Between Halftime and Midnight

HAILEY

"Why do I have to go with you to this party?"

My boyfriend of two years looks visibly disgusted by the question and shakes his head at me.

"Because you're my girlfriend and if you don't come with me, groupie bitches I don't like will try very hard to fuck me. Do you want me to spend the entire night fighting off girls or do you want me to actually have fun?"

Urgghh, he's right. Being rich, popular, and handsome makes him prime rib to these girls.

"You like to party too, why is this an issue?"

"Don't act like you don't know why." I say scowling.

His face hardens and he walks slowly towards me.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to take that tone with me?" He asks pushing his finger into my chest with every word.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that to you. Please forgive me."

He sighs and pushes his fingers gently into my hair. Because he's a footballer and he acts tough, no one will believe that Ryan is a really soft guy but I know him. He's a hurt little boy inside and I'll help him heal.

"Just ignore Xavier tonight, he's a weirdo. Unfortunately, he has to be there because he's Tristan's twin brother."

"I ignore him. He's the one who's always trying to pick a fight with me."

Ryan sighs and moves away. "Whatever, come to the party or not. I'm out of here."

He picks up his gym bag and walks out, slamming the door on his way out. I want to scream for him to come back and close the door properly but I don't. Doing anything will only aggravate him. An aggravated Ryan gets angry and he sulks and broods and I don't have the energy for the aftermath.

So I sigh, pour myself a glass of wine so I can wait for the party to start. It's our last year of college anyway. After this year, I won't see Xavier Hunt anymore.

The party is pretty hot but that's expected. Tristan always throws the best parties. I'm late to the party so I immediately start looking for Ryan. It's not hard to find him, he's always with his friends. They're somehow in the study looking at something on Tristan's laptop.

Ryan smiles when he sees me and signals me to come over. I wave my hands and tell him it's fine but he insists.

"Baby, you'll love it. It's a video of Xavier getting humiliated." He says.

Tristan and the others turn to me with smiles on their faces and I duck my head in embarrassment. Why would he say it like that? Even though everyone knows Xavier and I don't like each other, it's embarrassing for them to hear that I would enjoy watching something humiliating happen to him.

"It's fine, I'll watch it later."

And I will, Xavier is always acting cool, I will thoroughly enjoy watching his humiliation.

"Watch what later?" A voice says from behind.

I groan in annoyance, instantly recognizing the voice. I try to ignore him but he stands directly behind me. Our bodies aren't touching but I feel the heat of his body behind me. It's probably the heat of his dislike because the room just got very hot.

"The footage from your show tonight." Colin says.

Tristan has moved back, looking guilty. Having your friends laugh at your twin in the house you both share should make anyone feel like that.

Xavier thankfully moves away from me and enters the room. He looks at Ryan then looks back at me.

"Let me get this straight, Duncan. You want your starved girlfriend to watch a video of me falling on my perfect ass? A video that ends with me so wet that I have to take my shirt off. That's the video you're inviting your girlfriend to watch?"

Ryan laughs and stands up. "Whatever weirdo, you're not her type and she's not starved. I fucked her this morning, isn't that right baby?"

My face burns in embarrassment while all his friends cheer. Tristan still hasn't said anything and Xavier is looking at me in pity. He finally looks back at Ryan and scoffs.

"My bad, I didn't know. I'll apologise to the lady." He says then turns and walks towards me.

He stops a few inches from me and bends. I stand frozen as his face inches closer to mine before he moves and his mouth is on my ear.

"Did you cum though?" He asks and straightens immediately.

He walks out of the room without another word, and Tristan runs after him. Ryan is out of his seat immediately and he pulls me out of the room. He drags me to the bathroom and locks the door.

"What did that fucker say to you?"

Did you cum though? I reply in my mind. I didn't, but how could he possibly have known that?

"Nothing, he didn't say anything."

"Don't fucking lie to me! You didn't see your face after he left. Tell me right now so I can go break his fucking jaw."

I sigh. He's not going to let it go. I would tell him but it's embarrassing and he's on his second strike this month for fighting a teammate.

"He was just talking trash as usual babe. Don't pay him any attention. Besides, the coach said one more fight and you'll be riding the bench all season."

He grinds his teeth and thinks about it. Whatever you may say about Ryan, he loves the game and will play it with everything he has.

"That bastard is lucky." He finally says and takes a deep breath.

I smile and kiss him. "Go have fun, I'll be out shortly."

He nods and opens the door. "Wipe that fucking make-up off your face, you look like you're trying too hard." He says and walks away.

I sigh and stare into the mirror. My makeup doesn't look terrible. In a couple of minutes when he's no longer angry, it won't matter. He was just angry and needed to let off steam.

I stand around the bathroom, doing nothing for five minutes — would have been longer if someone hadn't knocked on the door — before I finally leave to go join the party.