“I wish your dad would give that shit a rest man. Do you think Kennedy knows?”

I stiffened. I didn’t want to care whether or not she knew, but I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if something happened to her as a result of the feud between our fathers. She was as much an innocent in all of it as I was.

“I’m not sure, but I should probably go talk to her.” I stood up from the sofa without giving myself a chance to back out, and promptly ignored the puzzled look on Reid’s face. I was angry, frustrated, and tired, and yet I was still looking for an excuse to see the girl who kept me up at night, and messed with my head the way no one else had.

I opened the door just as Kennedy’s friend Ashley walked past, and was hit with an idea. I was about to immortalize my name in the Douchebag Hall of Fame.

“Hey,” I said.

Ashley startled, and then smiled at me. She was a stunner, with her long legs, olive colored skin, and long brown hair. Being a model ensured she wasn’t hard up for male attention, and her intelligence certainly didn’t hurt either. But she wasn’t my type. I’d developed a taste for something more particular. More singular.

Blonde hair with purple tips.

Green eyes.

A body that made you want to sin.

“Hey Dane,” she giggled nervously.

I doubted my plan for a split second, and then I thought fuck it.

“You got plans tonight?” I asked.

Her eyes widened, and she stood a little taller. “No?”

Despite not feeling it, or feeling her, my mouth turned up into the grin that I knew got the girls. “You do now. Have dinner with me. We can get to know each other better.”

“Okay,” she replied without hesitating. “What time should I be ready?”

“I’ll fetch you at say, seven?”

“Perfect.”

She walked away, and I’d forgotten about my plan to speak to Kennedy. This plan sounded a whole lot better.

I think.

FORTY-FIVE MINUTES into dinner, I realized that I’d made a mistake. Sure, Ashley was a beautiful girl, and it was obvious she was extremely intelligent, but we had absolutely nothing in common. I asked myself through every awkward silence – and there were many – why I was subjecting either of us to this special kind of sadism, and the answer was always the same.

It wasn’t the date itself, but rather what happened afterwards. If my timing were on point, it would be worth the pre-torture. I did the gentlemanly thing and paid for our food, and then drove Ashley back to our dorms. It was barely nine thirty when we stopped outside mine and Reid’s apartment door.

“So…” Ashley rocked back and forth on her heels.

I rubbed the back of my neck.

“I had a nice time,” she said quickly. It was an ineffective attempt at diffusing the uncomfortable atmosphere, but I applauded her valiant effort.

“Uh, yeah, I did too.”

We stared at each other for a beat, and then I heard keys jingling. I looked up and saw Kennedy walking down the hallway towards her door.

Perfect timing.

She looked up.

That was my cue.

I wrapped my arm around Ashley’s waist, and tugged her to me, sealing my mouth over hers. I kissed her with extra enthusiasm, which she seemed to return, while never taking my eyes off Kennedy. She watched me devour her friends lips, listened to her moan while my tongue traced the contours of her mouth.

That was what I’d been betting on. The hurt and duplicity colliding in her eyes.

Now she knew how I felt when I saw her with another guy only days after I’d had her. I saw her withdraw into herself, and when she slammed their apartment door closed, I pulled away from Ashley and walked into mine and Reid’s’ apartment.

Pressing my back against the door, I sighed, and let my head fall back. “Shit,” I muttered.

My stomach sank, and regret coursed its way through my veins. That was a mistake.

And I needed to drink because I was an asshole.

Let’s have a toast to the douchebags, let’s have a toast to the assholes, I sang in my head. Kanye West sure knew what he was talking about.

I stepped towards the fridge when I heard a moan. My feet stopped, and my ears perked.

I heard it again.

It was coming from Reid’s’ room.

And the fucker had left his door open.

After a third moan echoed through the apartment I walked over to his door, intent on closing it, when I saw what was going on. Reid was on his back, with a girl riding him, her long midnight black hair cascading down her bare back.

Reid lifted his head, and spotted me at the door. Wrong timing, and I was sure he thought I was taking a peek. “Dane! What the fuck man!” He bellowed. The girls’ head turned and my jaw dropped.

“Jade???”

“Dane, get the fuck out!”

I quickly shut the door, standing open-mouthed. There was a commotion on the other side and I stepped aside just in time to remove myself from Jade’s path. She was half dressed, completely flustered and…angry?

“Have you ever heard of knocking?” She snapped, flying past me while trying to put her shoes on. I was still speechless.

“I…I…” I sputtered. “The door was open!”

“So you thought you’d watch like some kind of pervert?”

Reid barreled past me, heading straight for Jade. “Wait, you can’t leave. We still have to talk!”

“Ha!” Laughed Jade. “I’m not talking while he is here,” she glared hatefully, “I’m going back next door.”

“Me?” I asked incredulously. “Why are you upset with me? You’re the one caught screwing my best friend!”

“Kind of ironic, don’t you think?” She bit back. Her words took a minute to sink, but when they did, I realized why she was angry with me, and it had nothing to do with what I’d just walked in on.

“She told you,” I said under my breath. Unfortunately Jade still heard me.

“Yes, she did, and you know what, Dane? You don’t deserve her. You never did.”

Jade turned to leave, but I stopped her with a hand on her arm.

“That’s rich,” I sneered, allowing my anger from earlier to make an appearance. “She’s already moved on.”

Jade’s brows dipped into a frown, and she shook my hand off her arm. “What makes you think that?”

“I saw her, this afternoon. She was already with some other guy. She looked real broken up about us when he had his arms around her.” My voice dripped with sarcasm.

Jade reared back, and looked at me like I’d lost my mind. I was starting to feel like I had.

“Will one of you care to tell me what the fuck is going on?” Reid interjected.

We both ignored him, and then Jade spoke. “The guy you saw her with is a very good friend of hers, who drove all the way here from Madison, Georgia, to check up on her because her grandparents are worried about her. She’s a fucking mess because of you, and you just had to make it a whole lot worse by asking our roommate on a date. You know, I would have rooted for you, but you royally fucked up the best thing that could have happened to you.”

Jade turned her head towards Reid. “I’ll call you tomorrow, okay? I have some things to work out.”