She raises a brow, clearly skeptical and confused at my easygoing tone. “Really? Like what?”
“Well, that you have great hair.” That makes her grin in appreciation. “That your teeth are in perfect shape.” She waves a hand in dismissal. “And that Andrew told her you were the worst sex he’s ever had. That was when he tried to win her back after she found out about you guys.” I inhale a sharp breath and cringe. “I recommend not using teeth during a blow job.”
All three of them are now gaping at me with their mouths wide open. Andrew, who I’d expected to punch me, is now aspale as a sheet of paper. Tiffany looks horrified, and Stevie looks stunned.
Shrugging, I put my arm over my friend’s shoulders. “Let’s get out of here and go to our apartment, babe. Tiffany, Andrew, a pleasure.”
Stevie doesn’t shrug me off or fight me as I guide her off the dance floor, and while I don’t look back at the dicks I just met, I can still hear them over the music.
“You live with him?!” Andrew yells.
“I used my teeth one time, you fucking asshole!” Tiffany screeches, and I have to bite my lip to hold a laugh in.
Who knew I’d be right on the nose when it came to the blonde and her oral skills? Sure, it was a petty move, but I could tell she was completely superficial, and tearing her ego down would be the exact kind of thing she fucking needed.
Once we’re outside of King’s Wolf, Stevie shrugs my arm off and walks in front of me. I expected this reaction since I gave her no warning of what I would say or do.
“Stevie, please wait.” She halts in her tracks. “I’m sorry if I overstepped—fuck, I know I did, but those assholes deserved it and more.”
Her glossy green eyes meet mine. “I’m not sure whether to cry, scream, or laugh.”
I hesitate because the woman really does look so confused about how to feel. Even after all that, she’s not letting one tear fall, and I admire her bravery.
“You can do all three in no particular order?” I offer.
She doesn’t move. Instead, her face becomes serious. “You overstepped, Levi.”
“I know, I’m sorry?—”
“But you also saved my butt back there, so…” She clears her throat. “Thank you.”
I blink a couple of times. “No problem.”
She sighs. “I’ll give you a heads-up the next time I need saving.” Stevie begins to walk back to the apartment again, and we’re silent for a while until I break.
“If you want to talk about it, I’m here,” I say gently.
Stevie’s laugh is shaky. “I think you got the gist of what happened. I’ll tell you the details some other time. Right now, I need to process that my former friends, who were never really my friends, hid everything from me for who knows how long.” She quickly wipes under her eyes.
Right, what Tiffany said about them going out for the past year without her. There are still so many questions I have. When did it start? How long till she found out about it? When did she find out about it? But those questions will have to wait. Stevie will be my roommate for the rest of the semester, and hopefully, my friend for a long time afterward. When she feels comfortable enough, she’ll tell me…hopefully.
We reach the apartment, and the clock in the kitchen reads that it’s only midnight. She heads straight to the bathroom and after she’s done there, tosses me a quick good night and shuts the door to her room. While I get ready for bed, I open the bathroom door in case she needs anything. There are no sounds of sobs, yelling, or falling, but the light that peers under her door remains on, and I swear I can hear the sound of crumpling paper being thrown till four a.m.
STEVIE
Three hours and a half a bag of BBQ chips later, and my list is finally done.
LEVI
“Bullshit.” Kami points at me and narrows her eyes.
I run a hand through my hair. “Fuck.”
Kami dances a little in her place, and the rest of us groan as she wins another round of Bullshit. She’s scarily good at this game. We’d all thought Jake had the best poker face, but no, it’s Kamila all the way when it comes to Bullshit.
“Movie time?” Jake asks.
We all nod as we continue the routine that is our Sunday game nights. They don’t happen every week, but we try to do them as often as possible. No boyfriends or girlfriends, only the four of us. Which is becoming rarer with Kami’s jobs and her boyfriend. Along with Em fighting to get on the school paper, theDriscoll Wolf Weekly, named after our mascot, and Jake’s parents hounding him on everything that is going on in his life. The closer we get to graduation, the less time we spend together, and that fucking sucks. But it’s still a year and a half away…who knows where we’ll be by then?
