“Besides, this way we can help you with your suitcase,” says Felix, taking it from me.
“It’s good to see you,” says Lukas, leaning down to kiss me on the lips, but at the last second I turn my head so his kiss barely brushes against my cheek. I can feel Ronnie’s “I told you so” eyes boring into me, but I ignore her. Lukas should have known better than to try to kiss me in public, and I can’t believe I almost let him do it. Thank god I came to my senses and turned my head.
“We also get to officially meet your roommate,” says Elliot.
“Very impressive memory,” murmurs Ronnie, sticking out her hand. “I’m Veronica, but you, handsome man, may call me Ronnie.” She winks.
“Thanks.” Elliot shakes Ronnie’s hand quickly before dropping it like it burned him. He shuffles closer to me, almost using me like a shield between him and my ridiculous roommate.
“Stop teasing them, Ronnie.” I tell her. “You’re making them uncomfortable.”
She laughs, the sound echoing off the dormitory. “But it’s so fun.”
“Not for them.” Usually when she makes men squirm it’s funny, because they deserve it. But these four don’t, and I don’t want Ronnie being mean to them.
“Sorry.” Ronnie shakes out her body and stands more naturally, her tone sobering. “You’re right. That was uncool of me. It’s nice to meet all of you.”
“Nice to meet you too,” says Elliot, standing straighter and looking a little more comfortable, even if he is shooting glances over to me.
“So,” says Ronnie, “you’re taking my friend away for a long weekend?”
“It’s the International Cubing Federation national competition,” answers Lukas, clearly more comfortable with the switch to direct questioning. “We’re competing.”
“So if you’ll be busy competing, will Rebecca be sitting alone in a room full of strangers for the whole weekend?” Ronnie crosses her arms, ready to take them on. I can’t tell if she really didn’t realize they were competing, or if she’s messing with them again.
“She won’t be alone, we won’t be backstage the whole time, and—” Sebastian starts, but I cut him off.
“Ronnie, be nice. They’re doing me a favor by taking me so I can use it as research for my article.” There’s no reason for Ronnie to be so protective of me. Even if I am sitting alone all weekend, who cares? I’m good at being alone. It’s kind of my whole thing.
“She’s just looking out for you,” says Felix, placing a calming hand between my shoulder blades. “We understand that, and you have nothing to worry about, Ronnie. We only have good intentions.”
“Okay, well, don’t betoonice. Rebecca deserves a little dirty in her life.” Ronnie sounds dead serious when she says this, and I purse my lips, glaring at her.
The guys just stare from her to me to each other, uncertain what to do. Felix drops his hand from my back, covering his mouth with it like he’s suppressing a laugh, and Lukas also looks like he’s amused by Ronnie. Sebastian looks vaguely confused, though, and Elliot looks like he wants to melt into the sidewalk.
“Okay, this has been terrible. You’re the worst. We’re going to go.” I wrap Ronnie in a hug, because she’s my best friend and her heart is in the right place even if she is embarrassing as hell.
“Go have fun. Get out of your head,” she whispers before stepping out of our hug. To the guys, she adds, “Be safe. I want Rebecca back when you’re done.”
“Nice meeting you,” says Lukas, waving once before settling his hand on my lower back and guiding me down the sidewalk to where they parked.
It’s silly—I don’t need him to guide me to the car, and it’s toeing the line of boyfriend behavior. But it’s kind of nice to have the weight and warmth of Lukas’s hand on my back. I haven’t forgotten all the things that hand can do, and has done, to me, and as soon as I have the thought, my mind starts up a replay of last weekend.
By the time we get to the car, I’m blushing. If they ask, I’ll blame it on the weather. Maybe they’ll believe my face is red from the cold.
They place my school bag and suitcase with theirs in the trunk. It looks like they’ve only packed two suitcases for the four of them. I’ve clearly overpacked, but I didn’t know what to bring for the weekend.
Elliot turns around in the driver’s seat before starting the car. “You sure you have everything you need? It’ll be hard to turnaround once we get on the road, and it’ll already be late when we get there even if we don’t have to come back.”
“I think I have everything, yeah.”
“If there is anything you’re missing, we can always buy a new one there,” says Lukas, taking my right hand and lacing our fingers.
Elliot pulls out of the parking lot, and the trip has officially begun.
“How was your week?” asks Felix, taking my left hand. “We haven’t heard from you much.”
“Fine. Just busy, trying to get a little ahead of things in case I don’t have much chance to study this weekend.” It’s not an outright lie, but it’s not the whole truth. I don’t want to ruin the vibe for our whole car ride, but this week has been pretty shit. My classes are getting harder. Carl has been belittling as always. And Brad is being even more creepy and rude than usual.
