Shit, has it really been that long?
Glancing at my phone, I realize she’s right. I’ve been staring at the blank television screen and dissociating since I got home from class this afternoon.
“Oh shit.”
She hums, a self-satisfied smirk pulling at her maroon-painted lips. “My point exactly. So you gonna tell me what’s wrong or make me pry it out of you with a crowbar?”
I snort. “You, risking breaking a nail? Right.”
“Youarespicy tonight.”
“I’m notspicy,” I drawl, emphasizing the word. “I’m just not putting up with your shit for once.”
“Well, if you lose the ’tude, maybe I’ll brighten your day up by allowing you to join Lexi and me for dinner at Thai Me Up.”
Willow’s snarky comment misses its mark, what with the mere mention of Lexi’s name sending my stomach into somersaults and barrel rolls. Which happens more often than not, as of late.
Then again, being head over heels in love with someone tends to have that effect.
“When are you leaving?”
Her smirk turns into a shit-eating grin. “Ah, how quickly he changes his tune.”
“You’re enjoying this too much,” I tell her, unamused, and she holds up her hands in mock surrender.
“Hey, you’re the one pussy-whipped by a girl you’re not even dating. And as her best friend, it’s my job to find entertainment in it.”
The comment instantly sets me on edge, as it often does when Willow’s observations strike the nail on the head. And while I enjoy Willow’s company, I wish she didn’t see through me like cellophane when it comes to my feelings for Lexi. Which I deny every chance I get, obviously.
“Oh, so now accepting a dinner invite is being pussy-whipped?”
“If the shoe fits…” she muses with a wry smile.
“Then maybe I won’t go if you’re gonna think I have some ulterior motive or something. You know, other than getting dinner with myfriends.”
There’s some semblance of truth to my statement. I love spending time with my friends, and Alexis Waters remains one of the few people at this godforsaken school who I actually enjoy being around. Willow and my other roommate, Bailey, are too,of course; that’s why I asked them to move in this year too.
But they’re not Lexi.
She’s been the center of my universe since we met in the library the first week of school last year. I overheard her at the desk on the third floor, asking where she could find a particular book; the sameone I just so happened to be reading. And though it’s not entirely in my nature to go out of my way and help a stranger, something made me offer it to her on the spot.
Could it be how absolutely stunning she was, with her hazel eyes and honey blonde hair pulled back in a long braid? Undoubtedly. But it was the way we sat and talked for hours, like we were old friends rather than strangers, that truly held my attention.
Christ. Maybe I am pussy-whipped.
The sound of the basement door opening pulls me from my reverie, and as if my thoughts are enough to will her into existence, Lexi appears in the threshold. She’s ever the girl-next-door, her hair in loose waves down her back and a wearing pair of painted on jeans and flowy shirt.
She spots us on the couch instantly, a smile wrinkling her hazeleyes around the edges.
“Hey, Loge! We’re going to…” She trails off, her expression shifting into a puzzled frown when she gets a look at my face. “What’s wrong?”
“He doesn’t want to talk about it,” Willow supplies dryly, and I pin her with a scowl.
“Or maybe you asking mewhat crawled up my ass and diedwasn’t the right way to start a conversation about my feelings.”
“More like I wasn’t the right person,” she mutters under her breath.
Meet Willow fucking Lennox, everybody.
