“Okay, so we all agree. We meet at the Kappa house, stay there for a bit, and then head to King’s Wolf?” Em looks at Kami, Jake, and me before we all confirm the plans.
“Uno,” Kami says, laying a card down.
Em blows a breath out. “Kami, I’m trying to plan Levi’s and my birthday. I know it’s game night, but please, at least try to stop that smile from spreading across your face. We already know how much you love to win.”
I look at my cards. “Does Levi have a say in this?” Jake asks from beside me.
Em looks at him, offended, and I almost crack a smile. “Of course he does. It’s not our first year combining birthdays.”
Yeahhh, I don’t have much of a say. Birthdays aren’t my thing either way. Em’s birthday is only a week away from mine, that’s why we combined them in the first place. It’s taking place nextweekend. Like any other year, I only care about spending it with this group of people, as well as my girlfriend. Stevie’s currently in rehearsal on a Sunday, while my friends and I go about our traditional game nights that seem to be happening less and less lately.
The past month and a half has been fucking insane. Stevie and I have been spending all of our spare time together between her rehearsals and my job. But I’ve been neglecting my friends, and I hate that I’ve becomethatperson. They don’t resent me for it because they’re family. Still, it’s shitty of me to do.
Stevie seems to get along with her costars, and she and Brad have also become friends, so the past two weeks have been a bit more balanced. We eat together, sleep together, and fuck almost every day. The only time we don’t is when Stevie doesn’t feel well. It pisses me off that anytime she can’t do it, she apologizes. It reminds me of her fucker of an ex who made her feel like shit and like she had to be sorry for not pleasing him.
Other than that, we’ve been happy, and it’s the best relationship I’ve had to date.
Except for the fact that neither one of us has said “I love you” yet, and we’ve been official for about two months.
Two months is still a short amount of time.
That’s what I keep telling myself since I don’t know what the fuck is wrong with me and why I haven’t been able to say it.
“Whatever you want, Em,” I answer. “I’m just happy to be spending it with you guys.”
Jake leans over. “You know I’m not one to pry, but did you ever get with my friend Brian?”
I smirk at him because it’s true, he never pries when it comes to this kind of thing. “No, Jake, I never got the chance to. I was busy taking care of Em while Kami and Cam were fucking, remember?”
He nods. “Oh yeah, I disappeared later that night too.” Jake winks over at me, not mentioning the girl he spent the night with, who we never saw again after that day. We know that Jake gets around, and he’ll bring the girls out with us sometimes, but never the same girl twice.
“No presents,” I remind everyone. “Well, for me. Give Em whatever she wants.”
My friend’s blue eyes shine. The girl is one big ball of happy energy, and I don’t know how she doesn’t collapse from exhaustion with everything on her plate—doing homework, trying to get on the paper, having a social life, and participating in her extracurriculars.
The rest nod, but I bump Jake and narrow my eyes. He’s basically my brother and constantly takes care of me like one, but I refuse to accept a gift from him, especially since they’re always expensive.
He raises both hands. “I get it, no presents.”
That doesn’t convince me one bit.
“Movie time?” Kami asks, cutting the game short as always.
I check my watch and see that it’s only seven p.m. Stevie won’t get out for another two and a half hours. Perfect.
“Ideas?” Em asks. Then the debate starts. I let her and Jake run off to fetch snacks and argue about which movie to watch.
Kami begins to put the cards and game boards away, and I stand to help.
“How are things going with you and Stevie?” She looks down while asking, her voice neutral.
Kami has been quieter with her opinions since last semester, but she’s still protective of me. We sometimes hang out without the others, but it’s been a minute.
“We’re good.” I smile, thinking of my beautiful green-eyed girl. “She’s tired because of the show and classes. Nothing she can’t handle, though.” At least that’s what Stevie keeps tellingme. She’s been pushing herself a lot lately, but I know it’s because of how hard she worked toward getting this part. She motherfucking deserves all the praise she’ll get once it’s out.
“That’s great,” Kami says with a voice I know all too well.
I run a hand through my hair as we finish. “What do youreallywant to ask me?”
