Page 6 of Necessary Roughness

Sloane

Pain.

Light.

More pain.

The first thing I noticed was the pounding.

Not on my door—though that would’ve been better—but inside my skull, like the Westview College band was marching behind my eyes.

I cracked one open, only to slam it shut again.

The sunlight slicing through my bedroom blinds felt like a personal attack. My mouth was as dry as the Sahara.

Groaning, I rolled onto my side and immediately regretted the motion. My stomach flipped, and I clawed my way to the edge of the bed. Like a blessing, there was a waste basket waiting right where I needed one as I emptied the liquid contents of my stomach inside.

There was a plastic liner inside the trash can. For some reason, that triggered a memory. One I couldn’t quite place.

I groaned and rested my head back into bed.

If someone had offered to let me die at that exact moment, I might have taken them up on it.

Everything smelled like cheap vodka and perfume.

My jeans were MIA; I was stripped down to my panties and a plain T-shirt.

A different shirt than what I’d worn last night.

Glitter clung to my arm and pillowcase, like a rude little reminder of the mistakes I’d made last night.

Last night. The party. I’d taken those two guys upstairs to have a threesome. I didn’t remember the act itself, though. I was sitting on the bed, kissing both of them, and then—

Bits and pieces from the evening came flooding back to me.

I twisted, burying my face in the pillow with a groan. My head throbbed in sync with my heartbeat. My stomach gave another warning lurch. I needed water, aspirin, and half a bottle of Tums. I also wanted a time machine so I could go back a day and stop myself from drinking so much.

Time machine. Had someone called me a time traveler last night? That sounded familiar.

Moving with slow, deliberate steps so as not to anger my stomach, I slid out of bed and made it to the bathroom.

I was grateful for being a fourth-year; this was the first semester I had my own private bathroom attached to my bedroom.

If I had to walk all the way down the hall to the co-ed bathroom the way I’d done freshman year, I wouldn’t have made it.

After three glasses of water, I went to look for the painkillers in the kitchen.

“She’s alive,” my roommate, Morgan, said from the couch.

“Morning,” I replied. We had been randomly matched up to be roommates; I hadn’t met Morgan until yesterday.

“Did you have fun last night?” she asked with what sounded like attitude.

“Yes. No.” I began opening cabinets. “I don’t remember some of it.”

Morgan closed her book with a snap and stood up. “On the roommate compatibility form, you said you weren’t a party girl.”

“I’m not a party girl,” I said, opening another cabinet. Pots and pans.

“Clearly, that was a lie.” She crossed her arms at the edge of the kitchen. “What are you looking for?”

“Aspirin. Tums.”

“Cabinet next to the microwave. Don’t worry—I brought my label maker, so I’ll label all the doors and drawers today.”

She brought her label maker. Jesus Christ, it was too early for this.

“I don’t want strange men in my apartment,” she said.

I opened the right cabinet, then grabbed the bottle of aspirin. “Same.”

“Let me be more specific,” Morgan said. “Last night, several strange men escorted you home and helped get you to bed. This is unacceptable.”

The twins. Of course. I popped a pill into my mouth and said, “Those are my best friends.”

“I don’t care.” Morgan nodded once, like she was hyping herself up for this confrontation. “In the future, I would like you to provide a list of potential visitors, with their name, phone number, and a copy of their student ID.”

I laughed, then swallowed the pill with some water. But Morgan’s glare only deepened.

“Wait. You’re serious?”

“Uh, duh? Why wouldn’t I be serious about my safety?”

“A visitor list, sure,” I said to shut her up. I couldn’t handle this right now.

“And I want all visits limited to only two guests maximum next time.”

I dumped a handful of Tums tablets directly into my mouth. “Two, yeah,” I said with my mouth full. “Jayden and Bryson were the only ones who brought me home last night.”

“Um, no ,” she corrected. “There was a third man. He was very strong and handsome.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “It was intimidating.”

I whipped my head around to face her, then winced as a spell of dizziness hit me. Steadying my head with a hand, I said, “Was his hair dark, or blond?”

“Dirty blond,” she replied. “He was very attractive.”

“Yeah, you said that.” Knox. The guy from my chemistry class, who I’d been flirting with. One of the guys. I guess the other one, Logan, wasn’t chivalrous enough to make sure I got home okay.

I washed the chalky Tums taste out of my mouth, refilled my water glass, then tried to retreat to my room.

“I’ll create a spreadsheet for approved guests!” Morgan called after me.

I flashed her a thumbs-up before closing my bedroom door.

I spent most of Friday recovering from my hangover, which meant missing an important orientation mixer with one of my professors. Great start to the semester, huh? Jayden and Bryson peppered me with texts to go out to eat with them, but I turned them down.

I made up for it on Saturday morning by hitting the books bright and early.

Since I was on a five year master’s program, I had a mixture of undergrad and graduate classes this semester.

Beginning the required reading helped me feel like I was in control, rather than waiting until Monday to have all my classwork dumped onto my shoulders.

Around three in the afternoon, there was a pounding on our front door. A few seconds later, Morgan stuck her head in my room. “You have visitors.”

“There’s our party animal,” Bryson said as he pushed past my roommate.

“How you feeling, sweetie?” Jayden asked.

Morgan cleared her throat. “The visitor spreadsheet…”

“They’re on it,” I said. “They’re literally the only two names I put.”

“Visitor spreadsheet?” Bryson asked.

“There’s a discrepancy,” Morgan insisted. “You put down Jayden Scofield, but he told me his name is Gayden .”

I groaned. “Jayden is his real name. He goes by Gayden because he’s gay.”

“Gayer than a fruit salad,” Bryson said.

Jayden elbowed his twin and gestured at me. “Seriously, there’s a visitor spreadsheet? What is this, a night club? I don’t need music to dance.” He put his hands on his knees, stuck out his ass, and began twerking.

“Let’s talk about it later,” I told Morgan, who finally left us alone.

Bryson closed the door and rounded on me. “Visitor spreadsheet?”

“Don’t get me started,” I muttered.

“Weird. Whatever. We’re here to drag you back out into the world. The football game is in half an hour.”

“Pass,” I said.

“Come on!” Jayden said. “It’s a tradition. We’ve gone to the season opener every year since we were freshmen.”

“Maybe it’s time to drop childish traditions, like getting shitfaced on Thirsty Thursday before classes start.”

Bryson frowned at me. “Is this because of what happened at that party? You shouldn’t be embarrassed. It’s not like Knox and Logan will be able to spot you in the crowd.”

That was a weird way for him to phrase it. I wasn’t really worried about running into those two guys at the football game, though. The stadium held eighty thousand people, and the student section was huge.

“We’re not taking no for an answer,” Jayden said, opening my closet and thumbing through outfits.

“Fine,” I said. “But only because I know you two won’t leave me alone if I stay home.”

“Exactly!” Jayden said. “We’re persistent.”

“Persistent like a mosquito,” I muttered.

“If you mean I’m good at sucking,” Jayden said with a wink, “then yes.”

Bryson groaned. “Bro, can you not?”

Ten minutes later, we were walking out of my apartment complex.

There was a trickle of students heading in the same direction as us, which became a steady stream as we neared the stadium where the Westview College Wildcats played their football games.

Bryson led us around the side to the student entrance.

We flashed our IDs, then shuffled into the student section occupying the entire space behind one of the end zones.

“Aren’t you glad you’re here?” Jayden said, putting an arm around me. “It’s a beautiful day.”

I had to admit: it was nice now that we were here. The sky was an impossibly gorgeous shade of blue, with a scattering of fluffy white clouds. It was a rare Florida day where the humidity was low, so the heat was refreshing rather than oppressive.

“Thanks for dragging me along,” I said.

Jayden gave me a kiss on the cheek. “This is good for you. Get used to going to stuff without that asshole, Troy.”

“And if you’re embarrassed during the player introductions?” Bryson added. “You can close your eyes and wait for it to be over.”

“He says that to all the girls,” Jayden quipped.

“Why would I be embarrassed by the player introductions?” I asked.

“Because of what happened Thursday night.” Bryson furrowed his brow at me. “You know. With Knox and Logan.”

“I don’t understand…”

I trailed off as the Wildcats football team came running out of the tunnel on the field. Eighty thousand fans all roared with approval, full of life and hope for a new season.

And then the jumbotron across the field showed the headshot of the team quarterback, along with a bunch of statistics.

KNOX MADDOX

NUMBER 5

It was impossible not to recognize that chiseled jawline and winning smile.

“That’s… that’s…” I stammered in disbelief. When words failed me, I pointed.

“One of the studs you almost hooked up with the other night,” Jayden said. “We know. You don’t have to rub it in.”

“There’s Logan,” Bryson pointed down on the field. “Number seventy, on the sideline.”

Oh my God. That was Logan.

“I still can’t believe you almost had a threesome with two of the most popular guys on campus,” Jayden said. “That’s, like, the first item on my bucket list. Being the meat in a sweaty football player sandwich…”

“ Bro ,” Bryson snapped.

I swallowed the bile that was rising in the back of my throat. “I think I’m going to be sick.”