Chapter 10: Competition

“You’re seriously going out with him again?” Jordan asked standing behind Christina with her arms folded into her chest. The motherly look on her face was more out of concern for her friend’s reputation than anything else knowing the kind of person Kayne is. “What on Earth would ever make you agree to that? Don’t you have enough crap to deal with already? And now with this dance team and his ex-bitch as our captain…she’s just going to make your life miserable because of this you know that right?”

“Jordan, she’s out to make my life miserable regardless. The way I see it, she put herself on the dance team to watch it crash and burn and laugh at us as we smolder in the ashes. I figured this way I’ll at least get a nice laugh at her on the nights I know she doesn’t get to have her ex the way she wants.”

“Ah so you’re not going out with him because you like him, you’re going out with him because beneath your sweet, sincere outer layer you’re really a cold-hearted, sadistic bitch? Gotcha! For a minute there I thought you were out of your fucking mind!”

“And that’s the beauty of it right? But he said he wanted to apologize for his earlier behavior and I thought I would give him a chance to. I have no idea why Kayne wants to go out with me to be honest. I can’t make it any clearer that he’s not getting in my pants so he’s really just wasting his time taking me to some expensive restaurant; at least it sounds expensive.”

“Where are you going?”

“Giovanni’s? He said it has a spectacular view.”

“Wow! Yeah he’s definitely gunning for some ass. If I were you I’d wear the biggest granny panties I could find and tell him you’re on your period. Then again he’s a pig he’d probably be ok with that.”

Christina laughed hard enough she smudged her lipstick and had to reapply her makeup and liner. She glared at her roommate in the mirror behind her. Jordan’s serious expression only made her laugh harder and she shooed her away in order to finish getting ready. “Please! I’m not even letting him close enough to see my panties! We’re eating and making a little conversation, that’s it!”

“Mmhmm, well I hope you can stick to your guns then. I hear that man can be quite persuasive!” She jumped into her pillows and grabbed the book from her nightstand as Christina slipped her dress over her shoulders and just in time as the knock on their door came moments later. She opened to Kayne’s smile and a bouquet of pink roses.

“Aww that’s so sweet of you thank you! I love them Kayne!” She placed them on the desk, took one last look at herself in the mirror and grabbed his arm as he escorted her out with a wave in Jordan’s direction. 

He opened the door to his red Camaro and watched her slip inside before shutting the door behind her and rushing to the other side. “You look beautiful Chrissy,” he smiled and turned the dial on the AC watching her rub her arms for warmth.

“Thank you Kayne. You look nice yourself.”

“I uh…took a little extra care to try and look presentable for where we’re going. I’m happy to hear it made an impression.” He winked in her direction and Christina shrunk deeper into her seat.

“Ok before this goes any further, I want to be clear about what we’re doing here.”

“Ok...we’re heading to a restaurant to have dinner why does it have to mean more than that?” He smiled in her direction and patted her knee gently with a light chuckle. “Relax alright? It’s hard trying to dispel rumors about yourself and what people expect of you but I promise I’m not as bad a guy as many would have you believe. I just want to take you to dinner and try and have a nice time alright?”

“Alright.” She smiled in return and it settled the butterflies crawling in her stomach. They pulled up to Giovanni’s and the valet rushed out to assist with parking their car. After checking his coat, the Maitre D led them towards a table near the back.

“May I interest you in tonight’s wine selection? We have Tuscan’s finest, a ’77 Pinot Grigio that compliments tonight’s special wonderfully. The fully ripened flavor of the grapes dresses the Chicken Crème Fraîche delicately for the more refined pallet.”

Kayne nodded once and smiled at Christina. “Yes we’ll have a bottle with our meal thank you.”

“Excellent choice Sir. Your server will be along shortly.”

“Um that wine was like $2oo bucks,” Christina whispered once the man excused himself from the table. “I can only imagine how much this meal will be. Are you sure you don’t want to just grab a burger somewhere?”

“Chrissy if I thought you were a cheeseburger and shake kind of girl I’d have taken you to the Happy Shack and gave our order to the clown head in the drive thru. But you’re so much more than that and deserve to be treated as such.”

“Yeah but I am a cheeseburger and shake kind of girl,” she smiled and pulled the menu open over her plate. 

“Well then I’ll keep that in mind for next time.” Opening to the dinner section Christina peeked just over the top of the paper in her hand and noticed Kayne’s eyes sizing up the woman that was just seated to the table near them.

“We haven’t even made it through dinner and you’re already thinking of a third date? What makes you think tonight isn’t the last?” she asked looking towards him and watching as he quickly darted his gaze back to hers.

“Because I’m exactly your type and once you get to know me better you’ll come to learn that yourself,” he again shot her a smile and wink before taking a sip of the white wine on the table in front of him.

“You know I’m not a heavy drinker and I can’t say I’ve ever truly learned to appreciate too many wines. My Mother always has a glass for dinner and would often ask that I have one with her. I think it’s why I preferred not indulging; I see what behavior comes of it.”

“But you had a beer at the party.”

“A sip or two; I’m not very into the flavor of hops either.”

Kayne scowled visibly and lowered his glass to the table. “So you’re saying that you have no intentions of even tasting a $200 bottle of wine?” he clenched his jaw and waited for her to respond.

Christina placed her menu back to the table, eyed the bottle sitting beside them and nodded. “I’d have preferred had you asked if it was something I wanted. Instead you assumed I’d appreciate the gesture and thought it would impress me. If it was something you did out of chivalry and not something done for the idea of getting into my pants I’d maybe been a little more open to trying it. But the fact that you followed the purchase of that wine with basically telling me we’re having a third date and that you’re the man I’ve always dreamed of, no I don’t think I’ll have a taste.”

“Geez you on the rag or something? What’s with the attitude?”

“And there it is! I don’t think I had an attitude before I was simply telling you my preference. But every guy in history likes to make comments concerning a woman’s biological systems placing it at fault and CAUSING said mood shift or attitude. But since you asked Kayne, you brought me out tonight to show me you weren’t what everyone said you are but as I’m browsing the menu I see you checking out every woman that takes a seat near us! It’s rude and disrespectful to the person you’re on a date with.”

“What the hell is your problem? You act like it’s wrong for a guy to appreciate beautiful women! It’s not like I walked down there and shoved my tongue down her throat Chrissy chill the fuck out. There’s no need for this behavior!”

“My behavior is directly related to your indifference of being out with someone and checking out other girls as if your date didn’t exist! You precursor this dinner by telling me you have a bum rap and that everyone has the wrong idea about you and then show me that everything I’ve heard about you is true!”

“What the fuck is this? You obviously already formulated some sort of opinion about me before we even came out tonight. Why did you even agree to a second date if that was the case?”

“I agreed because you seemed genuine in trying to show me you were more than just a playboy but since we’ve been in here you’ve eyed every woman that has entered probably seeing yourself on top of them or watching them undress seductively for you! Way to be anything but an asshole jock.” 

“And it apparently didn’t matter what my answer was anyway since you told me you had already made a reservation here unless…the reservation wasn’t for me was it? Someone else was your plus one but at the last second they bailed on you and so you brought me instead?” Kayne’s eyes dropped away from hers and it only made Christina’s blood boil more. “You son of a bitch.”

She pulled up from the table and stormed towards the door with Kayne directly behind her. “Stop! Stop!” he yelled after her as they got to the valet area. She finally turned to look at him, annoyance and anger burning behind her eyes as she watched him try and formulate another lie. “Ok maybe I did have another girl in mind but that shouldn’t matter now since we’re here together. We can still have a nice time at least.”

“You’re not serious? You know what I don’t know how to say it any clearer but it’s never gonna happen Kayne. I’d appreciate it if you just took me hom…” Christina stopped in her tracks as she noticed Remington starting towards her. She smiled hoping to bum a ride from him but was greeted in a much less anticipated way.

“Ah so you’re one of those girls,” he sighed and frowned in Kayne’s direction. “The type that sees a jock, believes he can be her savior and clings to him as best she can? Is that what you were doing at my room the other day? Is that the real reason you looked me up Christina?”

“What? No. I came to thank you for saving me not…is that really what you think of me?”

“What else should I think? You said you had your options but I didn’t realize that meant everyone you met on campus including me. But I guess I should have known better given the fact that you’re the child of an alumnus which means you think like the rest of them that you own the school and everyone should kowtow to your every whim. I can’t believe I could be that gullible. I thought you were different.”

“What? That’s not me at all! I am different!” He threw his hands up and walked away towards the curb where he’d parked his motorcycle. “Remy wait a second!” Christina yelled as she rushed after him. “Please will you give me a second?”

“For what Chrissy? What could you possibly have to say?”

“I just…I wanted to apologize.”

“Apologize? Seriously?”

“Yes, we went out once I didn’t think…I didn’t realize you were that interested in me is all.”

“No. Of course not. I take every girl I meet to the grotto during swim season. I guess every jock has his thing,” he sighed and looked again towards Kayne. “You’re not the first one he’s brought here you know that right? And you damn sure won’t be the last.” 

He threw his leg over the side of the bike and jammed the key into the ignition. “As for me, I don’t even normally date when I’m swimming because I don’t want to have to worry about drama. Looks like I should have stuck to my normal routine. Sorry to ruin your dinner. With any luck you may be able to get back in time for dessert! I’m sure it’s what Kayne is expecting!” He hurried off pressing the kickstand on his bike into the up position before speeding away and leaving Christina standing on the curb in a trail of dust slowly fading from view.

“Yeah yeah, I hear ya Jack, quit yer yappin’!” Henry spat as he turned the key and pushed into the narrow one bedroom apartment on the other side of the campus. Sauntering towards the dining table he dropped his bag beside the chair and entered the kitchen with a sorrowful sigh towards his pet Pug dancing around his foot. “Whaddya want huh? Ya got enough food in ya bowl to be happy about. What? You want summa this?” he asked waving the beer he’d just pulled from the fridge in front of the animal’s face causing the dog to yip with excitement. “Well that’s too bad it’s the last one!”

He started for the living room and plopped down on the sofa. Jack barked once more before rushing after him. He twirled three times on the pillow beside the large chair and dropped his body into the cushions. “Dumb dog,” Henry growled and reached for the remote. Flicking through the channels he stopped on the sports highlights and turned it up loud enough to annoy his neighbors.

“And in other news, the Emerald Cove Pirates have
gained the lead in the division over their rivals
with an upsetting victory that left…”

Something crashed in one of the rooms behind him and Henry instantly turned in the direction of the noise. Footsteps alerted him to the presence of an intruder in his home and he pulled up from the couch with a start. “Hello? Who’s back there?” he grumbled turning the television down and waiting to hear the sounds again. Jack’s head popped up from his pillow and he watched his master slowly make his way down the hallway waiting to see what the hefty man intended for the person he believed was sneaking around his home. The lights flickered and turned out causing him to cuss beneath his breath.

Lifting a hammer from the floor beside the hall closet he pulled opened the door to his bedroom. A dark figure dashed behind him and he quickly turned towards it. Jack barked furiously and hurried into the kitchen. Ducking beneath the table he shook visibly in fear and whimpered at the ferociousness of the howl he was met with. “Stupid mutt!” Henry yelled and charged towards the living room waving the hammer in his grip animatedly. 

He instantly froze in fear as he was met with the large red eyes of the beast his pet had encountered just seconds earlier. The hammer fell from his hand landing with a thud and he slowly began backing towards the bedroom as the monster stood up perfectly on two legs looming higher above the campus security guard than he ever thought possible.

“What the hell?” Tripping and falling backwards the animal lurked closer until his warm breath blew over Henry’s shivering body. Raising his claw, his long, sharp talons glinted in the moonbeams that peeked into the room and over the canines within its gums. “No!” With one powerful swipe Henry’s head flew across to the other side of the small apartment covering the area in blood.

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