"Her mom married my dad," I say walking down the stairs.
"That seems fast. What's it been like a year since your mom passed?"
When my mom passed, James was one of the only people who was there for me. He even came to the funeral with me while I barely held my shit together. Meanwhile, my dad acted like he was at a party. He had nothing but smiles to give everyone that was there to pay their respects. My father didn't even stay for the whole thing, leaving early to screw one of the waitresses.
"Yeah, just over a year."
"Can't say I'm surprised. Your dad's been sleeping with other women for as long as I've known you. But I'm guessing he wants to keep the new wife happy and now you've got yourself a hot new roommate."
"Hey—"
James bursts out in a laugh and swings an arm around my neck. "Oh, shit. You like her."
"What?" I shove him off me. Am I that transparent that Melody's unwelcome presence has me intrigued? While I'm still pissed that her and her whore of a mom are dipping their toes in my mom's fortune, I reluctantly realize that Melody is nothing but cannon fodder for our parent's decisions.
The cold air hits my face as we trek across campus to the Art & Music building where we have our first class.
"Hey Chase," a familiar female voice calls out.
I wince as James snickers at my expense. "Hey Jenna. What's up?"
She smiles wide and joins us., flicking her blonde hair behind her shoulder. "I was hoping you were free later? Maybe we could pick up where we left off?"
Jenna angles her body closer me and I give her a wide berth, trying to keep her out of my personal bubble to no avail. She links her arm through mine as if she belongs there.
"I'm pretty busy," I say, trying to figure out how to get her off me.
"Oh, come on." Her finger comes up and bops me on the nose. I blink hard, stunned. When I open my eyes, I catch Melody watching me from across the quad. Her face seems neutral, but her eyes don't leave mine.
I decide to play with her and see how far her interest stretches. I tuck Jenna against me, transferring my attention down to her. She beams up at me, and while I don't feel anything but annoyance for her, there’s a twisted part of me that wants to see how having another woman curled up against me affects Melody. If at all.
Like I hoped, she's glaring at me as I walk past. I nod my head at her with a grin and walk through the door. Jenna still attached to my hip. We have to squeeze through the doorframe right past Melody. She rolls her eyes and stalks off in the direction of the coffee cart. I smirk, knowing that at least I affect her even if it's just to ruffle her feathers.Using Jenna is a dick move, but I don’t pretend to be a good guy.
Once I sit in my seat, I pull out my phone and hover over Melody's number that I swiped from her phone as she slept. All it took was for me to take it off the charger and unlock it by holding it up to her sleeping face. Rookie mistake.
Nice scowl. You aiming to get Botox from my dad too?
A read receipt pops up immediately. And a message appears almost as quickly.
Fuck off.
I chuckle at her sass, feeling a sense of pride for getting under her skin. That's right princess, I'm under your skin just like you've gotten under mine, I think as I type out my next message.
Be back at the dorm tonight by 5 so we can work on our project. K?
You better get me a key because I am not waiting outside on the floor again for you.
Why would I make you sit on the floor when I know you prefer to lick it instead?
I can feel myself smiling hard at her sending me the middle finger emoji. Fucking with her like this is the most fun I’ve had in awhile.
"Mr. Milford. Are you going to join the rest of the class or are we interrupting your texting time?" My professor asks.
"Sorry." I say, pocketing the phone as my thoughts slide to a pink haired menace that I can't wait to torment later.
8
MELODY
