Author's Note: First of all, if you've found this story randomly, then welcome.
However, if you follow me, or even if this is your second story of mine, I want to give a brief explainer. All my stories take place in the same universe. You will see a lot of character crossover. Generally speaking, they are posted in chronological order. But each story should still be able to stand alone. And thus, you should be able to read them in whichever order you choose.
I'd also like to thank PhilAnderer for graciously editing this story.
Enjoy!
*************************************************
Tariq stared at the pretty girl crying on the floor of his room. This was not how he hoped the weekend would go.
Her name was Delaney Baker. She was his roommate's little sister and she had just broken up with her boyfriend. As he watched her weep quietly to herself, he wondered why he had agreed to this.
"Hey dude," Chris had said to him a few days ago. "Do you care if Laney comes to stay with us for the weekend?"
"Us?" Tariq had asked. "Won't you be at Chloe's? You know...like always."
"I mean, I'll probably sleep over there."
"So you want Lamey Laney to stay with me?"
"Come on, man. She just started college at State and then Tim broke up with her."
He and Chris had been randomly assigned as roommates last year when they were freshmen, but at this point they were friends for real. They even knew each other's families pretty well. Tariq had met Laney countless times. He knew she had dated Tim for years in high school.
Then another thought had occurred to Tariq. "How old is she now, anyway?"
"She's 19, why?" But then realization had washed over Chris's face. "Oh, you motherfucker. She's my sister. You can't sleep with her. She's only a year younger than me. She's basically my twin. It'd be like fucking me."
"You know the best way to get over somebody is to get under somebody. It might be what's best for her."
Chris shook his head. "I'm not pimping out my little sister to you. She just needs a safe place to land for a few days while she pulls herself together. Can you just be a gentleman about this?"
"Fine," Tariq had replied with a sigh. "Lamey can stay in our room. And, I promise not to sleep with her." He smiled. "Unless, she wants me to."
"You're disgusting."
"What? To refuse her would be very ungentlemanly."
"Will you just watch out for her for a few days? I promise I'll be around most of the time."
"Yeah, yeah. Anything for you. Give Chloe my love in the meantime."
Now, Tariq watched this girl weep silently to herself on the floor.
And it was a shame because she really was beautiful. She was petite, with decent boobs and a decent ass, but her face was stunning. Like a movie star. Button nose, smooth pale skin, even a chin that was somehow perfect. Currently, her curly hair was dyed purple. But over the last year, he had seen it in nearly every shade of the rainbow. Blonde, black, blue, pink. One time it was even bright green.
She also had sleeve tattoos. At 19. From what Tariq could tell they were mainly historically themed. Castles, princesses, knights. That sort of thing. Which was weird because Chris was fairly straight laced. But his sister proved that their parents were obviously ok with body autonomy. Altogether, Tariq found Laney's self expression both sexy and intriguing.
In a different context, her being here would be close to things that played out in his fantasies. But this certainly wasn't that situation.
"It really will be ok," he told her, racking his brain for anything he could say to cheer her up. "I know it sounds lame, but there's a whole lot of fish in the sea."
With that she cried ever harder.
"What did I say?"
"'Finding Nemo' was the first movie we watched together," she replied through her sobs.
Fucking white people, Tariq thought to himself. "Do you want me to call your brother?"
"No, I'm sure he's with Chloe right now. I don't want to bother them." And then she broke out into another fresh round of tears. "I just want what they have."
"Shit, don't we all," Tariq muttered. Chris and Chloe had met last year. And to hear him tell it, she had walked into their room as basically a stranger and demanded to fuck him. They had been together ever since.
And, like, was it too much to ask that some beautiful stranger would show up and do the same for him? Just spread her legs wide and tell him to go to town?
He looked at the girl crying on the floor and sighed. It obviously wasn't going to be Laney. "Well look," he told her. "I'm going to pop downstairs and get some fresh air. It sounds like there's a party going on. You want to come check it out?"
She shook her head. "No, I'll probably just go to bed."
He turned to leave, but she called out his name.
"Thanks for letting me stay here," she told him. "I know I'm not good company right now, but it really does mean a lot."
"Yeah, don't mention it. Just get some rest. Maybe you'll feel better in the morning."
------
Downstairs, there were more people than Tariq expected. Last year, he and Chris had lived in a traditional dorm. But this year, they had moved into a six-bedroom house at the edge of campus. The other housemates were known for the silly parties they threw. Festive soirΓ©es, as they called them. Tonight's theme was Cinco de Septiembre, to celebrate being two weeks into the school year. Everyone wore sombreros. And while the house wasn't quite big enough to host a true kegger, the alcohol was certainly flowing. Tequila especially.
Tariq scanned the faces in the room until he found one that surprised him. Beth Fletcher stood surrounded by a group cheering her on as she prepared to take a shot. Not her first, if the two squeezed limes laying next to the fresh one were any indication.
The last time Tariq had seen Beth was one of the weirder nights of his life. It was last year when he was still a freshman. Beth had been dating one of his friends named Marty Holstein. One night, Marty had talked Tariq into filming Beth as she gave him a blowjob. Tariq had only agreed because, well, how often does something like that come up? It turned out to be hotter than he expected. Beth had been topless and obviously turned on by being filmed. But then, with almost no warning, Marty had pulled his dick from her mouth and blew a load on her chest. He had made fun of her afterwards and turned to give Tariq a high five.
And that was the last interaction Tariq had had with Beth. But now, here she was. At his new house. Doing shots.
As she licked the back of her hand and sprinkled on salt, their gazes met across the room. She gave him a wink as she licked the salt off. Something about the motion was oddly suggestive. Then, she picked up the shot glass and downed the tequila, before finishing it off by sucking on the lime. Her face scrunched up and she slammed the glass down. The crowd applauded, urging her to do a fourth. But she declined, politely excusing herself.
Beth made her way over to Tariq and gave him a giant hug. "Hey there," she said, her face a little too close. He could smell the booze and citrus on her breath.
"Hey," he replied, surprised to get such a warm greeting. He tried not to, but his eyes flicked down to take a look at her body. She wore a blue button-up shirt with several of the top buttons undone, exposing a generous amount of cleavage. Tariq didn't know much about bra sizes, but her boobs had to be a good bit more than a handful each. On bottom, she wore a black skirt that stopped at her mid-thigh. His eyes flashed back up to her face. She had on bright red lipstick, a bit of blush, and dark smoky eyeliner. Her long blond hair hung loose at her shoulders.
"Like what you see?" she asked with a smile.
"Sorry, I just..." He shook his head. "It's, uh, been awhile. How are you tonight, Beth?" he asked.
"Oh, you know, just out celebrating. It is Cinco after all."
"The one people normally celebrate is eight months from now," he pointed out.
She laughed. "You're the one throwing the party."
"Well, my housemates are anyway," he replied with a chuckle. "What are you celebrating?"
She shrugged. "Being back in the country I guess."
"Yeah, I heard you were in China over the summer. How was it?"
Her gaze was distant for a moment. "Eye opening," she replied finally. "I feel like I really discovered myself."
Tariq laughed. "I guess that makes you the next in a long line of white women who went to Asia to find themselves."
She pursed her lips at the joke, but then smiled. "I didn't mean spiritually." She glanced down coyly.
He frowned. "What...did you mean?"