“What is that supposed to mean?” she demands. Her heels stomp across the floor. She’s at the foot of the bed now. I can picture her perfectly: hands on her hips, chin up, blue eyes shooting fire.
“Get out,” she says. “Whoever you are, get the fuck out from under there.”
Chase’s hand leaves my head. “Maybe you should go, Britt.”
“Like hell I’m leaving.” I feel the covers being grabbed. “I want to see what slut you?—”
She yanks the comforter back.
The light is blinding for a second. Then I see her face. Brittany’s staring down at me, her perfectly made-up face a mask of shock and disgust. Her blonde hair is pulled back in a high ponytail, and she’s wearing the same red dress she wore on our date two weeks ago.
“Finn?” She breathes the word.
There I am, lying in my ridiculous reindeer boxers, one hand on Chase’s thigh, the other on his junk, looking like I was interrupted mid-blowjob.
“Hey, Brittany,” I say, my voice surprisingly steady.
She looks from me to Chase, then back to me. The gears are turning behind her eyes, trying to compute this impossible equation. This wasn’t in her playbook.
“What are you… how do you… I don’t understand,” she stammers.
“That makes two of us,” I say, pushing myself up to a sitting position, moving my hands to a more PG-rated spot on the mattress. I keep my eyes locked on hers.
“Funny story,” Chase says calmly. “We met at the jewelry store. Buying something expensive and shiny for you.” Hegestures to the black boxes on the coffee table. “Bold move to have us buy you a matching set, Britt.”
Brittany’s face goes through about five different expressions before landing on defensive. “This is a joke. Some kind of prank.”
“No joke,” I say. “I spent three hundred dollars on that bracelet, by the way. Hope it was worth it.”
“Anyway,” Chase goes on. “We got to talking, and it turns out we have a lot in common. You, for instance. But then something else happened.” He looks at me, and I catch that flicker of a dangerous smile. “We got to know each other. We found out we have chemistry.”
This is it. Our big performance. I lean into it and press my hand against Chase’s bare chest. His skin is warm and smooth. “Chemistry’s one word for it,” I say, letting a small smile pull at my mouth.
Brittany lets out a short, incredulous laugh. Her cheeks have gone pink. Her eyes dart around the room, landing anywhere but on me. I see her clock the clothes on the floor, the empty beer cans, the black boxes on the table.
“I know, it surprised me too,” Chase says, reaching over to put his hand on my knee. “One minute we’re comparing lies you told us, the next, I had him in my bed.”
“Okay, stop. Just stop.” Brittany holds up her hands. “Look, I can explain. This whole thing is a misunderstanding.”
“A misunderstanding?” Chase raises an eyebrow.
“Yes.” She takes a deep breath, then looks straight at Chase. “I’ve been dating you. Only you. Finn here… I don’t know what he told you, but we hung out a few times. As friends. He clearly read way more into it than there was.”
My stomach drops. “Are you serious right now?”
She finally looks at me, and her expression is almost pitying. “Finn, come on. We grabbed coffee a couple times. Studiedtogether. I was just being nice. I thought we were friends. I’m sorry if you got the wrong idea.”
“You were in my bed last night!”
“I came over to study and fell asleep watching a movie. That’s it.” She turns back to Chase. “Baby, you have to believe me. I don’t know why he’s making this into something it’s not. You’re the only one I care about.”
I can’t believe any of this. How could someone be so cunning? Her eyes are wide and earnest, her voice full of hurt, like she’s the victim in all this. My hands clench into fists.
My fear is that she’s so convincing that Chase might be buying it. If he takes her side, if they both turn on me, I won’t stand a chance.
I wait for the inevitable. For him to tell me to leave. For me to grab my clothes and get the fuck out of his room so he and Brittany can have a good laugh.
But that’s not what happens.
