"What are you waiting for?" His voice sounds mildly irritated, growing impatient with me taking my time, his fingers drumming on the table.
Opening the box, I see a silver, thin, chain necklace with an infinity symbol and a matching ring to complete the set.
"This is beautiful, Austin," I say, trying to pretend I’m not jumping for joy internally. Removing the ring from the box, he slides it down the ring finger on my right hand before standing from his side of the booth to stand behind me.
He hovers for a moment, tracing his fingertips down the curve of my neck before clasping my new silver necklace onto its new home.
"What’s the occasion?" I gush as he sits back down in front of me while I trace the infinity symbol as it rests on my collarbone.
"So you remember that this," he gestures between us, "is forever," he says, giving me his best boyish grin.
He’s never been one for big, romantic gestures, so whenever he does things like this, or buys me flowers, or even compliments me, it makes me feel slightly uneasy.
It’s almost like he’s doing it for a reason.
"I love it. And I love you." I smile.
My heart has never been so full and conflicted. I’msoready for what the future has in store for us.
"You ready to get out of here?" He offers his hand, and I take it with a spring in my step, pushing away any negative thoughts that decided to rule my mind temporarily.
We haven’t even been inside his apartment for a minute before he drags me past his roommate, Monty, without so much as a hello, and we head straight for his bedroom.
So, this is why he bought me jewelry.
Sex.
He doesn’t need to buy my love. I’m not with him for his family’s money and he knows that.
They have a lot of it. His father, Max Anderson, is still the biggest name to come out of the NFL, and he hasn’t played in decades. Yet sometimes, Austin likes to show me—remind me—that we will be taken care of for life.
No matter what.
His bedroom door slams behind us and he nudges me onto the bed, where I land on my back.
Watching as he quickly unzips his jeans, they pool around his feet and he practically leaps, landing on top of me.
Pressing his lips onto mine, he kisses me once, twice, three times while he slides the condom down the length of him, lathers himself up with lube, and slides inside of me.
It doesn’t take him long before he’s out of breath, pulling the condom off himself and disposing of it in the bin next to his bed.
"I’m going to play video games with the boys. You can stay, but I won’t be able to hear you," he says as he stands, placing a headset over his ears.
I no longer have an ounce of his attention.
This is the price I pay for accepting expensive, unwanted gifts, I guess.
six
Cassandra
"There’s a flight backto Grangewood first thing in the morning. I’ll arrange for the movers to come and collecteverythingfrom the apartment as soon as I can."
Jenna’s been typing and scrolling frantically on her laptop since the second she got here, while I’ve spent every second filling the biggest suitcase I could find.
She and I met when I was in college. She was looking for a housemate and I didn’t want to live in the dorms, so I responded to her ad. We’ve been inseparable since. I would be completely lost without her friendship.
"Have you packed enough clothes to get you by?" she says, slamming her laptop shut, eyeing me cautiously.
