want to try. There was a force pulling me in, like a siren calling out to a sailor. It was irresistible, and even though I knew in my gut that it would lead to my untimely demise, I couldn't resist.

I watched happily as she gracefully moved away from the girls who had approached her, and my breath caught in my chest as she sat down across from me. Our eyes were still locked when she downed her drink before she looked away and towards Jones. I turned to glare at the man who took her attention from me, but calmed when I saw Jones refill her drink from the bottle of Jose we had claimed for the table before he gathered the cards to start the next game. The chairs quickly filled as a random group of intoxicated party guests joined us.

"Alright! Ladies and gentlemen, we are changing it up. Blackjack. You bust, you lose one item of clothing and take a drink. The winner of the round gets to pick what you take off." Jones said as he cleared the table of the cards and began to shuffle.

My head snapped over to his at the same time that the girls did. He really took wingman to another level. She sent him a glare before he met her stare in a challenge. I let out a deep breath as she turned and met my eyes.

"Game on." She said, and my whole body warmed as she sent me the sexiest smirk I have ever seen with her deep, blood-red lips.