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It was not a small problem.
My hands were on my hips, my lips clamped as I stared down at my open suitcase in disbelief. Three unopened boxes of tampons, two crumpled T-shirts, a pair of yoga pants, a handful of hair elastics, a small pouch of tuna-flavored cat treats, an unidentified remote controller (with the batteries taken out for some reason), my passport, and an empty bottle of wine. That was what drunk Ria had packed for this trip. Cat treats and an empty bottle of wine in lieu of underwear.
Oh, and I had nothing to wear to the big party that Adrien had failed to warn me about before we arrived.
Fuck my mess of a life.
I sauntered out of my designated closet with my hands stuffed into the back pockets of my jeans. Adrien was sitting at the oak desk again, working away on his laptop.
“Hey, any chance there’s a mall close by here somewhere?” I asked him, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.
He didn’t look up. “There’s a big one ten minutes away. Driving.”
“And what are the chances you’d be cool with me slipping away for a couple of hours tomorrow?”
“Do whatever you want, just be back here in time for dinner. I’m going to be working most of the day anyway.”
Huh. Well, that was easy.
“And, um, we haven’t discussed sleeping arrangements yet,” I said more quietly. Just in case anyone was outside.
That got his full attention. “Didn’t we already agree I’d sleep in the bathtub?”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m not going to make you sleep in a bathtub for ten nights, Adrien. Unlike you, I actually have a conscience.”
He snorted. “Thanks. I’ll take the floor then, on the right side of the bed. You can sleep on the left. That way you won’t be tempted to stomp on my face in the middle of the night and pretend like it was an accident.”
I bit my bottom lip to stop the smile from forming. He’d plucked that one straight out of my revenge fantasies. “I’m good with that.”
“Great.”
“Cool.”
It was a natural end to the conversation, but I lingered. “And what was with you and Alice at dinner? Anything I should know?”
“It’s nothing,” he said after a short pause.
I crossed my arms, deciding to give him one more chance to tell me the truth. “Are you sure?”
This pause was even longer.
“You’re staring, Cloutier,” I said.
He didn’t crack a smile. “Can I ask you something?”
“That depends. What is it?”
He shut his laptop. “Why didn’t you go to college?”
That had been at the bottom of the list of things I’d been expecting him to ask. It was a good thing I had my answer locked, loaded, and practiced to perfection.
I shrugged. “I didn’t want to.”
I’d said it so many times that it didn’t even feel like a lie anymore. Almost like I’d convinced myself that it was true.
“Bullshit.”
I tensed slightly, my arms pressing tighter to my chest. “Not everyone can afford a university education, Adrien.”
