Legacy by M.A. Foster

November

_____________________________

Three years and nine months ago

Dylan

“Holy shit!” Cole, my younger brother, hooted as he stuck his head out the passenger side window. “Is it always like this?” he asked.

“Not always,” I replied as I slowly eased through the sea of chaos heading toward the Kappa Omega house. “It’s Thanksgiving break.”

University Drive was the designated block for off-campus housing of University of Heritage students and athletes. The neighborhood was made up of apartment complexes, townhomes, bungalows, and even the typical colonial-style mansions belonging to fraternities and sororities—the Kappa Omega house being the biggest and the most popular.

Cars lined both sides of the street as a mixture of rock, rap, and country music blasted from all directions. People were pouring out of houses, gathered in groups on the front lawns, or darting in front of moving cars to cross the street, all while holding their cups in the air so they wouldn’t spill their drinks.

The irony.We attend college for a higher education, yet some never learn a bit of common sense.

I got into the University of Heritage on a baseball scholarship, majoring in business, and immediately pledged the Kappa Omega fraternity, which housed the majority of the UH baseball team. However, sophomore year, I wasn’t feeling it anymore.

After spending a summer in California working for my uncle at his record label, King Records, I decided to switch my major to music management with a minor in marketing. Coming from a family of athletes, I was sure I’d catch hell for changing directions, but my family was surprisingly supportive. My dad even put me in charge of booking the live entertainment for Mac’s.

The Kappa Omega house sat on the cul-de-sac with an empty lot on each side. Easing my truck around a group of partygoers gathered in the middle of the road, I pulled into my designated parking spot in the driveway and checked the time on the dash. It was already after eight, and I wondered if Jade was here yet.

Shutting the car off, I grabbed my phone from the console and sent her a text. I’m here. Where are you?

Jade: Be there in 15. I’ll meet you at the front door.

Me: K.

“Are we gonna sit in the car all night?” Cole asked, sounding every bit the smartass he was. “Who are you texting?”

I looked over to see him fixing his hair in the small mirror of the overhead visor. “None of your business.”

“Always so secretive.” He laughed, flipping the visor up.

“It’s called maintaining my privacy.”

“It’s called being an asshole.” He rolled his eyes, and I chuckled.

“Can we go to the party now?” Zach asked from the back seat.

Cole called me right as I was leaving my parents’ house and asked me to pick him and his best friend, Zach, up from a “boring-ass party”—Cole’s words. Normally I wouldn’t bring a couple of fifteen-year-olds to a college party, especially one this size, but it was on my way and I wasn’t planning to stay long. Truthfully, I hadn’t planned to come at all, but when Jade texted me to hang out, I invited her to meet me here. A few hours wouldn’t be a big deal.

I wasn’t worried about them getting into trouble. Cole was mouthy, but he didn’t go out of his way to pick fights—unless it was with me. He was the middle child. I was his big brother, and he craved my attention. Zach had always been a shy, quiet kid who only talked when he had something to say. But he was a completely different person on the football field. Zach and Cole have been friends their entire lives and have been playing ball since they were in grade school. They lived and breathed football, and I knew without a doubt these two would end up in the NFL one day.

Shoving the door open, I hopped out, slipping my phone into my back pocket before closing the door and meeting them at the front of my truck. Music poured from the open doors and bass rattled the windows as I led the boys along the side of the house and around to the back. The backyard was already overcrowded. Six kegs were lined up along the deck, each one manned by a kid wearing a navy T-shirt with “Pledge” across the front in bright yellow. There was a long line of partiers holding red cups, waiting for a refill. Pulling some cash from my front pocket, I peeled off two ten-dollar bills, then moved to the side of the deck.

“Yo!” I hollered to the closest pledge, holding up the cash with one hand and signaling for two cups.

“You have to pay to drink?” Cole asked incredulously. “You live here.”

“Yeah.” I gestured around the yard. “The money goes to clean up, and whatever’s left over goes toward the next party.”

The pledge filled two red plastic cups and passed them to Cole and Zach.

“I got you covered, Dylan.” He waved me off.

“I appreciate that, bro, but I gotta contribute.” I handed over the cash, then fished out my phone when it dinged with an incoming text.

Jade: I’m here. Where r u?

Be right there, I replied before returning my phone to my back pocket.

“I gotta go meet up with someone,” I told them.

“Someone?” Cole smirked.

Zach backhanded Cole playfully on the bicep. “Dude, you’re being extra annoying tonight.”

Cole gave a careless shrug and took a sip of his beer.

I waved a finger between the two of them. “I’ll catch up with you later. Don’t run your mouth. Don’t get wasted. And—”

“Wrap it before you tap it,” Cole finished with a grin, slapping a hand over the front pocket of his jeans. “I’m covered. I dipped into your stash.”

“I was gonna say ‘keep it in your pants.’” I narrowed my eyes at him. “How many did you take?”

“One—well, two. One for me and one for Zach.”

I was beginning to regret bringing them. A heaviness sat in the pit of my stomach, but I ignored it because there was a very hot girl waiting for me out front.

“If I don’t catch up with you first, meet me at the truck at midnight.”

Cole’s face twisted into a look of disgust. “Midnight? You gotta get back to the retirement home or something, old man?”

I shook my head. Such a smartass, this kid. “To check in, dumbass. Don’t forget we have to get on a plane tomorrow morning.” I jerked my chin. “If you need me, text me. And try not to let Danny see you.”

Annoyance overtook his expression. “Fuck Danny. I’ll knock his ass out.”

“Cole,” I snapped in warning.

“I’m kidding, Dylan.” He laughed and waved me off. “Go have fun with your girlfriend.”

* * *

The ping-pong ball sailed across the table and landed perfectly in the center cup. Jade threw her arms in the air, making a whooping sound. “Drink up, bitches!” she shouted over the raucous noise.

Laughing, I curled an arm around her waist, tugging her to my side and kissing her on the temple.

Jade was in the nursing program at UH. She was hot and feisty, with a wild mane of black hair and bright green eyes. This was only our third time hanging out, but something about this girl had me making bad choices across the board just to see her. Like bringing two fifteen-year-olds to a frat party. We met a few weeks ago over a very intense game of beer pong. She talked a whole lot of shit from the other side of the table, but I still kicked her ass. To be fair, not many people could beat me at beer pong.

Later that night, we found ourselves grinding on the makeshift dance floor, then upstairs in my bed kissing for what felt like hours. I’d been with my fair share of girls, but over the years, I’d become less eager and more selective about who I hooked up with. Jade and I didn’t hook up that night, but with her tight body beneath me, and her soft moans between kisses, I sure as hell wanted to. When she had to go, I walked her out to the Uber idling at the end of the driveway, kissed her goodnight, and invited her to come hang out the next weekend. It wasn’t until the Uber turned the corner that I realized I hadn’t gotten her number. I wasn’t the type to chase a woman, yet this girl had me tied up in knots. I was relieved to see her when she walked into the party last weekend, smiling as I watched her seek me out before she weaved her way through the crowd over to me and asked for my number.

There was some commotion near the front door. Someone whistled, drawing my attention to a small group of girls pushing their way through the crowded room. I pretty much knew everyone who came through the house, and these girls weren’t from UH. With their hands joined, they moved slowly as a unit through the sea of dancing bodies. It was the one in the middle I couldn’t help but notice. She wore a cropped black leather jacket over a black T-shirt, dark blue jeans, and knee-high boots. Her hair was long and black and hung loosely down her back.

Tearing my gaze away, I pulled myself back into the beer pong game, took my shot, and missed. I never missed. Grabbing the cup, I brought it to my lips and took a small sip, eyeing the mystery girl over the rim. I shouldn’t have been staring at her. Especially with Jade at my side. But I couldn’t help it. Something stronger than curiosity pinned me in place just as the mystery girl craned her neck as if she were searching for someone.

Then, like something out of a movie, everything around me slowed down as her beautiful, familiar face turned my way. The sounds of the party faded, replaced by the pounding of my pulse. Her light eyes locked with mine, sucking the breath from my lungs, just as she had three and a half years ago. Who was she? Why did she make me feel weird?

Setting my cup down, I pointed to one of the pledges, grabbing his attention, then curled my finger, gesturing for him to come over.

“Take my place for a minute.” I turned to Jade and kissed her temple. “I need to piss. I’ll be right back.”

Jade pulled back and looked up at me with an odd expression on her face. “Hurry back.” She waved me off.

A little voice in my subconscious told me not to walk away from Jade, but it was like the mystery girl had an invisible leash around my neck and she was tugging on it. I couldn’t explain it, but I’d felt the same pull on prom night, and if Elaina hadn’t come back at that very moment, I would’ve gone to her.

The sea of bodies was so thick, I could barely squeeze past anyone. I was positive having this many people in the house was some sort of code violation. When I finally made it through the crowd, I’d lost her.

On my way back to Jade, I chastised myself for acting like a total dick, chasing after a girl I clearly wasn’t meant to catch. I stopped by the bathroom to take a piss so I wasn’t a complete liar, but by the time I got back to the table, Jade was gone.

“Where’d she go?” I asked the pledge.

He shrugged. “She took off through the front door as soon as you walked off.”

Fuck. I raked my fingers through my hair and headed for the front door.

* * *

Over an hour later, after multiple calls and texts, I gave up looking for Jade and went to my truck. It was midnight, and I was pissed off, frustrated, and hungry. I’d only had one sip of beer before I stupidly chased after the mystery girl, so I was completely sober. I wasn’t planning to drink anyway, because one, I was staying at my parents’ house tonight and I had to drive, and two, we had to get up at the ass crack of dawn to leave for the airport.

Just as I’d asked, Cole and Zach were both waiting for me in the truck. Both wearing sloppy grins. They were drunk. Not wasted, but drunk enough that it was time to get them home. And by home, I meant my parents’ pool house. There was no way I was letting them go inside and risk my dad’s wrath.

But first, food.

On the way home, I swung by the nearest drive-through. I tossed the bag of burgers and fries to Cole and rolled up my window. We rode in silence for a good ten minutes before Cole burst out laughing. “Zach fucked some girl in the bathroom.”

“Dude.” Zach punched the back of Cole’s seat.

An amused smile spread across my face as I eyed Zach in the rearview mirror to see him staring blankly out the passenger window. “Really? How was it?”

He lifted a shoulder. “I don’t know. Good, I guess.”

“You guess?” I chuckled.

“I don’t have anything other than my hand to compare it to,” he said with a half-hearted laugh. “It happened really fast. I think I’m still in shock.”

“Zach’s a two-pump chump.” Cole snickered, shoving a fry into his mouth.

Zach leaned forward and punched Cole in the shoulder before stealing a handful of fries. “That’s not what I meant, dickhead.”

Clearly Zach was feeling some kind of way about it.

“Shut up, Cole,” I snapped, then returned my attention to Zach. “What happened?”

He blinked at me with a stupefied expression. “This girl was flirting with me all night. She was cute but a little too aggressive for my taste. I told her I was going to the bathroom. I figured she’d find someone else to latch onto. I opened the door, and she literally pounced on me. We stumbled back into the bathroom. She reached back and locked the door, then shoved her hand down the front of my pants, asking if I had a condom while she worked me over like a pro. I put the condom on. Then she hiked up her skirt, and I was like, ‘Are you wearing crotchless panties?’”

Cole and I cracked up as Zach went on with his crazy story. “She said, ‘Yeah. Easy access, hot stuff.’ Then she jumped in my arms and impaled herself on my dick.” He chuckled as he shoved a fry in his mouth. “Thank God I jerked off earlier today, because she would’ve been very disappointed. I don’t even think we kissed. She kept screaming, ‘Harder,’ and ‘Faster,’ riding me like a damn mechanical bull. If I fucked her any harder, she would’ve left an ass-shaped dent in the drywall.” He shook his head. “I feel so used.”

By the time we pulled into my parents’ driveway, Cole was laughing so hard he was gasping for air, Zach was cracking up, and I literally had tears rolling down my cheeks.

Grabbing our food, we hopped out of my truck, then made our way around to the back of the house and slipped inside the pool house. My mom always kept the pool house clean and the refrigerator stocked with drinks, just in case we had guests. Cole and Zach sat at the counter with their food while I went to the refrigerator to grab a couple of sports drinks and a bottled water for myself. I leaned against the counter across from them and plucked out a couple of burgers and fries.

“Do girls really do that? Wear crotchless panties for easy access?” Zach asked before biting into his burger.

“Only the ones looking for a bathroom bang,” Cole joked.

“My guess is this wasn’t her first rodeo,” I quipped, and we all burst into another fit of laughter. “She wanted to get dicked, and she came prepared to get it. Your pretty ass didn’t stand a chance once she latched on to you.” I laughed again. “What about you?” I asked Cole between bites.

Cole stopped chewing, and his brows pinched in confusion. “What?”

“Did you hook up with anyone?”

His eyes narrowed, and his lip curled up in annoyance. “None of your business.”

I raised my brows. “Are you serious?”

“You’re not the only one who likes to maintain his privacy.” He lifted his chin, tossing my words back at me.

“Cole,” I hedged.

“I’m kidding, Dylan.” He rolled his eyes. “No, I didn’t hook up with anyone.”

I narrowed mine as my phone buzzed in my back pocket. I quickly dug it out and saw it was a text from Jade.

I swiped my finger over the message and tapped in my passcode. The phone opened to her reply after the half dozen texts I’d sent.

Jade: I’m safe.

Really?

Me: I’m sorry for being an asshole.

Jade: I’m sorry for taking off.

Me: Can I call you?

Jade: I’m tired. Let’s talk tomorrow.

Me: I’m going out of town until Sunday. Can we meet for coffee on Monday?

Jade: I’d like that.

Me: Happy Thanksgiving.

Jade: Happy Thanksgiving.