Kit Odell stepped out of the shower, dripping wet onto the cold tiled floor. He dried himself off quickly and wrapped the towel around his waist. He stood in front of the steam-covered mirror and grabbed a small hand towel to wipe it clean. He stared at his reflection for a moment, scrutinizing his lean, muscular body, and his short 5’9 frame. The top of his shoulders were burnt slightly, having dulled after three days from a bright crimson red. His pale Irish skin burned easily no matter how strong or how much sunscreen he used. This particular burn came from running a 5K in a white shirt, which had obviously been too thin to shield him from the sun.
Taking a prescribed container of burn cream, he rubbed it gently onto his shoulders. Luckily it didn’t hurt as much as it had three days ago. He wiped his hands on the towel around his waist and searched the medicine cabinet for floss.
“Hey, Jean?”
“Yeah?” Jean’s voice called from the kitchen.
“Have you seen…never mind, found it.” He broke off a piece of string and began to floss his teeth. Jean appeared in the doorway.
“What’d you need? Oh, floss, yeah. So, you going somewhere?” he asked, eyeing him incredulously.
“Is that so hard to believe?” Kit scoffed, while picking at one of his teeth.
Jean shrugged, smirking. “Do you want me to answer that truthfully?”
Kit’s eyes narrowed playfully. “Shut it. Nick’s picking me up for some trivia at Barley’s Taproom. It looks like you’re going somewhere special.” Kit eyed Jean’s light grey, buttoned-up, long-sleeve designer shirt and dark grey slacks.
“Yeah, well, Natalie’s coming over. She’s going to try Corner Pocket out for the first time.”
“Oh, how noble of her…” Kit rolled his eyes. Jean sighed and turned his head. There was a knock at the door.
“It’s probably Natalie,” he said, disappearing from the doorway.
“Or Nick, hopefully,” Kit muttered, rubbing some gel into his hair. He heard the high shrill of Natalie’s voice and slammed the bathroom door shut. He could already feel his blood boiling. If there was one person who annoyed him above all it was Natalie. He couldn’t quite pinpoint the one thing he disliked about her, probably because there were so many things he couldn’t stand. For instance, she nitpicked every little thing about Jean or even him. Jean’s hair was too messy. Kit’s eyebrows were too thick. She rarely complimented Jean on anything. Unfortunately, Jean thrived on making people happy. It upset him if Natalie wasn’t pleased with him. Natalie would always be unsatisfied. That was something Kit enduringly tried to make clear to Jean.
Kit left the bathroom and changed into a pair of dark jeans and a white t-shirt he had bought from Goodwill. He grabbed his wallet and put it into his back pocket. Checking himself one last time in a mirror, he walked out into the hall. Jean and Natalie were still in the living room, discussing their night’s plans. He chose to avoid them by going into the kitchen. He opened the fridge and peered inside for a snack. Still in earshot of their conversation, he discreetly listened in.
“If I feel at all uncomfortable, we’ll leave immediately, right?” Natalie said in a high demanding voice.
“Of course,” Jean said. Kit imagined him bowing his head in compliance as if Natalie were the queen herself.
“Who usually goes there? They aren’t all going to be drunk are they?”
“Well, it’s a bar, Natalie. And it’s mostly college kids.”
Natalie sighed. “Great.” There was a pause. “Is she going to be there?”
“Who?” Jean asked, dumbfounded.
“Your study partner? The one you’ve been seeing for weeks now, under my nose?” There was a certain hint of jealousy in her voice that made Kit smile. He shut the fridge door quietly and listened.
Jean stuttered, obviously flustered. There was no use denying her now. “W-Well, she could be. A lot of sorority girls go there for the free drinks.”
Natalie scoffed disapprovingly. “So she drinks?”
“I don’t know,” Jean said softly.
“What’s her name?” Natalie said sharply. “I need to at least act like I’ve known you two were studying together.”
Jean was quiet for a moment as if trying to remember. Then he said quickly, “Her name’s Cora.”
Cora? Kit thought. There weren’t many Coras that he knew of and it couldn’t possibly be the one he was thinking of.
“Cora what?”
“I don’t know. I don’t remember,” Jean said sheepishly.
Natalie jeered. “Of course not. You never remember anything. Do you at least remember what she looks like?”
“Why does that matter?” Jean snapped, finally sounding annoyed. Kit wondered how the hell he dealt with this all the time.
“Because I want to be prepared if she’s there!” Natalie shrieked. “Just forget it. I’ll be in the car.” There was a rustling of keys and the front door opened and slammed shut. Kit peeked from the kitchen and noticed Jean still standing in the living room, his head hanging low.
“Hey, man…” Kit said, walking toward him.
Jean looked up, his eyes weary. “Oh, you heard all that? Sorry, man.”
Kit shook his head. “Don’t apologize. It wasn’t your fault. I can’t believe she just attacked you with all those questions.”
Jean sighed, frowning. He opened his mouth to say something, but loud, obnoxious honking interrupted him.
Kit scoffed, rolling his eyes. “She beckons you. Wouldn’t want to upset the royal highness.”
There was a shimmer of a smile on Jean’s lips before he said goodbye and left. Kit walked over to the window and peeked through the blinds. He could see Natalie’s scowling face halfway hidden behind the steering wheel. Her lips were moving quickly, most likely continuing her tirade, and Jean’s poor, haggard face was turned the other way.
Kit collapsed onto the couch, flipping on the TV. He checked the clock. Nick was late. But it didn’t matter. His mind was already racing with thoughts of his past, of the girl named Cora who ruined his life. God forbid she came back into his life. He hoped, even prayed, it was another girl named Cora. He wouldn’t allow her to ruin his best friend’s life. He would do anything to prevent that. Anything.
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