There’s no small measure of mixed parts relief and regret washing through me when Carter turns to me and offers a smile as he pats my thigh. “We should think about heading back to the dorm. It’s after eleven.”
I nod. “Oh, sure. Yeah.” This evening spun past me in a flash.
“I had fun tonight, guys,” Susa says. When I look, her gaze is fixed onme.
Heat races through me and I nod. “Me, too.”
“Same time tomorrow, then? We have plenty of leftovers.” She smirks so much like Carter I’d wonder if they were related if I didn’t know they aren’t. “Bring your laundry tomorrow.”
“That’s right,” Carter says to me. “Time for you to start making good on that.”
“Sure.” I don’t mind. It’s more time I can spend with Susa. And it means it’s money I don’t have to spend on the washers at the dorm.
Likehellwill I complain.
I don’t know when the “we” of me and Carter became a threesome, but I can’t say I totally mind it, either.
Maybe I’ll let Carter drive us in the Snot Box tomorrow.
Hey, I’ll take all the chances I can to look as good as I can to Susa.
* * * *
“Well, she seems nice,” Carter says as I drive us back.
“Yeah.”
“And you don’t really have to do my laundry if you don’t want to.”
“No, a deal’s a deal.” I opt to joke around with him. “Unless you’d rather have the blowjob.”
He laughs, an easy, relaxed sound. “That’s a hard choice, right there. Don’t tempt me too much. It’s been a long damn time.” But he lets the joke fade into a comfortable silence broken only by my radio playing a local rock station.
We’re almost all the way back to the dorm when he speaks again. “What do you want to do for your birthday?”
That’s six weeks away. This first week of classes, I’ll be lucky if I can remember to take a shower on a daily basis.
Then again, with Susa to look good for, that might not be so difficult after all. “I don’t know. I really hadn’t thought about it. Why?”
“I’ll take you out. My treat. I mean, twenty-one, that’s a cool birthday. I’ll drive. Get you home safe. Unless you’re supposed to go home to see your family or something.”
“God, Ihopenot,” I mutter. I finally realize my mother has yet to call or text me since I’ve been in Tampa. I’ve texted her at least once a day since moving in, knowing if I don’t, it’ll piss her off.
She’s allowed to ignore me, but the converse doesn’t apply.
Never has.
“That sounds like a story,” he says.
“Just a continuation of what I told you already.” I think about his offer to go out. “Okay, yeah, sure. I’d enjoy going out with you. Thanks.”
“We can even ask Susa if she wants to come with, if you want.”
I bite my tongue not to jump all over that. “Oh, sure. Yeah, that’d be fine.”
“Or would you rather celebrate it on a Friday night?”
My birthday’s on a Thursday. But come to think of it… “Yeah. Let’s do that.” I pull into our dorm building’s parking lot.
