“Busy?” I asked.
“Nope. Everything ok?” There was a look of genuine concern on his face. I didn’t understand why he had this innate calling to protect me, but it was nice to know that I had someone here looking out for me.
“Yeah, I’m good. Sorry about that a few minutes ago, but I was wondering if maybe you and Maisha wanted to double with AJ and me for dinner.”
Judging by the look on his face, it was just now dawning on him that the 6’2” Asian guy in my room was AJ. “Uhhh….yeah! That’d be cool. I’ll call her in a while.” I nodded and turned to walk back to my room, but his question halted me. “I didn’t get you in too much trouble, did I?”
“No, not too much,” I smiled.
Terrell snickered, calling my attention to him again. “So, that was AJ?”
“Yeah, why you say it like that?” I knew what he was hinting at, but I wanted to see how uncomfortable I could make him.
Terrell shrugged. “I just didn’t realize that was your type of dude. I’m not knocking it or anything; I’m just a little….surprised. That’s all.”
I didn’t say anything, just scrunched up my face.
“Don’t get me wrong; you can like whoever you want to. Maybe I just assumed he’d be more like the guy we saw at the store.”
Again I stared, but didn’t say a word, enjoying the awkward discomfort that Terrell’s posture was giving off.
He fumbled for a response as I smiled and hurried back to my room without giving him a chance to dig himself in a deeper hole. When I walked in, AJ rushed off the phone and wouldn’t make eye contact with me. He quickly struck up conversation before I could ask him who he was talking to.
“What’d he say?” Was the question he forced out with his eyes focused on the floor.
“They’re coming.”
“They?” He stared at me curiously.
“His girlfriend Maisha’s coming too,” I explained. Judging by the look on AJ’s face, he wasn’t expecting that. He finally removed his shoes and then pulled his shirt off over his head.
“Mind if I use your shower?” He asked.
When he asked the question, I cringed. “Yeah, but let me straighten up in the bathroom first.” With a heavy sigh, I rolled my eyes and went in to clean after my filthy suitemates. Through the adjoining door, I could hear Jen and Bianca’s TV blaring. I had half a mind to drag them out of bed to help me, but I sucked it up and did it all myself.
By the time I finished, I’d broken a sweat and two nails. “Did you clean it or remodel it?” AJ asked when I returned.
I stuck my tongue out and then smiled as I set down the bottle of cleaning solution that I concocted, consisting of almost straight bleach. AJ smiled back and took the towel I set out for him. A few seconds later, the shower turned on and I plopped down on my bed.
God…..please let this dinner go well.
*****
AJ
It’s obvious that, to Sam, I was overreacting about this Terrell thing, but I hated the thought of being so far away and some other guy getting to hang out with my girl, spending time with her like I should’ve been able to do. I leaned my hands against the shower wall while the water beaded down my back, forcing myself to picture them together. He probably made her laugh and made her feel a little less lonely here without me. While, yeah, I wanted her to find that…..I just imagined it’d be with other girls, not a 6-foot-something, football player who seemed to have some sort of fixation with her. Thinking about it made me ball my fists.