I swallow hard. It’s a game. He thinks by intimidating me, he’ll run me off and he can have his precious room back to himself. Bully for him, I’m made of harder stuff, and it’ll take more than some stupid threat to scare me off. This is my future, and I won’t let some spoiled little prick take that from me.
Crouching down, I run my tongue along the floor trying not to think of how disgusting this is, while I look up at Chase. He’s mesmerized, watching me with rapt attention as I lick up every last crumb. When I’m sure I’ve picked them all up, I stand, not breaking eye contact.
"So, about that project for music theory?" I ask, needing to fill the void of silence. The way he looks at me makes me feel unnerved. Like he's upset about me being here, but also like he doesn't know what to make of me. Well same here, buddy. He definitely isn't my first choice of roommate.
"We can discuss it tomorrow,” he says, walking out of the kitchen and back over to where his bed is located. I smile, knowing I won that round. As soon as he’s back in his bed, I make a beeline for my luggage and grab my toiletries. Locking the door behind me, I wash out my mouth, taking extra care to scrub the feel of the nasty floor from my tongue. After I finish, I strip out of my sweat coated clothes and step into the shower. I let the water heat up while my mind spirals.
I'm so far behind in every class, I don't know how I'm ever going to catch up. I've already been assigned two group projects, one paper, and three reading assignment. It's all so overwhelming and I can feel the beginnings of a headache blooming in my temples.
My brain feels loud as the water rushes over my scalp. There's a list of never-ending tasks that I run through while the shampoo lathers in my hair. The warm water is a welcome balm to my aching muscles, ebbing away some of the tension I've been carrying around.To ease the stress, I find myself singing, as I usually do when I need to let off some steam. The words and music light my soul on fire, and all my problems melt away.
When I emerge from the bathroom, dressed in my pajamas that areArcanethemed, Chase has moved from his bed to the couch with the guy I saw yesterday.
“Nice singing,” Chase says.
I can’t tell if he’s being annoying or if he actually means the compliment. Crossing my arms over my chest, I feel awkward while trying to cover up that I'm not wearing a bra. A part of me hoped that Chase would be sleeping so I could look up ways to curse him on my phone.
"Hey." The guy says with a nod. I can't remember his name, but his butt is directly on the pillow I'd been using. Lovely.
“Hi,” I say back, but he's zoned back in on a game. Chase sits on the other end of the couch eating from a bag of chips. Being here like this makes me feel like such an outsider. They have their established friendship, and I've been plopped here like a freeloader. My wet hair drips down my back, so I go and grab my hairbrush from the luggage, trying to find something to busy myself so I don't feel like an even bigger idiot than I already do.
A knock comes from the door, and neither Chase, nor his friend make any move to get it.Fine. Guess I’ll grab it.
"Hi, can I help you? Oh! Good my mattress is here." I say, opening the door to an exhausted looking maintenance worker. "Can you set it down over there?" I ask, pointing to the clear space across the room. It's over in the corner near the windows, a respectable distance away from where Chase's bed is. There's a half wall that offers little privacy, but there's enough space for the twin mattress.
"I thought you said you didn't need this?" The man asks, and I swivel my head to glare at a smug looking Chase. Oh, that rat bastard. I knew there was something fishy about the mattress situation.
"My mistake,” he says, turning his attention back to the game and shoving a handful of orange chips into his mouth.
This jerk. Now I'm not even sorry that I ate his lunchmeat. I wish I took even more.
The maintenance worker sets up the bed with and hands me a note detailing where I can pick up the rest of my things that have been delivered. Perfect. I can grab my stuff in the morning before class.
Once he leaves, I'm left with two annoying boys glued to whatever game it is they're playing now that Chase has joined in.
I settle myself into the bed, fixing the standard issue sheets and blankets it came with to my liking. Somewhere packed away in the boxes I had delivered is a duvet set that will replace this, but it’ll do for now. At least the fabric is somewhat soft and not at all scratchy against my skin as I tuck in, shoving headphones in my ears to drown out Chase and his friend. If this is how it's going to be, I'm going to need a better plan to make it through the year, let alone the next week.
7
CHASE
Ididn’t expect her to actually lick the floor. I thought I’d get a rise out of her, maybe make that blush of hers pop up on her cheeks, but she kneeled and watched me the whole time. I can’t lie, it got me fucking hard. Thankfully, James barged in and distracted me from picturing Melody naked in the shower. And that voice as she sang? Fucking heavenly. Hearing her hit those notes chased any doubt away about her belonging here, as much as I hate to admit it. She has the kind of talent you can’t fake.
The feeling of being shocked doesn’t happen that often to me, but she definitely managed to. She has more guts than I initially gave her credit for. I hate to admit it, but that little stunt earned a sliver of my respect.
James stays until past midnight playing video games while I pretend to be interested. Really, my mind is stuck on Melody. Replaying how her tongue dragged along the floor. Part of me wishes it was on my dick. Okay, a whole huge part of me wishes that.It’s inconvenient as fuck, thinking of her like that. But I can’t stop. She’s invaded my thoughts, and I find myself dreaming of her. Wondering what she would sound like if I choked her with my cock. Living with her while I’m having these thoughts is going to fucking suck. There’s no way I can act on it. So, I pour it into my music instead. Composing my pent up frustrations into a piece that would make the Pope himself cry.
In the morning, she's gone before I wake up and I can feel her loss. The smell of coffee and her perfume lingers in the air like a ghost. I should be happy to have the place to myself again, but there's a lingering disappointment that I can't shake.
"Hey man," James says, when I leave the dorm. We usually walk together to grab breakfast. "So, you gunna fill me in on the chick staying with you?"
"There's not much to say."
"So, she's fair game."
I glower at him. "Not a fucking chance."
He laughs putting his hands up. "Alright man. I was just checking."
