I giggle as I think of all the new possibilities this opens up for us. Maybe this is what we’ve been missing, why he pulled away. I was a virgin before Riley, and I’ll admit I’ve been pretty timid with him in the past when it comes to physical intimacy. He never complained before, but … had things stagnated for him? Was our previous sex life too boring? Well, if so, then I was officially on board with spicing things up.
Glancing around the dark room, I confirm that, yep, I’m definitely alone in here. Without any windows, I have no idea what time it is, so I shove up from the mattress and make my way across the space in search of my purse, where it had been discarded on the floor during our frenzied coupling. The walls still resonate with bass from the music above, leading me to believe the party’s still going strong, and I wonder if I haven’t actually slept as long as I thought I had. But when I manage to unearth my phone, I find that, nope, it’s well into the morning hours now.
I waver indecisively by the door for a long moment, smoothing down my rumpled sundress and running my fingers through the tangles in my hair, but ultimately decide to give Riley some more time. I’d rather not go wandering alone up there looking for him again, anyway. Plopping back down on the sad excuse for a bed, I pull up the text message thread with my best friend Katie.
She’s the only one who knows where I am and why I came here. My parents think I’m with her and a group of friends this weekend, enjoying an end-of-summer glamping trip before school starts. That’s right, I’m starting next week at Greenfield Community College, I remind myself dejectedly. The one I can commute to from my parents’ house in Llyn Lakes. Yeah. So much for getting out of my small, boring hometown, but after everything that happened this year with Riley, my grades suffered, and my early acceptance to Cypress U was revoked. Riley had, until now, given me no indication he still wanted me to join him here in thecity anyway, so at my parents’ urging, I’d given in and enrolled at Greenfield.
I blow out a long breath.
At least Katie will be going there, too. And maybe … Maybe if Riley and I can manage to get back on track, I could transfer in a year.
I see I have an unread message from Katie from earlier this morning.
Katie
So????
Don’t leave me hanging, Stephie!
I roll my eyes. She’s the only one allowed to call me that. Well, other than my parents. Granted, I’m the only person who still calls her Katie, and I probably always will. We first met back in kindergarten when everyone’s name had a cutesy ‘ie’ or ‘y’ added to the end, and, well … it just stuck. I’ll probably never see her as a ‘Kate’.
Frowning down at my phone, I type out a response.
Steph
I don’t know
The text bubble pops up almost instantly, indicating she’s typing back. And that she’d been watching and waiting for my response.
Katie
What don’t you know? Elaborate, girl! How did it go with captain douche?
Okay, so she wasn’t exactly supportive of this little road trip of mine. She and Riley used to get along great, but he’s pretty solidly on her shit list these days. Still, she understood why I needed to come, that I couldn’t just leave things the way they were with no explanation from him.
Steph
I found him in a rundown building full of stoners. He’s LIVING here, Katie!
Katie
WTF?
Steph
I know. Apparently, he got kicked out of the dorms!
Katie
Holy shit!
Steph
Yeah
Katie
So clearly he’s messed up. Did he tell you why he left? I can’t wait tohear this …
