Bet I – Chapter 4 – (Hopefully) worth the delay?

Bet I – Chapter Four – The Party

 

Kaylie opened the door, surprised she hadn’t heard Alyssa dashing  down the staircase yet. And more surprised when she saw Alyssa daintily walk up to the door, ready to knock before noticing that Kaylie was in the doorway and Kevin standing there behind her. He grinned and waved at Alyssa, who smiled and waved back before moving aside and introducing a guy she had brought along.

 

“I ran into this one on my way home today – he helped me pick up my books and ended up taking the shuttle back with me to Laf. So Kevin, Kaylie, meet Shaun! Shaun, these are my two best friends, Kaylie and Kevin.” Kaylie and Kevin said hi to the newcomer, closing the door behind them.

 

“We’re all just chilling at my place tonight. It’s not a party but there’ll be jello shots ready later if you wanna stick around Shaun,” Kaylie told him, giving her boyfriend a sidelong glance and a smile as he nodded and pitched in.  “Yeah man, party with us, it’s no problem. We have enough jello shots to go around,” he suggested.

 

“So Alyss, tell me who else is coming?” Kaylie asked.

 

“Hmm so far it’s just us. Jacob and Liz have papers due this Monday for their Lit classes so they’re staying in and starting those. Other than that, I think Daemon, Nora and Jess might come over later? They weren’t sure yet”

 

The talk eased into how their weeks had been and Shaun seemed genuinely interested in what they all had to say. He told them that he was into business (They didn’t need to know that he was heir to a quickly rising company just yet) and the small talk progressed at a rapid pace. They had settled themselves into Kaylie’s room. Kevin was on her bed leaning against a wall, his arm draped over Kaylie’s shoulder as she rested her head against his shoulders, nestling comfortably against him. Alyssa was sharing the large plush bean bag chair with Shaun, who was trying hard not to flirt with her too openly. He was here simply to scout tonight, and since he was blowing Marina and his “wild night” with her off for this, he couldn’t have her suspecting that he was sleeping on the job. “Damnit, she’s smoking hot but dumb as shit. Why the hell do I even put up with her anyway,” he thought to himself sadly, looking over at the equally hot but exponentially smarter Alyssa. She seemed so easygoing and cute that he was surprised she wasn’t dating. If nothing else, he was going to figure out why she didn’t have a boyfriend. Aaron may be chilling with Serena tonight, but he had a girl to fall in love with.

 

It was nearly 10 now, and Kevin got up and brought out the first round of jello shots – 2 trays of orange and strawberry jello with vodka mixed in. He then brought out a paper cup – a giant jello shot – for Kaylie. This one was what he called a “Bahama Mama” jello shot. It mixed orange, strawberry, and pineapple jello with coconut rum – very different from the traditional vodka and jello shot, but really yummy regardless. It was Kaylie’s favorite, and he’d made sure to make a few cups of those too.

 

They passed around the trays with toothpicks, everybody took a shot and passed the tray on. The two trays were quickly finished and conversation resumed. Alyssa suggested that they play Kings – a classic drinking game; everybody agreed. They sat down on the floor in a circle before Kaylie realized with a giggle that they didn’t have cups or alcohol yet. Kevin got up with her and brought out a handle of vodka and cups from the kitchen. She took out the set of colorful cheap plastic shot glasses they’d bought together for partying in the dorms and he poured everybody shots. He then put an empty cup in the middle of the circle and fanned out the deck of cards, facedown, around its base. They were ready.

 

 Shaun, however, was not. Embarrassed, he was forced to admit to Alyssa and the others that he’d never played Kings before. Experienced drinker that he was, this was the first time he was partying in a dorm all semester. When he hung out or drank with Aaron, they were usually out at a club, bar, or hotel party. Either way, they were classy occasions where rowdy drinking games were not appreciated – unheard of even.

 

Kevin poured everybody a shot of vodka. After a round of slightly sloppy cheers on Alyssa and Kaylie’s part, he began to explain the rules to Shaun.

 

“It’s pretty simple! We go around clockwise and pick a card one at a time. Each card has a different action. I’ll tell you all of them right now, but the only ones you’re going to need to memorize right now are the actions for 4 and 7.

–          Two: “You” – You pick somebody else, and they have to take a drink. We can play in either shots or mixed drinks, we’ll figure that out after I explain the rest of the rules to you

–          Three: “Me” – You take a drink

–          Four: “Whore” – All the girls take a drink

–          Five: “Never Have I Ever” I’ll explain the rules to that when we get to it if you don’t know how to play that either.

–          Six: “Dicks” – All the guys take a drink

–          Seven: “Heaven” Once somebody draws a  4, EVERYBODY has to point a finger to the sky. Last person to do that takes a drink

–          Eight: ”Mate” – You pick somebody to be your “mate” for the rest of the game. That person will have to take a drink with you every time you mess up & vice versa

–          Nine: “Rhyme” – You say a word and we all have to go in a circle saying a rhyming word. First person to mess up drinks.

–          Ten: “Categories” – Again, I’ll explain how to play that when somebody draws a 10

–          Jack: “Rulemaster” – You get to make up a new rule to the game. Everybody who messes up drinks!

–          Queen: “Questions” – Whoever draws a queen gets to try his or her best to trip up the rest of the players in the game. If you ask somebody a question and they answer you, they have to take a drink. This is valid only till another queen is chosen or a rule overturns it

And finally, the King. If you draw a King, you pour however little or much of your drink as you want into the King’s  Cup in the middle of the cards. The person who draws the last King has to drink the King’s Cup and the game ends. Pretty simple, trust me. Just remember that rule for the number 7 card and you’ll be fine. This is just one variation of the game though, but we’ve had fun with this one so…let’s start?”

 

“Yeah I’m ready, let’s go,” Shaun said.

 

“Ehh, not so fast. First we all need drinks. I’m playing with shots for the first few rounds and then I’ll switch to mixed drinks. What about you guys?”

 

Shaun said he’d play with shots, and Kaylie and Alyssa got themselves a cup of strong cranberry vodka each.

 

“Okay, NOW we can play. Alyssa, you start,” motioning to her. She pulled out a six. “Chicks! Cmon Kaylie, let’s see if Kevin still knows how to make a good cranberry vodka.” They sipped their drink and Shaun, sitting to her left, was up next. He pulled out an eight and picked Alyssa as his mate. At this point, he didn’t think the night was going to get awkward, and he was actually having fun. Alyssa only had a mixed drink, his pick wasn’t as mean as it would have been to pick Kevin, who was taking shots, or Kaylie, who seemed to get a lot more giggly as soon as she began drinking.

 

Kaylie was up next, and she drew a six. “All the guys and Alyssa!” she said excitedly. Alyssa groaned and raised her cup to the shotglasses and said cheers before taking a long sip of her drink. Shaun refilled Kevin and his own shotglasses and then motioned for Kevin to draw a card. He drew a 4, and the girls took another sip. It was Alyssa’s turn again and she drew a five. “NEVER HAVE I EVER! Omg I love that game,” she said excitedly, more for Shaun’s benefit than anybody else’s, because the other two already knew how much she loved this game. “Do you know how to play Shaun?” she asked. He nodded, he’d seen kids playing it in his dorm before. They began.

 

Alyssa began with “Never have I ever had a boyfriend.” Kaylie giggled, kissed Kevin’s cheek, and put a finger down. “Never have I ever worn anything but boxers as underwear,” said Shaun. It was a strange one, but all three of them put another finger down. Kaylie followed that up with “Never have I ever had sex” and Shaun put another finger down. He was even with Kaylie – they both had 3 fingers left.

 

Alyssa found this really funny and mouthed that she was going to get Shaun before saying, “Never have I ever worked outside of the NYU campus. Again, all the other players sighed and put down another finger. The game continued until Kaylie and Shaun both had one finger left; Alyssa and Kevin had two, and it was Kevin’s turn. Kevin, following Shaun’s logic, decided he’d rather make Kaylie lose and sip on her drink than make Shaun take another shot. “Never have I ever swam at the beach…” he began and watched Shaun begin to reach for his shotglass, “…in a bikini,” he finished. Shaun moved his hand away from the shotglass and laughed. Alyssa’s face lit up with delight – this was hilarious! She put another finger down but it was useless, Kaylie had lost. She watched her best friend give her other best friend a pout before saying that she’d lost. She took a drink.

 

“Whose turn is it now?” Kevin asked.

 

“Whoever goes after me so…that’d be you Shaun,” she said.

 

She gave him a smile, and his heart nearly melted. He drew a 9. “Mandarin” he said. Kaylie grinned and responded easily with “Clandestine” and Kevin immediately followed with “chagrin.”

 

Alyssa was just surprised that it was already her turn and stammered before yelling out “Clementine!”

 

They all stared at her and began laughing. Shaun wanted so badly to reach out and touch her lips as they made a surprised “o” before she, too, began laughing with them. She chugged down the rest of her drink and told Kevin to pour her a shot.

 

“She’s definitely my kind of girl,” Shaun thought.

 

Kaylie, who’d had much of that Bahama Mama she shared with Kevin earlier, as well as two shots of vodka back to back, was feeling the buzz right now. She reached over for a card, nearly tipping over her cup. Kevin slyly suggested that she finish her drink before drawing because otherwise, she’d spill it. The cup, which was about a quarter full still, was quickly drained. She held out the empty cup, laughed, and said, gimme more! He poured her a shot instead. Let’s even this up, Shaun and I are taking way too many shots right now and you guys have only had like..the equivalent of a single shot so far. She drew a Jack. “I GET TO MAKE A NEW RULE KEVINNNNN,” she yelled out. Alyssa laughed and told her to quiet down or an RA was going to come and they’d be busted. “Finefine, okay. I want the new rule to be that everybody has to say “Imma let you finish but” in front of everything they say.”

 

“Imma let you finish babe, for being tipsy, that’s a really funny rule. Good job” Kevin said. He reached over and kissed her. She responded a little too enthusiastically and Shaun looked over at Alyssa in time to see her laugh and turn to Shaun, rolling her eyes. “Imma let you finish *she stopped and rolled her eyes again* later guys but break it up” she taunted. They pulled away and Kevin quickly pulled out a King. He laughed and poured his entire shot in there. As he refilled his shotglass, Alyssa drew a 2 and pointed at Shaun. “Drink!”

 

He did, but before he could reach over for his turn, Kaylie smoothly said “Imma let you finish guys, but you broke my rule Alyss. You have to drink and you do too Shaun, since you’re her mate.”

 

Kevin passed the bottle over to Shaun, who poured a shot into his plastic cup and mixed it with some coke. Alyssa downed her shot and he took a sip of his mixed drink. “A very weak one this time, I’m glad he’s not going to get hammered on us or anything,” Kevin noted. He poured his shot into a cup and followed suit.

 

The game of Kings went on for a while, and after several more rounds and a significant increase in drunkenness all around, Kaylie won the honor of drinking the King’s Cup. It had a mix of coke, cranberry juice, and vodka. Kevin cringed as Alyssa handed Kaylie the cup and  interfered before she could begin to drink.”

 

“I’m taking half of that. I don’t want her getting wasted.”

 

Nobody cared enough to disagree, and he poured himself a generous half of the cup, downed it, and chased it down with some Coke. (Of the liquid variety, yes) Shaun told them he’d take Alyssa back to her room and head back. He was fine. Kevin was tipsy but in control of himself, and he could tell that Shaun was an experienced drinker who knew his limits well. He seemed fine and he nodded as Shaun led a wobbly Alyssa back to her room. He looked over at a drunk Kaylie and laughed softly to himself before walking over to her and giving her a hug. He led her to the bed and sat her down, handing her a bottle of water from her fridge. “Imma let you finish, but start drinking that first,” he said jokingly. She began drinking as he went to put away the bottle and trash the cups. She got up and walked over to him, hugging him from  behind and telling him she’d help too. Together, they both cleaned up her room a bit – she’d go over it again in the morning and fix things up more, but for now, this was fine.

 

“I love you! Thanks for helping me,” she drawled to him as she reached over to hug him – again – after they’d finished cleaning.

 

“You had like…sevenish shots today. You are going to stop hugging me and continue drinking water,” he said sternly to her. “I’m crashing here btw, the shuttle from here to Gramercy’s closed now and I’m not gonna take the subway, it’s way too late for that.”

 

“Oh really. Are you warm?”

 

“Um…yes…?”

 

“Ohhhh then can we do this?”

 

Before Kevin could react, she pulled him over to the bed next to her and cuddled closer. “Because I’m a little cold right now,” she finished. He laughed and pulled her even closer. “We can always do this silly.”

 

She got up to change into her pajamas and he pulled off his shirt and jeans – it was too uncomfortable to sleep in them and he didn’t think Kaylie would care.

 

She walked out and he sucked in his breath. She was wearing some incredibly sexy sleepwear. Part of him wondered if she had planned this all out.

 

He watched her get into bed and got in next to her, pulling the covers around them both. Automatically, she turned to face the wall, cuddling right up against his body. He smiled, breathing in the smell of her shampoo. “Damn, she smells nice.” – thoughts ran lazily through his head as he contemplated his extremely lucky fortune.

Bet I – Chapter 3

Bet I – Chapter Three – The Obligatory Pre-Party Chapter

 “What’s up babydoll?”

Kevin was definitely cute, Katie decided as she stared into his hazel eyes. She couldn’t help but feel lucky that he loved her so much. And he was everything she’d ever wanted in a boyfriend. He was caring and considerate. He didn’t force her into anything, but was there for her whenever she needed him. He loved spending hours on the phone or on Skype with her, and she was beginning to get really comfortable with him.

“Hmm, not much. I’m actually eating right now, what about you?” she said.

“I’m just doing this, -“ he said. After a moment’s pause, he leaned down and kissed her cheek again. He was never the type of guy who smothered your face and made out with you in public when you were simultaneously eating with your best friend. She mentally thanked herself for falling for a chivalrous guy as she smiled and continued to eat.

It was Friday, and they both had class at 2PM…their last classes of the day. The three finished up their lunches quickly when Kevin announced that it was 1:30 already. Alyssa and Kaylie speedwalked out of the cafeteria and ran out into the street. They were greeted by a blast of cold air and tightened their scarves. They waited for Kevin to catch up to them and walked down University Place toward Washington Square Park. Kaylie and Kevin had class in the Silver Building so they crossed the street with Alyssa and waved bye while she went ahead a few blocks toward West 4^th Street. She was studying in the Stern School of Business and most of her classes were held in a building called Tisch Hall, located on West 4^th Street.

Kevin and Kaylie walked into Silver holding hands, flashed their ID cards to the guards, who nodded and let them through, and stood in line for the Waverly elevators. You see, the “Silver Center for the Arts and Sciences” was made up of three different buildings that had been gutted and then mushed together internally into one large conglomerate. The Brown Building was actually the location where the famous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory had been located. Well, now, those very same floors were used to conduct chemistry and biology lab experiments. The Waverly Building was the smallest but always had the shortest elevator lines – which is why Kaylie had automatically steered them in its direction once they entered the lobby. The third building was just called Main Building.

Hey, who said NYU couldn’t be practical sometimes?

The building had decades of history as NYU itself continued to change, expand, and retract. It had housed “Washington Square College,” NYU’s liberal arts college, until it shut down the Bronx campus and restructured its Washington Park buildings. Oh and what NYU building can be named without a donor? This one was named in honor of an alum who had donated $150 million dollars to the university.

Oh, the revolver and the telegraph were invented in that very building. In 1840, the first photograph in the United States was taken in this building. Edgar Allan Poe, Herman Melville, and Walt Whitman have lived, taught, and privately lectured there.

Insane, isn’t it? But all Kaylie was worried about was making it to her 7^th floor Con West lecture on time. And Kevin was just psyched about the party later that night.

They parted ways in the elevator as Kevin continued up to his Orgo lab. It wasn’t until 2:30 but he had some pre-lab prep work to finish up with his lab partner first.

Class went by uneventfully for Kaylie, and she walked out promptly at 3:30 and headed out of the building, glad she was done for the weekend and ready to relax. She had to pick up some cups and a chaser or two for the party later that night. It’s a good thing she could use the NYU shuttle to get back to her residence building, because there was no way she would have walked into Chinatown with all the groceries otherwise. And Kevin lived too far away from her; he took a different shuttle route entirely and she hated to have him go out of his way just to help her carry a few things. She texted him quickly – “Hey Kev, I just got outta class. Gonna pick up mixers & prep jello for the shots ur helping me make later. Cya soon!” She walked first to a local Gristede and picked up everything she would need for tonight. She knew her friends would probably pitch in for the supplies later, or Kevin would find some way to buy her dinner; it was his way of paying her back, no matter how much she protested.

Back in her dorm room, she put down all of her groceries and jumped into her bed. It had been a long day, and it was still too early to start cleaning up. Her roommate was visiting a friend of hers for the weekend, so she had the huge room all to herself. The peace and quiet would be nice! As much as she loved her roommate, alone time during college was rare to come by, so she enjoyed it when she could. She put the chasers in the fridge, put away the snacks she’d bought into a cabinet for later, and went to take a nap. Kevin would be in his chemistry lab until seven, so she had the next five hours all to herself. She put some music on and studied for an hour.

After a 1.5 hour nap, she got up to clean the room up a bit. She had just finished showering when Kevin knocked on the door. She threw on a bathrobe and ran over to answer the door. She’d lost track of the time and spent far too long in the bath. She peeked out and saw, with a sigh of relief, that it was just Kevin. She opened the door for him, blushing in her little pink bathrobe. He raised an eyebrow and gathered her into his arms, whispering to her just how delicious she smelled and looked there.

"Somebody looks cute today. How come I don’t see you wear this out more often Kaylie?”

She looked stricken with embarrassment and ran over to her closet to grab the first outfit she could find, taking it with her to the closet.

“I was just kidding babydoll, I got out of lab early today and didn’t wanna txt you in case you were napping,” he yelled out after her retreating figure.

She shut the bathroom door behind her and changed quickly, upset that she hadn’t been ready on time to avoid this situation. She looked down at her outfit in dismay – it was skimpy. No matter, it would have to do for now. She walked out in her denim shorts and white tanktop to grab some of her favorite layering necklaces and her small diamond studs. Kevin had bought her those diamond earrings their one month anniversary, and she knew that he wasn’t poor, but still, the earrings must have taken a while to save for.

She came out and sat down on the bed with him, closing her eyes and enjoying his touch as his hands slid around her waist to cuddle her next to him. She mumbled a “how was class” softly; she didn’t want to ruin the moment.

“Pretty good. Devon did most of the work, as usual. It’s not even like I don’t know how to…he’s just obsessive over his lab reports. Doesn’t let me even touch the experiments sometimes,” Kevin replied. “Your hair seriously smells good Kaylie.”

“Shhh,” she said as she blushed once more. She untangled herself from his arms and turned around, tipping her face up and leaning in closer to him. They kissed gently; the kiss wasn’t a response to overwhelming love or lust, it was just a kiss because they could. “Just because,” was Kevin’s favorite answer every time he kissed her randomly. He was completely smitten.

Eventually, they got up to prep the jello shots and let them start setting in the fridge. Kaylie’s phone buzzed, and Alyssa’s text popped up – “On my way ova, cya in a minute!”

She told Kevin that Alyssa was heading upstairs now and went to prop the door open. It was going to be an awesome night.

Abbreviations you might not know –
Con West – Conversations of the West – One of the core MAP classes for CAS Students
MAP – Morse Academic Plan – Named after Samuel Morse, this plan comprises all of the core classes to obtain a Liberal Arts degree at the University. All students in the College of Arts and Sciences must complete their MAP courses to graduate
Orgo – Organic Chemistry – Fond abbreviation given by sophomores to their ridiculously tough Organic Chemistry class

Bet I – Chapter 2 [Theme 5 Continued]

Bet I – Chapter Two – A Business Proposal

Aaron was sitting at a table halfway across the cafeteria from Kaylie. He had a tray of Pecan Pancakes from the Breakfast All Day booth of Weinstein’s upper dining hall, affectionately known as Upstein. Weinstein was a freshman residence hall and housed one of the eight different dining halls that NYU offered its students.

The tray was just a pretense, Aaron despised dining hall food. It was so below him. Actually, he was surprised that he was even sitting here, scouting out a nerdy nobody. A nerdy nobody with a boyfriend, he noted with complete disdain, as Kevin walked over to the table and kissed her. But still, there was something about her…she could be the newest recruit to his group. She wasn’t rich, but he had more than enough funds to cover her looks. Her hair would need a makeover. Atleast she didn’t need contacts, her eyes were beautiful. They were an amazing shade of blue, and once, as he’d brushed past her, he’d spied little flecks of green in them. They were a beautiful combination, even when she was angry. He’d overheard Kaylie once when she was on the phone, having an argument with a woman he could only assume to be her mother, and by subtly using his cell phone to text across fro m her, he’d seen her eyes glaring beautiful daggers, her eyes now a stormy blue. All traces of the warm green flecks overshadowed by the powerful blue.

Or maybe it was just because she’d been wearing a blue shirt that day.

Anyway, she was his personal project. She definitely wouldn’t have been a candidate if he had a choice. She wasn’t even in Stern with him! She was a CAS’sie [Pronounced Cassie] but one of his friends, Shaun, had dared him to turn a nobody into a somebody. Into his somebody. He’d brushed Shaun away then…after all, scholarship nerds were far below the caliber of gorgeous and rich beauties he dated. If he was spending thousands of dollars to buy them the latest dresses, he expected only the finest watches, shows, or tuxes in return. But with this Kaylie chick…well, she would have been a complete charity case. A waste of his time, charms, and money. He was sure Serena and Marina would not have been as amused as they were right now if Shaun hadn’t come up with the perfect solution to tempt him into accepting. 

Flashback to Weinstein, exactly one week ago. Shaun has some ideas on how to spice up what is becoming a boring semester. They are all sophomores, and it is the beginning of November. There is a lull between midterms and final exams, and to spice up the last 2 months of the semester and the calendar year. Shaun has already planned out a perfect bet to entice his best friend, Aaron. He hopes that the bet will teach him how to break a girl’s heart with class. Oh and of course, Aaron can have his fun for two whole months first…Shaun’s opinion when it comes to Aaron and girls is that…he needs to "be with them" more. 

Shaun was sitting at one of the dingy tables in Weinstein’s dining hall. It was pretty gross here, but Alyssa ate lunch here today with two of her friends. The other two were dating each other and the girl, whose name he had overheard as being Kaylie, was pretty cute. Not his type, but…with a bit of work, he could see Aaron having a lot of fun. And if Aaron was happy, and Kaylie were happy, then their respective best friends, Shaun and Alyssa, were going to be happy too. If he had his way. 

But Shaun hadn’t been Aaron’s best friend for this long without getting to know just how to tempt his friend. And he knew Aaron well. Once he brought up his proposal, his best friend was going to toss him the challenge he wanted for himself anyway. Alyssa. She was going to be his prize at the end of all this. 

They weren’t eating here, but he wanted to go tell Marina and Serena about his plan before they freaked out and ruined everything. Those girls knew how to throw a scene. He shuddered just thinking about it. He told them about his bet, and let them know that they would text the girls once Aaron had agreed to his proposal. Once Serena had been assured that they were going to break the bitch’s heart and publicly humiliate her just because they could, she was as supportive and sweet as ever. She loved putting kids in her place, and anybody not as rich as her was meant to be far below her. As disgusted she was that Aaron would have to actually interact with the girl, she would be happy as long as they gave her what students of her status deserved in the end.

He walked back over to the table just as Aaron walked over. He looked around and said, "I hope you know we are NOT eating here. Anyway, sup?"

"Nope, go grab two Redbulls for us though." 

While drinking their energy shots, they vented a bit about annoying Stern Professors, cursed out the Stern curve for ruining their lives, and made other such boring smalltalk. Aaron was just about ready to bounce when Shaun introduced his idea. He played on every one of Aaron’s weaknesses, from his pride and ego to his terrible memory. Shortly, Aaron was convinced that if he didn’t have a girlfriend in the next few days, life was simply not worth living. He was a single, rich, STRAIGHT guy at NYU. If he couldn’t get any girl he wanted, he should just go die. Once Aaron was assured that there was a pretty satisfying way to solve things, he pointed at Kaylie’s table. That chick. Make her your girlfriend.

Shaun’s father, the infamous Mr.Richard Dawson, owner of the equally famous Dawson Industries, was starting up a new venture project in the technology field. They’d discovered a metal mine that produced quantities of coltan sufficient enough to provide a sustainable, affordable, cheap, and convenient way to completely eradicate the controversial "blood" coltan from the Congo out of cell phones. By mining this, putting out a few prototypes in the right places….Mr. Dawson was well on the way to revolutionizing the cell phone industry. The new mining company would be gifted to a certain Mr. Shaun Dawson, heir of the leading Technology Resource.

And here he sat, Mr. Shaun Dawson, with a smug look on his face.

“Would you do it for a 50/50 partnership in the new company?”

Aaron choked on his Red Bull. “You serious man?”

“Of course. Think of it this way…we can twist this around to our parents, and let them know that their sons are going to make them proud by bridging the gap and erasing the feud that’s been going on for generations between the illustrious Dawson Industries and the ever-expanding and ever-glorious Dockett Technologies. With my metallics company and your tech company working together, we can pretty much make sure we’ll be so rich we’ll never have to worry about a thing. Ever.”

“HA is that what the New York Times is calling us now? Illustrious Dawson Industries and ever-glorious Dockett Technologies? I like, I like. But if you’re serious about this man, I’m down. Your father already has 30% of the shares in Dockett Technologies. Dad’s signing over the company to me on Christmas, and we can formalize the contracts and agreements then.”

“Sounds good. By then, we should have enough support, metal, and prototypes to make your companies interest in us completely valid in the world’s eye. Nobody even has to know about this little personal project of yours.”

“Speaking of which…now that we’re turning this into a business partnership, I’m not turning over shares of my company to you without getting anything in return. See that chick sitting next to the nerdy nobody? I think her name’s Alyssa, she’s in my Managerial Accounting class. Yeah, that one’s your personal project.”

“We setting a date on this Aaron? New Years Eve…the Dockett and Dawson heirs are going to present to the entire world their refined, polished, dropdead gorgeous girlfriends.”

“This is gonna be fun. Now can we please ditch this place and go out for some real lunch. I have class at 2PM so we have to be back for it. My PFA professor’s a complete jerk if you’re late to his class.”

And so, Aaron and Shaun walked out, texting the trustfund twins that they were out for business today, and would catch up with them later tonight.

Had Kaylie seen their phones, she would have read the following texts sent to Serena and Marina by Aaron and Shaun.

Aaron – Serena…my apartment. 6PM. 😉

Shaun – Marina babe, ready for a wild night? My place after WTE tonight

End Flashback

Aaron had spent the next week doing some subtle stalking. That’s how he’d discovered how much he loved her eyes. He also knew now that she lived in the Lafayette Street  Residence Hall. Her boyfriend, Kevin, was pretty far away from her; he lived at the Gramercy Green Residence Hall all the way on 23rd street. He had been pretty pleased when he found out that they dormed so far apart. It made his life much easier.

He’d have this girl all over him in a week. Easy.

Abbreviations you might not know –

PFA – Principles of Financial Accounting

WTE – Writing the Essay
CAS’sie – Student who studies at the College of Arts and Sciences within New York University. 
Sternie – Student who studies at the Stern School of Business within New York University

Weinstein – Freshman residence Hall with 2 Dining Halls  – Upstein and Downstein

Upstein – First Floor Dining Hall – Designed as a “fast-food” meal swipe, with stations for Quiznos, Chick-fil-a, a Salad Bar, and an all-day breakfast place

Downstein – Dining Hall located in the lower level of Weinstein. Buffet style all-you-can-eat-or-stuff-into-a-takeout-tray style food.

Theme Five – Secrets

Bet I

Kaylie was never going to be popular, but she didn’t mind. At 5’3” with boring brown hair and eyes, she didn’t think she would fit in with the rest of the tall popular blonde girls who walked around school with swirling summer dresses and casual summer heels. Her comfort wasn’t in mingling with the superficial crowds; she much rather preferred the company of her two best friends.  Who were taking their sweet time getting their lunch today.

 

She sighed, looked around, scouting the dining hall for her friends. Instead, her eyes lit upon Aaron. He’d just walked in with his usual posse, the equally as glorious Serena and Marina. They were twins, but went out of their ways to act and dress differently. Serena loved dressing trendy, but studying at New York University meant that her trendy was on a whole other level. She wore louboutins today, and a cute dress Kaylie had seen advertised at Bloomingdales for somewhere in the vicinity of $1,000. She walked around with her Burberry bag slung around her shoulders. She was wearing Dolce & Gabanna sunglasses too, Kaylie noted with disdain. She was like a walking billboard. And head of the trust fund babies group, of course. Kaylie had seen them walking around in groups, talking only to each other, leaving their classrooms and heading in groups to their private limos to be driven to their next class, or back to their private apartments in Greenwich Village. And she had had it with their complaining. She sighed again, blowing her bangs out of her eyes as she listened to the snippets of conversation around her. Serena and Marina were walking by, using their meal plans for once.

 

Serena walked by, saying “God Marina, I can’t believe Aaron actually wants to EAT here today. Like seriously, I thought we were gonna grab lunch at Juliet today. We always have our lunch at Juliet today, but NO he has to decide that sco-“

 

 “Whatever, it doesn’t really matter. I made myself a salad…I would have ordered the same thing at Juliet anyway. And over here, atleast we can go sit outside and eat without fans swarming around in droves”

 

“Yeah I guess you’re right. But seriously, Aaron couldn’t find-“

 

“Shut up and help me pick our table already”

 

“YOU ALWAYS CUT ME OFF OH MY GOD. IT’S NOT LIKE SHE’LL EVEN KN-“

 

“SERENA, seriously, shut the fuck up.”

 

“Stupid, mindless, rich people,” thought Kaylie, “where were Alyssa and Kevin when you needed them anyway?” She snuck another glance over to the trustfund twins. Marina was what she called a “classy bum.” She bought expensive clothes, no doubt, but wore them in such a laidback and indifferent way that people thought she didn’t really put much effort into her wardrobe. But Kaylie wasn’t stupid. She knew that the shirt, cut so that one shoulder would be sexily bare, was meticulously arranged and probably pinned into place. She wore tights, but instead of buying her tights at Forever 21 like the rest of them, she bought hers from Top Shop, where the tights were $40.00, and the shirts well into the $100’s. And her makeup was just as smoky as Serena’s was bright. They were twins, definitely.

 

“Hey girll sorry that took so long. The line for Chick-fil-a was ridiculousss today. You know how it is. It’s the only one in the state so EVERYBODYY wants some. It gets more action on a Friday night than any guys I know do, that’s for sure,” said Alyssa as she sat down. Funny, she managed to stuff all that into one breath. But really, Kaylie adored Alyssa. She was everything Kaylie wasn’t, with intelligence to boot. She was the girl with the perfect SAT and SATII scores. She was the girl who got 5’s on all of her AP exams. She was the girl who ran the FBLA club in her school, in addition to actively giving back to the community organizing charity events. And it all came to her effortlessly. Her evenings weren’t spent poring over books like Kaylie, she went out and partied, and all of New York City was fair game. Barhopping in Greenwich village on a Monday night was followed by a classy dinner and drinks party at the Royalton Hotel the following day. The only days she didn’t spend partying were the days right before her midterms. And even then, her Computer Science final was, according to her, such a joke that she could stay out all night and pass with an A.

 

Okay fine, so maybe Kaylie was a little envious of Alyssa too. Who wouldn’t be, with her ability to get exactly what she wants, and pull off a 3.9 GPA her first year of college on top of it. She knew that Kevin, at least, felt the same way.

 

Kevin was awesome too, of course. She loved both of her friends. Kevin was incredibly tall, and super muscled too. He wasn’t tall enough, in his opinion, just short of 6’, but for Kaylie, that was tall enough. He helped her reach the top shelves of her closet in her dorm room, and any guy who could do that was good enough for her. They’d come across him the first week of New York University, at a Meet & Greet event that the freshmen had been forced to attend. He was standing there, holding the metallic bottle that all the Stern freshmen had received their first day of orientation, drinking it and looking suspiciously happy. Kaylie had approached him, mostly because she had loved his outfit. Nervous and incredibly shy still, she’d come up to him and sarcastically asked, “Are you seriously this happy to be here right now?”

 

“Take a few sips from this and you will be too” he said, and giggled.

 

Yeah, seriously, he’d giggled. She took the bottle, sniffed, and drank. After all, college was all about new things, and she’d always planned on drinking alcohol eventually. This was a pretty good mixture. Bitter, yes, but it was diluted with enough Coke, of the liquid variety, to hide the taste of the Rum he told her it contained. Rum and coke. Her first taste of alcohol. Not bad, and with a cute boy to boot.

 

But we’re just a little bit caught up in the details, right? Kaylie snapped back to attention as Kevin followed Alyssa to the table, plopping down in the seat next to Kaylie, slinging his arm around her shoulders, and leaning in to kiss her cheek.

 

“What’s up babydoll”

 

Oh right, he was her boyfriend right now. And babydoll was his nickname for her.