The Anti-Relationship Year Read online

  The Anti-Relationship Year

  Katie Wismer

  THE ANTI-RELATIONSHIP YEAR

  Copyright © 2021 by Katie Wismer

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  All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

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  This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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  For more information visit:

  www.katiewismer.com

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  Cover design by MoorBooks Design

  Editing by Erica Russikoff

  ISBN: 978-1-7346115-4-0

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  First Edition: March 2021

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  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  Also by Katie Wismer

  The Anti-Virginity Pact

  Poems for the End of the World

  The Sweetest Kind of Poison

  This book contains material that may be triggering for some readers. Reader discretion is advised. For a complete list of trigger warnings, please visit katiewismer.com/trigger-warnings

  Contents

  Introduction

  1. Freshman Year - August

  2. Senior Year - March

  3. Freshman Year - August

  4. Senior Year - March

  5. Freshman Year - September

  6. Senior Year - March

  7. Freshman Year - October

  8. Senior Year - March

  9. Freshman Year - October

  10. Senior Year - March

  11. Freshman Year - November

  12. Senior Year - March

  13. Freshman Year - December

  14. Senior Year - March

  15. Freshman Year - December

  16. Senior Year - March

  17. Freshman Year - December

  18. Senior Year - March

  19. Freshman Year - December

  20. Senior Year – March

  21. Freshman Year - January

  22. Senior Year - March

  23. Freshman Year - February

  24. Senior Year - March

  25. Freshman Year - March

  26. Senior Year - May

  Reviews

  Meredith’s Story

  Sign up for My Author Newsletter

  About the Author

  Introduction

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  www.katiewismer.com

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  Playlist available on Spotify:

  shorturl.at/vzSZ4

  1

  Freshman Year - August

  Johanna Palmer started the night in the lap of a guy she didn’t know. Despite the curled lip on the Uber driver’s face as the eight of them had piled into a hatchback meant for five, the kid just drummed his fingers against the steering wheel as he waited for their group to situate themselves.

  Three of the four boys slid into the back seat, and the last one crouched in the trunk, leaving the four girls to fill the remaining spaces. Each chose a lap of one of the guys in the back—which was how Jo ended up with her entire right side plastered to the car door and the heat of a stranger’s body pressing into her bare legs. Somehow her new roommate, Kayleigh, had scored the only seat with any semblance of personal space in the front.

  The bar wasn’t far, and Jo could already feel the vodka from the pregame warming her blood and loosening her limbs. But that didn’t stop the nervous sweat from appearing on her palms. She’d had the fake ID since high school, but this would be her first time trying it in Oregon. Getting her card confiscated would really put a damper on her first college night out. Not that she needed more to drink—she’d panic-chugged the entire pregame—but she had no idea how to get home if they turned her away. She hadn’t even memorized her new address yet.

  The car jostled violently as it hit a pothole. Jo braced her hands against the roof, holding on for dear life, as the two girls next to her let out high-pitched, drunken squeals. Jo already couldn’t remember their names, which probably wasn’t a good sign, seeing as she’d be living with them for the next year. She’d met Kayleigh on the college’s Facebook group, and when they’d managed to land a spot in one of the nicer dorms, they’d automatically been paired with two other girls for a suite.

  Their rooms were pretty standard as far as dorms went—wooden furniture that looked like it belonged in a prison and a single window on the far wall—but it connected to another double, and the four of them got to share a bathroom instead of having one for the entire hall.

  As far as random pairings went, it definitely could’ve been worse. But since the other two girls had been friends since high school, they hadn’t bothered to socialize with Jo and Kayleigh much so far.

  The boys lived across the hall, also all roommates, and had been the only ones on the floor to accept Kayleigh’s invitation for an impromptu night out. Jo wasn’t sure if it was because the rest of their hall mates weren’t partiers, or because it was a Tuesday and they all had their first day of classes tomorrow morning.

  The car jostled again, and this time, the boy beneath Jo grabbed her hips to steady her. His hands felt gigantic against her small frame. The heat of his palms burned against the sliver of skin exposed between her skirt and top. He released her immediately and muttered a soft “sorry” under his breath.

  She could barely hear him over the rap song vibrating the car. She twisted her neck to try to get a look at him, but it was dark, and the linebacker-esque guy next to him monopolized the majority of her view. She couldn’t remember any of the boys’ names, either.

  At least she remembered Kayleigh’s—unless she’d just been calling her the wrong name all night and no one had bothered to correct her.

  God, she wished Meredith were here. That friendship was so effortless, Jo never had to give anything a second thought. She supposed that was a byproduct of knowing someone since they were in diapers. But Mare was down in California now, probably also awkwardly bumping elbows with strangers with the hopes of it becoming something more. High school was over, and clinging to old habits and friends wasn’t going to do her any favors.

  Johanna tugged on her skirt, trying to keep it from riding up her thighs as the car bounced along. Ugh, how mortifying. She was totally going to flash this guy when it was time to climb out of the car. So much for first impressions.

  The Uber pulled up to the corner outside the bar, where a line of people was already stretched around the side of the building. Johanna’s gaze locked on the boulder of a man checking IDs at the door, and a flush of nerves traveled down her spine. She quickly scurried out of the car as gracefully as she could manage and craned her neck back to take in the neon sign above them.

  UNITED FATES

  AUGUST 26 9:00 PM

  The guy she’d squished the entire ride climbed out next. His body unfolded like some kind of never-ending Slinky. He had to be a least a full foot taller than she was, but not much heavier. Wavy brown hair fell into his eyes as he shoved his hands in his pockets and stepped up onto the sidewalk beside her. The other girls squealed and laughed as they climbed out, clutching hands and holding one another up. They weren’t nearly that drunk yet, but the routine was clearly having its intended effect.

  “Wait for me,
” the dark-skinned girl drawled as she checked her reflection in the car window and fluffed up her curly, black hair. Her southern accent was somehow even more pronounced now than when she was sober. The taller of the two boys grinned and eagerly offered his hand. His friend looped his arm around the little blonde girl’s waist.

  Johanna cast another uneasy glance at the bouncer. She was no expert, but there was no way making a scene before they even made it to the front of the line would work in their favor.

  She eyed her lanky companion, desperately searching her memory for his name. It was something odd, more of a last name. “You’re…Miller, right?” Jo asked, wincing.

  He nodded, seemingly oblivious to her struggle. “You’re Johanna.”

  “Just Jo.”

  “All right, Just Jo. I say we ditch the lunatics and get in line.” He jabbed his thumb at the two girls piggybacking on the other guys while the boy in the trunk, not to be forgotten, beat frantically on the window.

  Jo raised her eyebrows. “No loyalty to your friends?”

  He shrugged, but reached over and popped the trunk to let the last guy out. “I actually don’t know any of them. I just let the school randomly assign me to a room.”

  “Really? That seems risky. What if you’re, like, zero percent compatible?”

  “Can we go inside now?” Kayleigh fell into step beside them, adjusting her jean skirt. “And maybe pretend that we’re not with them,” she added under her breath.

  Jo smirked and hooked her arm through Kayleigh’s without thinking about it—it was just something she’d always done with her best friend from home. If Kayleigh was taken aback, she didn’t show it. Jo held out her other arm. “Oh, come on, Miller,” she said. “Don’t feel left out.”

  To her surprise, he grinned—both cheeks dimpling as he did—and took it.

  “They’re seniors at Portland State,” Kayleigh hissed under her breath as the bouncer glanced at their IDs and ushered them inside. Miller wiggled his eyebrows as the three of them hurried through the doors. The bar was lively, but not as crowded as Jo had expected. The stage was just a small platform in the back corner with a few lights pointed in its direction. Wires and musical instruments were strewn about, but none of the band members had surfaced yet.

  “I’ve never heard of them,” Jo admitted.

  “They’re about to make it big,” Kayleigh insisted, raising onto her tiptoes to get a look at the line out the windows. “I can’t see Addie or Liv anymore.” She turned to Miller. “What are your roommates’ names again?”

  Miller frowned and shrugged.

  Jo stifled a snort. At least it wasn’t just her.

  “You don’t know any of their names?” Kayleigh demanded.

  Miller narrowed his eyes, considering this. “Pretty sure one of them is Alan—big guy with the goofy hair? And one of them might be Gatsby. Or maybe he just likes The Great Gatsby…” He shook his head. “Nah, he doesn’t seem like the kind to read. I think it’s his name.”

  Kayleigh threw her hands up, her gaze now moving on to survey the rest of the crowd—a few people were wearing T-shirts with the name UNITED FATES scrawled across the front, but not many. She jutted her chin toward the bar and elbowed Jo in the ribs. “You should get the drinks. You look the most twenty-one of the three of us.”

  Jo shot an uneasy glance toward the bar and adjusted the straps of her tank top. She already had the wristband from the front door. The hard part was over. She forced a smile and flipped her hair over her shoulders. She’d curled it tonight, and the tinted lights overhead were making it look more wine-colored than its usual copper shade. “I’ll be right back.”

  The bartender did a quick once-over as she approached. “What can I get you?” His hair was nearly as red as Johanna’s was, complete with a matching mustache. He also looked to be barely twenty-one himself.

  “Three beers.” Her gaze swept the bar, and she pointed to a fish-shaped tap handle. “That one.” She had no idea if that one was any good, but the bartender turned away wordlessly and grabbed three glasses.

  “Those all for you?”

  A man slid into the chair on Johanna’s left. The first thing she noticed was the tattoos. He braced an arm on the bar, revealing a sleeve all the way from his wrist to his shoulder beneath his white T-shirt. All of the images and words blurred seamlessly together, the black ink stark against his pale skin. A silver coin on a long chain dangled from his neck as he leaned forward.

  The second thing she noticed was how inky and gelled his hair was, styled to stand up just-so in the front. He must have spent at least half as long as she had in front of the mirror tonight.

  The final thing she noticed was the way his eyes lingered on her body. He found her face eventually, but it was a steep climb to get there. He started at her legs, then gradually made it to her hips, her waist, her chest, and then, finally, her eyes. He wasn’t even being subtle about it. He wanted her to see him looking at her.

  From what she could tell, he had a nice body, too. But she definitely wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction of watching her check him out.

  “I don’t have NPS tattooed on my lip for nothing,” she said as the bartender returned and slid the beers across the counter to her.

  “NPS?” asked the mystery guy.

  She quirked an eyebrow at him over her shoulder. “No pussy shit.”

  His entire face lit up around his laugh as he tossed a wad of cash toward the bartender. “They’re on me.”

  “That doesn’t mean I’m going to share them with you,” she said as she juggled the three glasses against her chest. The condensation was cold against her skin, and a bead of water rolled down her cleavage as she stood and turned to go.

  The man stood too, his body dangerously close to hers, and blocked her exit. He was taller, but not overwhelmingly so. Maybe four inches. His shoulders were broader than she’d first realized, though, and shit, he smelled good.

  Slowly, she raised her eyes to meet his in what she hoped was a defiant look.

  “If we don’t bore you too much, maybe I’ll see you after the show.”

  She blinked, processing his words. “You’re in the band,” she concluded.

  He inclined his head toward her. “Smart, too.”

  A flash of movement caught the corner of her vision, and she glanced up to see Kayleigh waving at her from the center of the crowd. It was noticeably thicker than when she’d gone to the bar. Jo nodded her head to the side. “I should get back to my friends.”

  The man stepped back and gestured for her to pass. She was barely two paces away when he called after her, “Hey! Do you really have that tattoo?”

  She glanced at him over her shoulder, this time letting her eyes travel the length of him. She smiled a bit and said, “I guess you’ll never know.”

  People were crowding around the stage by the time Johanna reached the others, now with Liv, Addie, and the other three boys in tow. Jo could feel the man’s eyes on her as she walked away, and she’d be lying if she said she hadn’t purposefully overexaggerated the sway of her hips as she moved.

  The extra beers had barely left her hands before Kayleigh squealed, “Do you have any idea who you were just talking to?”

  Jo glanced over her shoulder again, but the guy from the bar was gone. When she turned back around, Kayleigh was beaming. She opened her mouth to say more, but then the overhead lights dimmed, and the room erupted in shouts and applause as the band crowded onto the small stage. The drummer and guitar player looked like sisters, both donning long, brown hair and deeply tanned skin.

  But it was the lead singer Johanna couldn’t look away from.

  There was something different about his presence now that he was on stage. He stood tall, shoulders thrown back, but everything about him radiated ease. His features looked almost contemplative as he pulled the microphone from its stand and scanned the crowd. The moment his gaze landed on Jo, heat burned from the roots of her hair to the tips of her toes. His grin
widened at the sight of her, and to her horror, he pointed at her, causing dozens of heads to turn in her direction.

  “This first song is for the girl whose name I will get out of her before the end of the night.”

  Half of the crowd disappeared before the end of the set, but the half that remained was eating up every second of it. The music was a little too punk for Johanna’s taste, but she had to admit, the man knew how to work a crowd. Every few minutes, his eyes would find her again, and it momentarily pinned her to the spot. His skin glowed beneath the spotlights, and he had the type of contagious energy that immediately electrified the rest of the room. Even the people who didn’t know the lyrics were bouncing around, sweating and screaming and grinding against one another—Kayleigh being one of them. Despite herself, Jo found herself bobbing to the beat and letting Kayleigh rope her into her dancing. Miller mainly just stood there, but at least he was smiling.

  Once the band finished their final song and the spotlights flickered off, the majority of the members headed for the bar, groups of fans trailing after them. Johanna’s mystery man, however, was nowhere to be seen.

  Addie and Liv had already dipped out halfway through the set with the other boys, taking an Uber back to campus to catch some house party near their dorm. Johanna did another quick scan of the crowd.