Never Say Goodbye Read online

  “Brynn you’re taken so what does it even matter?” I ask.

  “Because Liv you can go for him and I can live vicariously through you,” she states looking at me like this is an absolute amazing plan.

  “Umm NO Brynn, not my style. You know I’m not going to sleep with someone whom I’ve never even met.”

  “Ugh I know, but damn I could dream,” she says with a pout.

  As I look around the guests at the party I can’t help but notice him. I look at him and damn he’s fine. I would like to check out the front of him, but all I can see is his damn backside and he has one hell of a backside. I turn back to Brynn and try to focus on what she’s saying. I want to look back at Mr. Delectable Ass, but refrain from doing so; I don’t want to be “that girl.”

  Eventually Chad comes back with Sawyer, another guy on the team and we make small chat for the next hour. They tell us all about their practices and how the game went tonight. I got play by play of the game tonight and am told that I better be at the next one. I promise I will be and I do, I have all plans of attending the next game. It’s getting later and I decide it’s time to go home. I’m not drunk, just a wee bit tipsy.

  “Liv, why don’t you stay at Chad’s house with me?” she asks like it’s a no-brainer.

  “No, I don’t want to interrupt anything, I can walk back to the dorm, it’s not far.” I say as I stand and get ready to head out.

  “Liv, I’m not letting you walk back home by yourself, you’re crazy if you think otherwise,” she states.

  “Brynn seriously, it’s not far I’ll be just fine.”

  “No Liv absolutely not, Chad tell her,” she practically yells.

  “Liv, you can stay at my place its cool and I promise none of the guys will harass you,” he says sweetly.

  “Seriously Chad its fine, I’m….”

  “No Liv, you aren’t walking home by yourself so stop. You’re staying at Chad’s it’s settled.” Brynn demands not giving me room to debate the situation.

  “Liv, you can even sleep in my roommate’s room, he’s going from here to his girls place so you’re good,” Chad says. I give in because clearly I won’t win this argument. So great, I get to stay in a stranger’s bed tonight, just how I planned my night to go.

  We get back to Chad’s house and he shows me to the room I’ll be sleeping in. “Ewe, disgusting, she cannot sleep in there Chad, look at it,” Brynn says obviously feeling the same way I do about the mess of a bedroom. There are clothes everywhere, plates and cups and beer bottles scattered all over, and it has a smell, it’s gross.

  “Oh shit, sorry Liv, let me see what else I can do,” Chad says as he heads off somewhere else in the house.

  “I should have walked home B, I would have been fine,” I say hastily.

  “No Liv, you were not going to walk home late at night by yourself. We promised each other, we would never do that and you aren’t going to start now,” she preaches to me. Ugh she’s right, but I’m debating on which would kill me first a potential killer that’s nuts or this guy’s room.

  “Liv you can stay in Wolffe’s room. He’s going from the party to a friend’s house so he said you could sleep in his room,” Chad states.

  “Okay if you’re sure he’s not going to be coming home,” I say hesitantly.

  “No you’re good, he won’t be back tonight. Come on,” he says as he leads the way to Wolffe’s room, he opens the door and then heads back in the direction of his room.

  “Wow, talk about clean,” I state surprised.

  “Nice, way better than the other room,” Brynn says with a laugh. This room is spotless. Nothing is out of place in this room; it almost makes me nervous to sleep in here. I have no idea whose room this is, but I’m glad he’s clean.

  “Crap I don’t have anything to wear, ugh why didn’t you just let me go home Brynn?” I state frustrated.

  “Oh just wait,” Brynn says as she starts opening up drawers.

  “What are you doing B stop snooping” I say whispering.

  “Please Liv, I’m sure you can borrow a pair of shorts and a tee shirt and Wolffe won’t mind,” she says as she throws the clothing to me.

  Chad is now standing back at the doorway, “Its fine Liv, he won’t care.”

  “Thanks then. Well I guess goodnight and I’ll see you in the morning,” I say as they leave the room. I lock the door behind me. I’m not going to have any unwanted guests tonight. I change into Wolffe’s clothes and crawl into his bed. His sheets smell like they just came out of the washer. I know I’ll sleep much better in this room and I do, I fall right to sleep.

  The next morning I wake up early and it takes me a minute to realize where I am. Once I recall all the events of last night, I get up and head into the bathroom to wash up. I change back into my clothes from the night before and put Wolffe’s clothes in his dirty hamper then make his bed. His bed was made when I got in it, so it’s only right I make his room appear like I was never here.

  I make my way to Chad’s room and knock on the door hoping that Brynn’s awake, but knowing damn well she’s not. I don’t want to see something that’s not decent so I continue to knock. “Damn it Liv, just come in already,” Brynn yells.

  “Sorry, I didn’t know if you were awake or not,” I start to say.

  ”Well I wasn’t, but your damn knocking woke me up. What’s going on?” she asks.

  “Just wanted to let you know that I’m heading home now,” I tell her.

  “Okay Liv give me like five minutes and I’ll go with you,” she says groggily.

  “Brynn you can stay its fine, I’ll just see you later,” I whisper.

  “No, I have things I need to do today, just give me like five minutes and I’ll be ready to go,” she says as she starts to get out of bed.

  “Okay,” I say then make my way towards the living room. No one’s awake in the house so I take the house in since it’s the first time I’ve been in here. It’s actually rather large on the inside. Surprisingly, the furniture all matches and the décor is nicely done. It looks like a bachelor pad, but considering four guys live here I’m not surprised. I’m just shocked for how clean it looks.

  “You ready,” she says surprising me.

  “Sure let’s go,” I say to Brynn as we leave and walk back to our dorm.

  The next few weeks fly by and I’m so swamped with schoolwork and sorority crap that I haven’t had a chance to make it to one of Chad’s basketball games. I can tell I’m getting on Brynn’s nerves because she keeps begging me to come along and I keep canceling, because something always comes up. I want to go, I love basketball, but I need to make sure I keep my grades up. I’m really rethinking my choice in joining the sorority too at this point. Sophie and Megan keep signing me up to help them with shit and it’s taking all my time up. I’ve resorted to telling both of them I’m done helping out with shit for the next month because I want my social life back. They both think it’s funny, but I don’t and clearly neither does Brynn.

  “So help me God Liv, if you cancel on me one more time we’re done being best friends,” Brynn scolds.

  “B, I’m sorry I promise I’ll be at their next home game. I won’t miss it I swear,” I say hoping she forgives me yet again.

  “Yeah, I believe I’ve heard that same shit the past three weeks now,” she huffs.

  “Not this time, I will be there you can count on it. I can’t lose my best friend over petty bullshit,” I say trying to lighten the mood because Brynn is pretty pissed right now.

  “You bet your ass you can’t lose me, so start making me a freaking priority will ya,” she says with a smile

  “Yes Brynn, you are my top priority along with a home basketball game,” I say smiling back.

  “Thank God, it’s about damn time. I was seriously starting to think I need to look for a new best friend,” she says with an evil grin.

  “Like hell you will Brynn,” I start to say and then Brynn starts laughing, “So when is the next home game?”
I ask.

  “This Friday and we’re going to an after party too so you better be ready,” she says all serious.

  “Okay, it’s a date best friend of mine,” I say with the biggest smile I can muster and pull her into a side hug.

  Friday comes really fast and we’re getting ready to head to the game. I’m decked out in my NC colors and allow my best friend to lead the way. The gym is packed, but that’s to be expected, we are the Tar Heels after all. Our seats are really good and I’m guessing Chad had something to do with it. Brynn’s waving and blowing kisses to Chad, wishing him good luck, while I just take in the whole arena, it’s an amazing sight and the atmosphere is absolutely crazy in here.

  “Hey Brynn which one is Wolffe?” I haven’t seen him on campus, but it’s not surprising because this place is big and packed. I’m curious to see the man whose bed I slept in, even though it was alone.

  “Oh, he’s not playing tonight,” she states.

  “Why not?” I ask curiously.

  “Chad says he had a family emergency and had to leave, he may be gone for a few weeks,” she says.

  “Oh that stinks, hopefully everything’s okay,” I say sympathetically.

  “Yeah I hope so too, I have no idea what’s going on though. Chad says he’s a pretty private guy so who knows,” she says.

  “Oh,” is all I can think to say.

  “Watch that sexy beast of a man turn out to be gay. All the freaking hot ones are,” she says looking hurt by this thought.

  “I’m not sure what you’re talking about, but to each its own right?” I say and then the crowd starts going crazy.

  The game starts and we end up kicking ass tonight. I couldn’t be happier. It’s a great game but I’m biased because I love basketball. I’m glad we’re going out tonight because I’m so riled up, I don’t want to go back to the dorm and sit, I feel like being out and about. “You ready to go Liv?” Brynn asks.

  “Sure, lead the way.” I say as I follow her up the stairs to leave the gymnasium.

  We make our way to the party. Now this party is a lot bigger and crazier than the last one I came to. “I thought this was only for the basketball players Brynn?” I ask confused.

  “Oh, not this party, this is just a random house. The guys aren’t having their own private party tonight. Chad’s going to meet us here shortly,” she says as she heads towards the kitchen. I follow her and we get our drinks and talk about the game.

  Eventually Chad gets here with the bunch of the guys from the team. Everyone starts cheering for them as they walk in the door clearly impressed and happy with tonight’s win. As soon as Chad sees Brynn his face lights up and so does hers, I’m happy she found a good guy who treats her well.

  “Hey baby, hey Liv,” Chad says as he walks up and kisses Brynn.

  “Great game tonight Chad,” I say happily. He did have an awesome game tonight.

  “Thanks Liv.”

  “Yes baby, you were amazing tonight,” Brynn says as she kisses him again.

  “Okay guys you can save the foreplay for later, I want to hang out not watch you two suck faces all night,” I say with a slight laugh.

  “We really need to find her a guy and soon,” B says to Chad.

  “Hello, I’m standing right here and for your information I’m perfectly fine being single. Thank you very much,” I say to the two of them. They just laugh.

  “No Liv, I’m going to work on it, you need a guy. It’s been a few months since you and Ryan broke up and you need to move on,” she says all seriously.

  “I have moved on, I’m over Ryan, I just don’t want to deal with a relationship right now B.”

  “I could hook you up with one of the guys Liv,” Chad says putting his two cents in.

  “There are some hotties on the team; you should totally check them out,” Brynn states.

  “You better not be thinking of hooking up with any of my teammates' woman, you’re mine and only mine,” Chad states as he wraps his arm around Brynn’s shoulders.

  “Don’t worry baby, I’m all yours,” B says, while kissing him yet again.

  “Ugh enough you two, I don’t want any of your teammates Chad, I want to embrace being single for the time being,” I state to the two of them.

  “Fine, but one of these days Liv...I will find you a new man who’s worth your time,” B says seriously.

  “Good, until then let’s enjoy our night,” I state. We continue to drink and enjoy the rest of the evening without any more talk of my love life or lack thereof.

  Chapter Seven

  The next two months fly by and things are going smoothly. Brynn is Chad’s biggest fan and I mean that in every sense of the word. Brynn is never around because Chad’s basketball season is over; they lost in the semi-finals by three points. It stinks. I’m now practically rooming by myself because she’s always at Chad’s place. Don’t get me wrong I’m beyond happy for my best friend, but I miss her. We spend time together, it’s just different now and I’m lucky if I see her in our dorm twice a week.

  Other than that, schools going well and so is the sorority stuff that I have going on. We have a fling thing coming up with a frat house which should be pretty entertaining. I’m actually really looking forward to it. In the spring we’re having a cookout with the same fraternity, but obviously it’s too cold for that right now. Winters are cold. I know it could be worse, but it’s still cold so bundling up is a must.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  “Hey Liv, can you help me with the decorations today?” Sophie asks.

  “Sure thing, do we need to pick stuff up?” I ask.

  “No, we have all the decorations here at the house. Somehow I got nominated to decorate and I have no freaking idea who did it, but they’re asking for a beat down because of it,” she says all serious.

  “It’s only decorating Soph, how bad could it be?” I ask unsure now, because I did just volunteer to help.

  “Liv, it’s a pain in the ass, at least we have the theme so that makes it a bit easier, but to hang all the stuff high with the lights, it sucks because we’re short,” she says in a huff.

  “Can’t we get some of the frat guys to help out with the high stuff?” I ask curiously.

  “Ha-ha yeah right, they’re worthless. You can definitely try, but it’s pointless, I’m telling you now," she states looking irritated.

  “Okay we’ll figure it out. We have two great minds let’s do this,” I state proudly.

  “You’re absolutely right Liv, screw men who needs em,” she says laughing. I can’t help but laugh with her as we walk down the stairs to start decorating.

  It takes us three hours to hang all the freaking decorations and I’m exhausted.

  “Soph, never ask me to help decorate again.” I say with a moan.

  “Sorry Liv, but if I have to suffer through it so do you,” she says laughing as she plops down on the chair.

  “I must say this place looks damn good,” I tell her.

  “Well duh bitch, we decorated it. Of course it looks amazing,” she says laughing while looking around at our handiwork.

  “I just hope I’m awake to enjoy it tonight,” I say yawning.

  “Seriously Liv, you cannot be tired, it was just a little decorating,” she says laughing at me.

  “I know, maybe I should take a nap first.”

  “Well you have time if you want to. Do you want to take a nap here or back at your dorm room?” She asks.

  “Back at my dorm, my dress is there,” I tell her as I start making my way to the door.

  “Okay, well if you want to come over early and get ready here with us you can,” she says happily.

  “Alright, I’ll probably do that. I’ll see you later tonight Soph,” I say as I head out the door and back to my dorm to catch a quick nap.

  I wake up to pounding on my door. “Why are you pounding on the door?” I ask as I open the door to an all dressed up Sophie and Megan.

  “Umm hello Liv, it’s already
after 8:00 p.m. and we’ve called and texted you like a hundred times,” she says looking worried.

  “Sorry guys, I guess I napped longer than planned,” I say as I look at the clock.

  “No worries, but get your ass moving woman we need to move,” Megan says rushing into the tiny closet to pull out my shoes. She grabs the dress that’s hanging on the back of the closet door and hands it to me all while pushing me towards the bathroom. “Can I take a quick shower?” I ask.

  “NO,” they both respond.

  “Liv, we don’t have time, we’re already going to be late. Now hurry up,” Sophie states.

  “Sorry guys, but I’m gross, I need a shower. If you want to go ahead over and I’ll hurry and be at the house as soon as possible,” I try to tell them.

  “No we’ll wait. It’s not safe for you to walk by yourself in the dark,” Soph states.

  “Really Soph its fine, I can even bring my mace. You guys shouldn’t have to be late because I overslept.”

  “No, now hurry your ass up,” she says seriously.

  “I agree, get a move on it Olivia,” Megan states trying to look all serious.

  We make it to the sorority house within thirty minutes. I swear I’ve never gotten ready so fast in my life, but I guess it helps having one person do my hair while the other tries to do my make-up while I try to get dressed. Talk about a crazy mess that was, but here we are.

  “This place looks amazing if I do say so myself,” I giggle to the girls.

  “You got that right,” Soph says while Megan just laughs at us. We head inside and the place is packed. People are dancing in the living room that was made out to have a dance floor so the couches and chairs have been moved around the room.

  “It’s about time you got your ass here Liv, I was starting to get worried about you,” Brynn says walking up to me.

  “Sorry, just took a longer nap than planned,” I say with a smile.

  “Well you look amazing and I have someone I want you to meet,” she says with a devilish grin.

  “Brynn, please don’t try to set me up, please,” I practically beg her.