He let me go to dig his phone from his pocket, swiped his thumb on the screen to turn it on, then handed it over. At the top was a notification for a text.
Abby: It was so good to see you on Wed.
Okay. That didn’t feel great to see, but it wasn’t my business. I went to his contacts and typed in my name. Another text came in.
Abby: I miss you too, you know.
Too? Mmhmm. She probably wouldn’t miss him if she knew where his tongue had just been.
Abby: Come over tonight. We should talk. Or not. We don’t have to talk. My bed is cold, baby.
I tossed his phone at him, making him scramble to catch it. “My number’s in there. You should check your texts, dude. Your girlfriend’s all kinds of thirsty.”
He caught my arm before I could leave, holding me while he read his texts. I tapped my foot impatiently in the grass, wishing I was the size of my attitude. I would have busted free with just my little pinkie as a weapon.
Tucking his phone away, he slipped his hand around mine and began walking. Since I was attached to him, I had to go with him.
“Um—”
“I’m taking you to the dorm,” he gritted out.
“I know where it is.”
“Stop fighting me. I had you soft for a minute, Helen. You were kissing me back, wanting it like I did. Then it was gone. All that soft covered by spikes and metal.”
I tried to pull my hand away, even though it was futile. “You have a girlfriend.”
“I don’t.”
“Then you have a complication I’m not interested in being part of. I’ll take a ride from you if it’s still on the table, but I’m not going any deeper than that. If the ride’s off the table, tell me now so I can look up the bus schedule.”
His hand tightened around mine. “You know I wouldn’t do that.”
He didn’t deny he had a complication. But honestly, it was there in black and white. What was there to deny?
“Fine. I’ll accept the ride and be grateful for it. But I don’t want to walk through campus holding hands, I don’t want to be pressed up against buildings, and most importantly, I don’t want to be kissed. I made the mistake of opening that door last weekend. Now, I’m rectifying it. I’ve got way too much going on in my life to deal with your complications too. Way too much, Theodore.”
“Okay.” He didn’t let go of my hand.
“Okay what?” I wiggled my fingers, but it was a no go.
“Okay. I heard what you said. We’ll see.”
“What will we see?”
“We’ll see where this goes. Right now, I don’t agree. You can close the door all you want, but I have the fucking key, so expect me to open it right back up.”
I sighed, long and ragged. “Oh my fuck, you’re demented. You are, aren’t you? Did a screw get knocked loose when you were performing homoerotic acts disguised as a sport or have you always been this way?”
That made him snort. “You’re calling wrestling homoerotic?”
Turning my head to look at him, I raised my brows. “Come on, dude. I saw the video where the guy had his face right in the other guy’s boner. It was hot, and if you try to convince me, that’s not the point of wrestling, I’ll laugh. Plus, the outfits? Spandex, two young, fit guys grabbing each other? I’m not buying it.”
Any other guy would have been pissed, but Theo laughed harder, letting go of my hand to wrap his arm around my shoulders and pull me deep into his side. And I liked it. Jesus, I liked hearing him laugh and having his arm around me like that.
Which meant I had to push him away. I couldn’t like it. I had no room for twinkly eyes or kissing under ancient trees or complications. Theo was all those and more—and I. Just. Could. Not. Do. It.
Even though a small, sparkly heart-shaped part of me wished I could.
I slipped from beneath his arm. He let me do it, probably because we were at my dorm. Most likely also because he knew he’d have me for hours tomorrow, and I’d have to be nice to him or he could leave me in L.A.
“Bye, Tiger,” he called after me.
Scrambling up the steps, I waved over my shoulder. I could still hear his low, lovely chuckle as I swiped my card to enter the dorm.
The faint buzz my interaction with Theo had given me evaporated when I entered my suite to find Elena lounging on the couch. Zadie was there too, a book in her lap in the armchair.
Elena’s eagle eyes landed on me immediately. “My, my, our little Helen is blushing. Were you having a rendezvous with your criminal boyfriend in the bushes again?”
I scoffed and tossed my skateboard next to the door. “Hi, Zadie. There’s no way you’re doing homework on a Friday.”
She was chewing on the corner of her lip. “I am. But only because if I get it all done tonight, I won’t have to think about school until Monday.”
“Genius,” Elena supplied. “If I didn’t have plans in an hour, I’d join you. Maybe next weekend.”
“Really?” Zadie asked.
“Mmhmm.” Elena nodded. “Lazy Sundays are my favorite, but I can get on board with lazy Saturdays too.”
“Well, I do other things, so—”
Elena sliced her perfectly manicured nails through the air. “Shhh…shhh. I know you probably volunteer to sew blankets for orphans or plant trees or something, but that’s not me. And you know, they say laziness is next to godliness.”
Zadie’s mouth fell open, but I shook my head. If Elena wanted to believe that was the saying, we should let her have it.
I went to the kitchenette, grabbed a soda from the mini-fridge, cracked it open, then started for my room. As much as I liked Zadie, I needed a nap before I faced another night at Savage Beauties. Plus…well, Elena.
“I’m taking a nap.” I hit the frame of my door.
“Getting ready for a long night at the strip club?” Elena asked.
I stopped, froze, my eyes darting to Zadie. Her cheeks bloomed with color. She had told our third, unwanted roommate where I worked. I was none too pleased. And disappointed. She’d always given me the impression of being real and loyal.
“Wow, Z.”
Zadie’s eyes went round, her pretty face the picture of innocence.
Elena untucked her legs and rose from the couch. “Oh, come off it. Zadie didn’t say shit. I used context clues to figure you out, girl. Skanky outfit, stack of one-dollar bills on your nightstand. You smell like perfume and desperation when you leave, and you come back with the scent of blue balls and old-man sweat clinging to you like a cloud. That reads strip club to me. You just confirmed it.”
“I waitress,” I said flatly. “But I think it’s interesting you so closely study me. Consider discussing that with your therapist.”
Elena pursed her lips. “Oooh, joking about mental health is such a sick burn.”
“And putting down sex work when you were born with a silver spoon crammed up your lily-white ass is about as privileged and narrow minded as it comes.”
I closed my door more gently than I thought myself capable and leaned heavy against it, tired down to my bones, and not from lack of sleep. Every day was a fight. It had been that way my whole life. Yeah, I brought some of it on myself. I knew that. I just didn’t know how to lower my fists. I’d give a lot for a peaceful living situation, but simply looking at Elena’s perfect, bitchtastic face made me pissy.