Biting my bottom lip is my only answer. I told her about what happened in my bedroom the other night. How could I not? It was a pivotal moment in…whatever we are. I needed someone to process this with.
Ivy had sat and listened like the good friend she is. Even coming home exhausted from the diner, she sat there with me while I spilled the entire situation. At the end of it, she had a smile on her face and gave me a big hug. I don’t think she realizes how much troubleshecould get into if Dustin found out she knew too.
“Oh, come on, Avery. Give the poor man a break, and let him save your number to his phone.”
I shake my head. “Honestly, I like it like this.”
“The old-fashioned way of courting?”
A smile spreads my cheeks. “Yeah, when you put it like that. It’s more fun.”
“You’re just making him work for it.”
“And enjoying it,” I admit quietly.
“Torture,” she murmurs. “The poor guy.”
I laugh. “Oh, come on. You’re even getting entertainment out of this.”
She cringes and then chuckles. “Guilty.”
Bumping shoulders with her, we cross the crosswalk and head toward our apartment building. “Are you sure you don’t want to talk about what’s going on between you and Dustin?”
Her mood sours a little. “Oh, you’ll find out soon enough.”
I frown at her. “What do you mean?”
“He told me it wasn’t a big deal. But honestly, I’m freaking out and therefore know you’re going to freak out.”
Sighing, we round the building and into the parking lot. “What did my brother do now?”
“Well…” She puckers her lips. “Both him and Reid.”
“Just spit it out, girl. Stop dancing around the problem.”
She glances at me then looks forward and points. I follow her line of sight, and a scowl takes over my face.
There are a few trucks with furniture in the back, and people are unloading it. Nice furniture, by the looks of it. Upon a squint, they’re people I recognize from Dustin’s party when I first moved here.
“Who the hell is moving into the building midsemester?”
She snatches my wrist as we pick up our pace a little bit, causing a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. “He said it wasn’t a big deal, but I can see that you’re getting mad, and I’m starting to panic.”
“No…no, he wouldn’t,” I whisper angrily as it begins to click in my head.
“Oh, but he did,” she grumbles, letting my wrist go as we approach the trucks. Just as we reach them, Dustin and Reid come out of the building, intent on grabbing more furniture to take upstairs to Dustin’s apartment.Theirapartment.
Anger simmers in the pit of my gut. It takes everything I have not to march up to Reid and demand to know what the hell he was thinking.
The boys turn to us and smile, but their smiles fade when they see our expressions. I’ve never been good at hiding my feelings.
“What’s going on?” I ask, trying to keep the rage from my tone. I probably failed, but whatever. I’m beyond caring.
Dustin slaps a hand down on Reid’s bare shoulder. They’re both dressed similarly in a cutoff shirt and a pair of gym shorts, and if I didn’t know any better, I’d say that they came straight from working out. “Reid is moving in.”
“What about your other roommate?”
“He moved out yesterday,” Dustin answers, frowning. “Why are you so upset?”
