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“Hey,” I say, shifting my tone and the subject, “any idea why Elias stood me up at the library yesterday? We were supposed to study and he never showed.”
Her mouth curls downward and she shakes her head. “No clue. I saw him this morning and he never mentioned it.”
“It’s so weird. He always shows.”
Crew comes back in the room pushing a dolly. His annoyance is apparent as he drops the dolly down and rests his arm on the box. He wipes the sweat from his forehead with his bare arm.“The mattress is the last one.”
I smile sheepishly. “Thanks, Crew.” I go in for a hug but stop myself, turning up my nose.
“What?” He huffs, before sniffing his own pits. “Do I smell that bad?”
Riley waves her hand over her nose. “I can smell you from here.”
Crew smirks. “Get your cute little ass over here.” He walks toward me, but I step back for each one he takes.
“Stop. Go take a shower. You smell worse than that fifty-year-old mattress.”
My back hits the far wall and he reaches out to grab me. “Oh yeah? That bad, huh?”
He pulls my body to his, while I laugh and shriek at the same time. Then, in one swift motion, he spins me around and tackles me onto the old mattress.
I squirm and fight, trying to crawl out from underneath him, but when his lips land on mine, I surrender.
With two hands pinned over my head, Crew grinds himself against my core, not giving a damn that we have an audience. “I’m gonna take a shower then we need to break in that new mattress.”
I purse my lips and nod. “Can’t wait.”
Crew climbs off me, tips his chin to Riley, finally acknowledging her, before he leaves the room.
Once the door closes behind him, I jump off the nasty bed, and Riley is in my face, demanding answers. “What the actual fuck was that?”
Riley doesn’t know the details of my relationship with Crew right now. In fact, Riley doesn’t know much of anything pertaining to my life. It actually makes me feel like a shitty friend, but being raised in a society like this one, you learn that the less people know, the better. I’m sure she understands why I don’t divulge much information about my past, and it’s also why I haven’t pried into hers.
My cheeks flush as I turn away to avoid eye contact. “Things have been…developing.” I leave it at that, knowing she will dig for more on her own.
The next thing I know, she’s back in my face, hands on my shoulders, forcing me to look at her. “Developing?” She drags out the word, her eyes quizzically reading mine.
I shrug my shoulders, letting them dance for a minute before saying, “Yeah. Developing.”
“Uh-uh.” Her head shakes. “We aren’t leaving it at that. I knew you had history with Crew. Knew you were moving in here as an end to the games…” (Yeah. I told her that. See—shitty friend.) “But I had no idea you and Crew were on tickling terms.”
“Tickling terms.” I laugh at the phrase she’s termed for whatever Crew and I have going on. “We’re just starting over. That’s all. As you know, we once had a thing and we’ve decided to put the past where it belongs, and this is where it’s leading us.” I say it all so casually, but there is nothing casual about Crew and me. Not just the relationship that’s budding, but also the past that’s still greeting us at every turn.
Her hands drop from my shoulders and her expression becomes more serious, which is exactly what I wanted to avoid. “So, you like him?”
I nod subtly, while searching for the right response, but the only one that comes to mind is the truth. “Yeah. I do like him.” A lot actually, but I don’t tell her that. Feelings are not something I like to discuss, not even with my therapist back home. It took a solid three months before I even opened my mouth to speak in that office. Once I did, though, it all came out. Riley reminds me a lot of Dr. Barnes, always forcing me to open up and let the truth out.
All the air expels from my lungs when Riley squeezes my chest to hers in a tight hug. “I’m sure outside of this place, that asshole is a wonderful person.” The seriousness in her tone has me busting out laughing.
“Nah. He’s pretty much still an asshole, but he’s my asshole.”
I purse my lips tightly.Did I really just say that?Is Crew really mine? A short time ago, he belonged to Maddie. If it weren’t for the accident, he’d probably still belong to her. Guilt gnaws at my stomach, much like it does every time Crew and I are together as a couple.
A knock at the door has Riley releasing her hold on me. “Come in,” I say loud enough for the person on the other side to hear.
“You’re pretty brave,” Riley says, “not knowing who it is and all.”
“Eh. It’s gotta be Crew or Jagger. Neo would never knock.”
