Her face softens. But then her phone rings, goddamn it. And I don’t blame her for checking it because she’s been waiting for this call since we got home.
“Hold that thought,” my girl says. “But, actually, your timing is a little weird. Because there’s someone else who needs to be your roommate.”
“What?” I try to guess what she means and come up blank. “Like, a threesome?” I joke.
“Riiiight. Only your mind would go there,” she says as the concierge’s buzzer rings. Jess marches over, grabs the handset and says, “Send her up.”
Even I forget that we were sort of having a moment there, because Jessie disappears into the hallway and shuts the door behind her.
“You know you just locked yourself out, right?” I call through the wood.
“Guess I should have asked for my own key first,” she replies.
I hear low voices a minute later. Jess confers with someone, then taps politely on the door. “Blake? Are you ready to be surprised?”
When I pull open the door, Jess is standing there with a nervous smile on her face and a chocolate lab puppy in her arms.
Holy shit.
Shyly, she says, “This guy is all yours if you want. Jamie and I will walk him when you’re on the road. And there’s a doggy daycare just four blocks away if you want him to have more fun…”
I should probably be listening to every word she says, but that’s hard when the puppy opens his mouth in a goofy smile and looks up at me.
“Oh!” I reach for him. “Aren’t you the cutest thing I’ve ever seen?” I hold him up and he wiggles in my hands, his soft puppy fur tickling my wrists. I stroke his floppy ears as I gape at Jess. “Where did you get him? Puppies cost a mint.”
“Well, after I heard what happened to your dog, I called Paula from Broken Paws and told her I wanted to get you a dog. And she had a pregnant one at the shelter.”
“No way. Puppies go quickly, though.”
Jess smiles. “She saved him for you because that woman would do anything for you. And if you decide this idea of mine is just too crazy, she said she could find another home for him with one phone call.”
I let the puppy lick my nose. Cheezus. I’ve had him for under five minutes and already there’s no way I’m letting him go.
“I love him,” I declare. Then I catch myself, because I’m not going to profess my love for a dog—even one as cute as this—before I say it to my girlfriend. “Wait. I love you. So move in with me.”
Her chest expands with a big breath. She rocks back on her heels and smiles at the ceiling. “Okay. It’s a little nutty, but I’ll do it. I want to be with you.”
“It’s not nutty,” I object. “Well…” That line of argument is a lost cause because I’m a little nutty all the time. It’s part of my charm. “Embrace the nutty, J-Babe. Move in. Study for your tests on the couch with the puppy. Sleep naked in my bed.” I take a step closer and touch my lips to hers. “You make Blake Riley Smiley.”
“I know,” she says, kissing me back.
The puppy thumps its stubby tail against my chest and everything is perfect.
32 The KissCam Starts Now, Fans
Jess
For the very last time, I stand in front of the tiny dorm room mirror on the back of our door and check my outfit. “What do you think?” I ask Violet. I’m wearing skinny black jeans and a low-cut cashmere sweater, my boobs hiked up to my chin by my most ambitious bra.
“You look hot. As usual.” Violet sits on her own bed with a textbook, looking blue. “You know there’s a quiz tomorrow, right?”
“Yep. I studied all afternoon. It’s going to have to do.”
“Because you have other things to do tonight. Like Blake Riley.” Violet tries to apply her usual snippy tone to this remark, but it doesn’t quite work. She watches me with jealous eyes.
“Take a study break, Violet,” I urge. “Call Keith. Have a quickie and then quiz each other.”
“He’s gone to a bar to watch the game on TV.”
“So go with him?”
She just shakes her head. Apparently her folks were less than pleased with her exam performance last month, so she’s hitting the books harder than ever these days. “It just won’t be the same around here without you.” She casts an eye over the duffel bag and two boxes on the bed. Jamie will show up any minute now to pick me up. After the game we’ll unload my stuff in the parking garage of what is now my building, too.
“Violet, you won’t miss me. Think of all the quiet you’ll get now. And nobody will eat Cup o’ Noodles on the sly and hide the evidence in the student lounge trash.”
She looks properly horrified. “Cup o’ Noodles? Gross.”
“They’re very budget friendly.”
“What’s budget friendly?” my brother asks from the doorway.
“Hey! You look great,” I tell him. “Even if that shirt is an awfully bright color for you.”
Jamie looks down at the lime-green check pattern on his shirt and smiles. “I love this shirt. Are you ready to go?”
“Born ready.” But now Violet looks stricken. “Okay, let’s hug it out, bitch.”
My roommate gets off the bed and gives me one of her angular hugs. The girl could take some lessons from Mama Riley.