Ice Cold - Chapter 4: Chapter 4

Wren Ridley
Probably one of the dumbest things about college students was that they decided the weekend started on Thursday. It was somehow the start of the weekend even though we all had a whole other day of the week to get through. And my friends were some of the dumb ones, insisting that "Thirsty Thursday" was a real thing and that they were fine with going to class on Friday hungover. Or just not going at all.
No matter how dumb I found it, I still somehow ended up out at the bar on Thursday night. It was a favorite for all the college students in Providence because they didn't card.
James and Stella were already a couple drinks deep, but neither were drunk yet. It was only a matter of time before James started behaving badly and I would be the one stuck babysitting him. Stella always held her liquor better than he did.
"Wren," Stella called out, walking back over to our table with two drinks in her hand, some cocktail for herself and a water for me. "You keeping an eye on James?" She sat down beside me, placing the drinks on the table. I nodded and sipped the water.
"He's in the corner over there making out with some girl," I told her, nodding my head in the direction of James. "He's not even that drunk yet."
"He's just warming up, I'm sure," she said, taking a long sip of her drink then looking over at me with a wide grin. "He'll have his real fun tomorrow night."
I shrugged. "Maybe."
"You're not coming out tomorrow?"
I shook my head, resting my elbows on the table in front of me. "No, I have to go home."
I had already told my mother and Colt I would go home this weekend, and I wanted to make sure he was being less of a little shit for them anyway since I got him his phone. That kid has been FaceTiming me nonstop since getting it. Mom also told me that Fox was going to be home this weekend, since hockey was starting up full time soon and he wouldn't have time to visit for a while, probably not until Thanksgiving in a couple months.
Stella groaned. "You just went home last weekend."
"My brother's visiting," I explained, though I didn't really have to explain anything to her.
It wasn't like Stella and I were best friends. She might have thought we were, but that wasn't how I saw us. Stella and James were my school friends. I hadn't seen or heard from either of them much over the summer anyway. Stella was from South Dakota while James was much closer, being from New York, but still not close enough to casually hang out with over the summer.
"I can't imagine going to school so close to home," she said, taking another sip from her drink. "Not that I had many options anyway."
I couldn't relate. I had always wanted to go to Brown, no other options ever came to mind. This was always the end goal, so I spent my whole life knowing this was where I wanted to be. I didn't know if it was a blessing or a curse to be so close to home, going to school in a place I was already so familiar with, a place I had grown up around. A lot of people wanted to leave their hometown for school, explore what further away places had to offer. That just wasn't something I wanted.
I just hummed in acknowledgement at Stella's words and took another sip of water before returning to my people watching. I recognized some of the faces from Brown and around Providence. Some were even some of my other acquaintances that I knew through James and Stella. Others I had a harder time placing due to the dim lights with the red hue in the bar. It masked some people's faces better than others. But eventually my eyes settled on a face that I recognized immediately, one that I had been seeing too much of lately.
Landon was on the other side of the bar, and I could tell that he was shit-faced. A light sheen of sweat covered his face, causing his messy hair to stick to his forehead in some places. The hair that was usually pushed back, settled as bangs with small curls at the ends over his forehead. His eyes were glossy and looked as if they couldn't focus on anything. The biggest indicator of his intoxication though was the wide smile on his face. I didn't think I had ever seen that kid smile during the limited interactions we had.
It wasn't a real smile though. It was one of those drunk smiles that seemed to be too big for his face.
He was surrounded by some guys that I could only assume were from the hockey team at Providence College. Some girls stood between them. All of them were drunk and I watched as they all took a shot together.
"You going to hook up with him?" Stella asked, dragging my attention over to her. She smirked, nodding her head toward Landon.
I scoffed, leaning back in my seat and crossing my arms over my chest. "No, I just know him from back home."
"He's hot," she replied. I followed her gaze back over to him and from that moment, I couldn't take my eyes off of him.
Some song I never heard of started playing and Landon and his friends dispersed to the open area of the bar to start dancing. A couple of the girls danced closely to him, but he didn't touch either of them. It was like he was in his own world, his hips swaying to the music sensually. He rolled and moved his shoulders in a way that made his chest move to the music.
Landon danced like this was something he did every weekend. He lifted his arms, causing his t-shirt to ride up and expose his lower stomach and show off the hair that started there and went lower beneath the waist band of his jeans, then brought a hand back down and let it slide from his chest down to his stomach.
"Oh my God," Stella said, fanning herself dramatically. "He so hot he's hurting my feelings," she added, referencing the lyrics to the song that was playing.
He turned around, his back facing us now, and I couldn't help but let my eyes travel down his body. They started at his back and the way his muscles strained under his shirt, then they went lower to where his fitted jeans hugged his hips and ass so nicely, I had to quickly avert my gaze.
I hadn't noticed my mouth was slightly agape as I watched him, so I shut it before Stella noticed.
This wasn't something I did. I didn't watch strangers in bars and notice the way they danced or the small slivers of skin that became exposed as they did. That was mostly because I never thought of anyone as hot enough to watch. I hooked up with people who were good looking enough or at least as good looking as I was. It was arrogant, I would admit that.
But I had been watching Landon because he was hot. Hotter than me. With his messed up hair, the way he moved, and how his full, pink lips were mouthing along to the words, he was hot. Sexy even. And that was how I knew something was seriously wrong with me.
"You totally find him hot!" Stella exclaimed excitedly. "You never think anyone is hot!"
"That's just not true," I lied. "I'm thinking about how much he looks like an idiot." The tightness in my pants would disagree. I stood up, quickly throwing back the rest of my water before telling Stella I was going to the bathroom and scurrying across the room as quickly as I could.
I stood in front of the mirror and looked at my flushed face, glaring at my reflection. I had gotten myself all riled up watching Landon of all people. That might have been the most fucked up thing I had ever done.
My refuge in the bathroom didn't last long because a moment later, the door swung open and hit the wall, Landon walking inside. I turned my glare to him as he strode in, ignoring me as he went and used the urinal. He didn't make eye contact with me until he was washing his hands and glanced at me through the mirror.
"Oh, it's you," he said, his voice smoother and higher than normal, less clipped and snapping like it usually was when he spoke to me. "You followin' me?" he slurred. He wiped his wet hands on the front of his jeans and turned to face me.
"Yes, Lance, I'm following you," I sarcastically replied. "As if this isn't the most popular college hangout spot in the city."
"Oh," he said. He was looking at me, but it felt like he wasn't actually seeing me. "I don't think I wanna be here anymore."
"Take that up with your friends."
"They're not," Landon replied, pausing. "They're not my friends."
I shrugged at him and left the room. The table I had been at before was now taken by people I didn't know. James was at the bar and Stella was off dancing with some girl. I sighed and stood against the wall with my arms crossed over my chest like I was their fucking bodyguard or something. It wasn't until later when James was completely trashed that Stella and I decided to drag him out of there.
Just as we were leaving, I saw a figure face down on the bar. I knew it was Landon without even seeing his face. I was prepared to keep walking, but Stella stopped me.
"Don't you know him?" she asked, pointing at Landon.
I sighed. "Yeah, let's go."
"You should help him," she said as she held onto James. "I think his friends left him."
"That's not my problem."
"If we leave him here, they're going to call the cops and he'll get busted."
"Again, not my problem."
"Wren," Stella groaned. "Just go pick him up. I'll take James off your hands for the night."
I would like to say that I wasn't a nice person and that I wasn't easily persuaded by Stella, but I walked over to the bar and dragged Landon off the chair. He was barely coherent as I pulled him along with me outside and stuffed him into the backseat of my car with James. Both of them were awake, but neither knew what was going on.
Stella dragged James up into the dorm once we arrived while I took Landon. He was tripping over his own feet as I pulled him along next to me. Stella's room was just across the hall from mine and James's, so we walked up together, and she took him inside her room.
Landon groaned as I set him down on the bed, holding onto his head with both hands.
"My brain is swimming," he slurred, his eyes squeezed shut. I made him turn onto his side and he opened his eyes, his wide gaze on me. "I have to go— I have to go see Livi."
"You have to go to sleep so shut up and close your eyes," I replied, sitting in my desk chair, thinking I could get some writing done.
I had been working on my novel for a few months now. It had gotten so bad at one point I deleted my whole draft and started over. I always felt I wrote better at night, and now was as good a time as any so I could get something done and stay awake for a while to make sure Landon didn't drown in his own vomit.
"My sister," he continued. "I can't stay. I have to go. Take the bus."
I let out a long sigh. "Go to sleep."
Landon's eyes fought to stay open, but ultimately, they fluttered shut and he fell asleep. His breathing evened out, and I started writing.
At some point in the night, I rested my head against the desk and fell asleep, and when I woke up my neck and back were aching. Landon had turned onto his stomach, lying face down into my pillow. I had to remind myself to wash that pillowcase immediately. Or just wash all my sheets to get him of off them.
I shook him awake and pulled the pillow out from under his head. His eyes shot open, and he sat up on the bed, holding his head with one hand and looking around the room in confusion.
"What the fuck..." he muttered.
His hair sat messily on top of his head, reminding me of how it looked last night, and that made me want to get him out of my room as soon as possible. And I would do that the only way I knew how: by making him so mad that he would storm out of here and leave on his own.
"You seem like a fun drunk," I said, earning a glare from him. "Seriously, I didn't think you could ever be anything other than angry, but you seemed like a fun time."
"Why am I here?" he snapped.
"Your friends left you."
"Those weren't my friends."
"Either way, they left you," I replied. "And you can say thank you at any time."
"And why did you take me here?" he asked, his patience wearing thin.
"I didn't have sex with you last night, if that's what you're worried about," I told him. His nostrils flared angrily. "But I might have if you were sober and willing. We could do it now if you want."
Landon scoffed and stood up from the bed, pushing past me to go toward the door.
"Don't say shit like that to me," he spat, patting his pockets. He pulled out his phone and checked the time, swearing under his breath.
"The offer stands," I said, sitting down on the desk. "You were saying something about your sister last night. Going home today?"
"That's none of your business."
"You know the closest bus stop to home from here is still, like, twenty minutes away from home," I told him, grinning at his irritation as he ran his fingers through his hair.
He shook his head, opening the door to leave the room.
"Like I said, the offer still stands," I called out to him. "You seemed pretty interested in me last night," I lied with a wicked grin.
Landon didn't even look back at me as he slammed the door shut behind him.
"You're a good dancer by the way!" I called out chuckling as I heard the door to the suite slam shut.