“By one inch!” I retorted. Sure, maybe Taylor’s shoulders were slightly broader than mine, and he was a tiny bit more built, but it’s not like I was a scrawny twig that he could crush.
“Well, I’m going to have more guests over.”
“Guests?” I echoed.
“Hook ups,” he clarified.
“Yeah, well, me too. That’s not a reason for you to have my room.”
“Come on. Who’d agree to sleep with you?”
Okay, that hurt. I tried not to let it show on my face, even though he’d unknowingly targeted one of my biggest insecurities. “Fuck off,” I said with as much venom as I could. To my surprise, he did leave me alone, returning back to his bedroom with a slam of his door.
I took a few deep breaths and tried to calm myself down. There was no reason to panic about the fact that I’d be stuck with Taylor — Taylor, the guy who made me feel physically sick — for the rest of the year.
Look on the bright side. Maybe he’d flunk out and drop out of college. I let myself indulge in that fantasy for five seconds before remembering just how clever Taylor was. It’d be more likely that I’d drop out before he did.
Don’t worry about it, I told myself.It’s fine. You’re at Halverton! There’s no time to be depressed or anxious.
With that, I returned my focus to my grocery list.
The next few days went by quickly, and Taylor and I didn’t speak to each other once. I ran errands and met fellow first years.
Soon enough it was Sunday night, and I returned to 407 after having dinner with some of the new friends I’d made. I was in high spirits…until I saw Taylor in the living room, with three guys I’d never seen before. One of them jumped up to greet me. He was short, and had freckles all over his face. “Hey,” he said. “You must be Taylor’s roommate. I’m Matty. What’s your name?”
I blinked at him, startled by his friendliness. “Archie,” I managed.
“Nice to meet ya,” he said.
One of the other guys, who was sitting on the carpet by the coffee table, raised his beer can. “Hey, wanna join us?”
“Um.” I glanced at Taylor, who wasn’t looking at me. Instead, he was wearing a relaxed smile. That’s right. He had to pretend not to be an asshole in front of these guys. “That’s alright, I’m pretty tired.”
“Bullshit,” Matty said, grabbing my arm and dragging me to the couch. “It’s not even eight. Come join us, we’ve even got booze.” He pushed a beer can against my chest. He patted a spot on the carpet, and I sat down beside him, only realising afterwards that I was opposite Taylor.
His eyes flickered over me, and for a brief second, I saw what it was like to be looked at by him without disgust, before he shifted his gaze.
The other guys, whose names I immediately forgot, explained they were playing Never Have I Ever in order to get to know each other better. They had only just started, so I was right on time.
Then we were playing. Matty was reading the questions off a website, so they were tame enough to start with. Never have I ever sneaked out of the house, attended a house party, stayed in a hotel without parental supervision. We all drank to those, and soon enough I had finished my first beer can.
I started on my second. Now came the questions about drugs, and I didn’t drink to any of them, not even the one about trying weed. Surprisingly, most of the other guys didn’t drink to those either.
Since we weren’t drinking, we decided to make up our own questions instead of relying on a website, so our beer wouldn’t go warm. We said the most obvious things as excuses to take swigs. Never have I ever visited another state. Never have I ever driven a car. Never have I ever pulled an all nighter. Never have I ever had a crush on a teacher.
An hour later, the coffee table was littered with empty beer cans. I was tipsy, laughing even when something wasn’t particularly funny. Matty and I were already best friends, with our arms slung over each other’s shoulders, swaying together as we sung songs. The other dudes looked relaxed too. Even Taylor seemed happier than usual, his cheeks glowing pink. On any other guy, I would’ve called it cute.
Guy? I meant girl. If those rosy cheeks were on a girl, she would have been cute.
“Let’s talk about sex, baby,” one of the guys sang. “Never have I ever…had sex.”
“Ugh, that’s so boring,” the other guy complained as he drank.
I watched everyone else take a sip, and quickly took a sip of my beer too. Yeah, I was lying, but no one wouldever know.
“Say something actually hard,” Matty said.
“Fine, fine. Never have I ever…eaten pussy.”
