Cesar
That was crazy. Women always wanted to be seen with me. They loved being seen with me. But Casey? She was different. She was giving me a lot of firsts tonight.
"Please get off me," Casey said, and that's when I realized how close I'd gotten. I took a step back.
"Please just leave," she added.
"It's okay. I'm leaving," I said, trying to cool the tension. "I just want to make sure that you're fine, and that I brought you back safe."
"I am fine. I am here and safe. You can go now."
"Go into your room," I said. Not a request. A command.
"Why?" she asked, her voice sharp, challenging.
To tell you the truth, I didn't understand myself either. I didn't know why I was pushing it. I didn't know why I was acting this way. But I blame this on the fact that Casey was introducing me to a lot of firsts tonight.
I shrugged.
"Maybe it's because I don't want to wake up tomorrow morning with my name plastered all over —that I was the last person to be seen with you because you disappeared—only for me to get a criminal record for doing absolutely nothing. That's why I want to go into your room. So that I'm sure you got in. So that I have my statement straight when the police come for me tomorrow morning."
And then she laughed. It caught me off guard. Genuinely. I found myself smiling too, with her.
I didn't say it to be funny—it wasn't a joke. But she laughed, and God, she was beautiful. I should've known this already, after the last few minutes I'd spent with her. But right there, at that moment, as she laughed so freely, so carelessly… something fluttered in my chest.
And then she said, "My door is 201."
She started walking, but she winced.
I got it—she was still sore. I was about to offer to carry her again when two voices rang out.
"Casey! There you are!"
Then the second, "We've been looking all over for you!"
Two girls—rushed over to us. More toward Casey than me. They looked older than her. The blonde one... she looked familiar. I think I had a few classes with her. I think—maybe—I slept with her. I don't know. She just looked familiar.
She went straight for Casey, eyes filled with concern, brushing her hair back from her face.
"Casey, are you okay? Is everything alright?" And then her gaze shifted to me—accusing, sharp.
What the hell was that look about?
Then the blonde one turned back to Casey, her voice a little louder now.
"Where have you been?" the blonde woman demanded. "Leanna called me—she was kind of hysterical. She said you were coming to the party but when she went downstairs, you were gone. She didn't see you or Cesar. We looked everywhere. We called Caesar. He didn't pick up. He didn't even answer his friend's call. We were so worried. What happened?"
Her eyes were locked on Casey, demanding answers.
Casey glanced at me first—quick, uneasy—then swallowed hard and said,
"Nothing. It's nothing. We were just about to go to the party, but then I got a headache and changed my mind—"
Before she could finish, the blonde was already eyeing the bag in Casey's hand.
"—what's this?" she asked, snatching it out of Casey's grip.
Casey snatched it back with surprising force.
"It's nothing," she said quickly. "I just went to the pharmacy to get something for the headache and… something to keep me company during the night since Leanna would be at the party."
She shot me another glance, the kind that screamed shut the hell up—like I was a ticking time bomb.
"Okay," the blonde said slowly. Then her eyes flicked to me, sharp again. "Caesar."
I met her gaze with a raised brow. "Yeah?"
"What are you doing here… with my little sister?"
That made me pause. "Your little sister?" I repeated.
"Yes. She's practically my little sister. I'm close with Leanna—and Leanna is like my little sister, so that makes Casey my little sister too. I look out for them. And you…" she pointed her finger at me, "…are trouble."
I couldn't help the smirk crawling up my face.
Because now it was starting to click. Leanna—I'd already slept with her. Casey—slept with her too.
And now this blonde, glaring at me like a guard dog—I was about 90% sure I'd slept with her too.
Oops.
"I know you weren't just about to take advantage of Casey," the blonde woman snapped, arms crossed tightly across her chest.
Her stare was sharp, "Casey is a beautiful, intelligent, quiet girl. She doesn't run in your cycles, Caesar. And she's not one of your little fangirls."
Her voice had a bite to it like every word was a jab meant to shame me. "So you buying her medicine and helping her to her room doesn't mean you get to weasel your way into her pants," she continued. "Not now, not ever."
I could feel her trying to shame me for something already done. If only she knew…
Casey, not one of my fangirls? That's rich, considering what had just happened between us. And yeah—she's definitely the quiet one. The shy one. The type who probably doesn't even know how loud she was moaning a couple of hours ago.
Still, I didn't say anything.
"So thanks for taking care of her and all," she went on, dismissive, "but you can go now."
She tugged Casey closer to her side. Protective. Suspicious. Casey avoided my eyes, clearly praying I'd just walk away and not ruin her tonight any more.
Then the blonde turned back to me, her stare loaded. "What happened?" she asked—not to Casey, but to me.
I saw Casey tense up. Her face flushed red. She was terrified that I might open my mouth and let the whole thing out in the open.
So I saved her.
"She fell in the parking lot," I said, tone casual. "Hurt her leg. That's why I carried her. That's all."
The blonde looked at Casey, waiting. Casey nodded, eyes on the floor, still mute.
But that suspicion… it didn't go away. If anything, it deepened.
And then she turned back to me like she had one final warning to dish out.
"Casey, whatever this man told you, it's a lie," she said. "Don't believe a word he says. If he took your number, delete it. He is the worst kind of guy. He'll sleep with you and not even call the next morning."
She narrowed her eyes, voice suddenly gentler but not less intense. "Please… I know you're a virgin..."
Casey's face went beet red.
I—of course—had to jump in.
"One of my rules is not to sleep with virgins," I said, cool and deliberate. "I'm not into virgins. So… you can relax."
The silence that followed was loud.
Casey gently touched the blonde's arm. "Irene, it's okay," she said, her voice soft but laced with urgency. "Nothing happened. He was just helping me. I hurt my leg. Just… let's leave it."
So her name was Irene.
But Irene wasn't done. Her fire only grew stronger.
"I know men like him, Casey," she said, jaw clenched. "I'm just trying to save you from a lot of heartache."
Her eyes burned into mine, but she kept her words aimed at Casey.
"Do you know when I slept with him, he didn't even call the next morning? Not a single word—not even to ask if I got home okay. And the worst part? When I came back to my room the next day, I found him in my bed with two of my best friends. One of them my roommate. A girl he'd just met the night before."
Her voice cracked a little. That fury was personal.
Casey turned to look at me slowly, unreadable "Her roommate?" she asked, cold and quiet.
Irene didn't even wait for me to answer.
"Yes," she snapped. "He does threesomes, foursomes. He's disgusting. A despicable man."
She stared at me with nothing but revulsion before spitting out, "I hope you get what you deserve, you heartless bastard."
She turned again, grabbing Casey's arm and yanking her forward, completely forgetting about her made-up injured leg.
Casey winced, pain flashing across her face, and Irene paused, finally realizing. She let go softened by guilt.
Irene then helped Casey toward her door, disappearing without another word.
And I stood there, arms crossed, eyebrows raised.
"What?" I muttered to the girl still standing there. "Did I sleep with you and your roommate too?"
She flinched, I exhaled sharply and gritted out,
"Irene knew what it was. Everyone did. I never lied. Never promised anything. Just because I slept with her didn't mean I owed her. We fucked. That's it."
And she wasn't mad because of what I did.
But the woman—the one I thought was silently judging me—surprised me.
She tilted her head, crossed her arms, and with a straight face, said,
"So, do you want to hook up?"