Not Even Close (A New Generation) by Elizabeth Reyes (books to read in a lifetime txt) 📗

thevisuals of his shorts bouncing around in the same dryer as her panties.“Alright then.” He slipped the phone back in his pocket before he got any morevisuals, or worse, gave into any temptations that might lead to even biggerregrets than the ones he was already having. “I gotta get going.”

After thanking him a few more times, Vannah finally bid him afarewell and he was off. The entire way home as Byron drove with her lingeringscent still in his car, he tried desperately to understand what it was aboutthis girl. He tried to understand, why the possibility of getting to know herfurther unnerved him so much. For the life of him he couldn’t figure it out.

Eight

Innocent Conniving

Vannah

Waiting impatiently on Xochitl’s bed, Vannahpractically squirmed. She’d been up way late unable to sleep just thinkingabout everything that happened the night before, so she’d slept in today. Byronwas beyond gorgeous and the sexiest man she’d ever met. But she still had noidea what to make of his demeanor, and she was dying to talk to Xochitl aboutit. Only by the time Vannah woke today, Xochitl was in the shower. It felt likethe longest shower in the history of the world, as Vannah waited for herto emerge from the bathroom.

“Oh my gawd,” Xochitl moaned as she walked into herbedroom wrapped in a towel. “I’ve taken two aspirins already, stood under thecool water for so long, and my head is still pounding. What happened lastnight?”

“What happened?” Vannah asked unbelievably. “You don’t remember?”

Xochitl shook her head with a frown. “I don’t. I just rememberbeing at the noisy party one moment talking to some guy and then I woke here.”

“Some guy? Byron?”

“Who?”

“Byron. Beast’s brother from 5thStreet?”

With a blank expression Xochitl stared at Vannah shaking herhead. “He was there?”

“No!” Vannah groaned slumping her shoulders. “I’ve beenwaiting all this time to ask you how he approached you and what he said.”

“Byron approached me?”

“Yes,” Vannah said feeling incredibly disappointed. “Youdisappeared and I couldn’t find you. Someone said you left with a guy. A guywho was all over you, so I ran out to look for you. I saw him helping you intohis car and stopped him.”

Vannah explained about accusing him of trying to take advantageof Xochitl as her friend listened intently, jaw dropping further with everyword Vannah said. She gave her Byron’s version of what really happened and thatin the end she believed him because it all made sense. But she’d still beenanxious to hear Xochitl’s side of it.

“You really don’t remember any of it?”

Staring out into nothing and suddenly looking anxious, Xochitl shookher head slowly. “I just remember talking to that guy, the one we’d beentalking to earlier.”

“The really pushy one, right?” Vannah nodded. “With the big gapin his front teeth?”

“Yeah, and then it’s all a blur.” She closed her eyes andconcentrated. “It was crowded and—” Her eyes flew open. “I threw up.”

“Yes, you did!” Vannah said hoping that would jog any memories ofByron, since it happened in front of him. “By Byron’s car.”

“I don’t remember where or when, all I recall is how awful itfelt.”

“Ugh!” Vannah fell back on the bed, but then sat rightback up. “Anyway, you’ll be so proud of me. I even got his number.”

“You did?”

Filling her in as quickly as she could on how everything happenedstarting from the beginning, Xochitl hung on her every word, moaning inmortification at some parts and it had Vannah giggling. “You didn’t do anythingstupid or to embarrass yourself. Mostly you were out of it. Then ended uppassing out altogether.”

“Uh, spewing out in front of a frat house full of partyingstudents, and then passing out is pretty damn embarrassing, Vannah.”

As usual Vannah was in stitches suddenly. But she attempted tocompose herself, so she could tell Xochitl the rest. “But you were right abouthim being intense, holy shit.”

Vannah explained about Joseph and how there was no way she wasgoing to wait for him or an Uber to get through that traffic. “So, when Icalled to let him know we weren’t going to wait for him, Joseph assumed I’dcalled an Uber. I just said we had because given the circumstances and mesitting right next to Byron, I didn’t want to get into the whole explanationand as soon as I hung up, he starts calling me a liar.”

“What?”

The expression on her usually irritable friend made Vannah laugh again,but she went on because she was eager to get to the best part. Xochitl gotdressed as Vannah gave her the blow by blow of the intense conversation she’dhad with him. “He was almost smug about hitting it on the nose that this is myfirst time away from, quote unquote, mommy and daddy, and that I don’tdo the boyfriend thing.”

“What the hell?”

“I know, right?” Vannah winced now dreading having to tell herthe next part but she did anyway. “I slipped and said his name before he evenhad a chance to tell me it.”

Xochitl’s eyes went wide again, like they had so often throughoutthe conversation, but she smirked. “You did? What did he say?”

“Well, this was all in the midst of him questioning why I lie,and he was more into that than wondering how I knew his name, but he did asklater. At first it was an easy explanation. I’d heard it when they called outhis order at Starbucks.” Wincing again, she braced herself. “But then later Islipped again when I mentioned I knew where he worked . . .” Once again Xochitlwent all goggled eyed and Vannah shut hers. “I sort of put it on you.”

Laughing at Xochitl’s exasperated gasp, Vannah opened her eyesand went on quickly again, telling her how she did her best to explain it as ifit were no big deal that they’d stalked him online. “Which was stupid becauseyou know me, there was no shortage of blushing through it all. So, I’m sure hedidn’t buy for a minute that it was just a casual, looking him up, thing.”

Vannah felt her face heat as she relived the mortification ofthat moment but went on. “Anyway—” She stopped when her phone dinged, and