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“Hey, that’s my thing. I say that.”
“Maybe I’m adopting it.”
“Nope, I didn’t allow it.”
“Maybe you don’t have a choice.”
“We’ll see…” I said, moving aside so she could get up and off the bed. “We’ll see.”
“Until this afternoon,” she said, kissing me gently but tugging on my bottom lip with her teeth. Pretending to grimace, I tickled her abdomen. She giggled and ran to the bathroom, turning back once to smile.
“I’ll let myself out, but I’ll meet you when your shift ends this afternoon.”
“Wait,” she said, looking disappointed, leaning her hip into the door frame. She was wearing tiny cotton shorts and a tank top. She was absolutely captivating. “I was hoping you’d join me…you know, in the shower.”
“Are you serious?”
She bit down on her lip again, nodding. “Get in here, Johansen.”
Ripping off my T-shirt and boxers, I sprinted to her bathroom. “I thought you’d never ask.”
“You just got laid,” Ruben said when I ran into him in the hallway on my way back to my room. I hadn’t been there in a couple of days and figured I should take a shower—a real one—and throw all my dirty laundry into one of the washers downstairs before meeting Tilly later that afternoon.
“What?” I asked, shocked. “How did you—I mean, what?”
I was tripping over my words, which made Ruben chuckle. “It’s obvious. Plus, you know, you’ve been at that video store girl’s apartment all week. Marissa told me about her.”
“Ah, yeah. Her name is Tilly, and she’s…important.”
“Good for you, man. I had a feeling that night at the store. You were just…different around her. Like you’d seen a ghost, but in a good way,” he said.
“No truer words have ever been spoken, my friend.”
Ruben scratched the back of his head. “I mean, Dahlia was hoping things would work out for you and Marissa when you decided to come to the concert, but she’ll forgive you. Eventually.”
I laughed. “God, I hope so.”
“I’m just playing, man. Marissa told us all about her. It’s all good; Dahlia will get over it.”
“Cool.”
“We’re hanging out if you wanna come by. Might go to that comic book store later.”
“Wait. But we just went!”
“I know, but now the girls are hooked, and who am I to say no?” Ruben shook his head, lifted one shoulder, and waved. “I’ll see ya, man.”
Ruben walked back into his room, and I retreated to mine. Jeremy was sitting in his usual spot at his desk with a textbook in front of him. He looked up at me, his face impassive.
“Oh, good. You’re not dead,” he deadpanned. And even after living with the guy for almost an entire school year, I couldn’t figure out if that was him giving me shit or if he was genuinely relieved to see that I was alive. Or neither.
“Yeah, I’m uh…I’m sorry about that. I should’ve called.”
He shrugged, stone-faced. “It’s fine. I figured if something actually happened to you, the R.A. would tell me.”
That’s an interesting take on the situation.
“Um, right,” I said, narrowing my eyes. “I guess so.”
