“What?!” I turn around, glad that the steps I climbed are giving me a bit of a height advantage. Of course he’d say that. God knows how many notches he has on his bedpost.
As if he can read my mind, Olli raises an eyebrow but doesn’t pull back.
“Yeah. Real life isn’t a rom-com, but it’s also not porn.” The corners of his mouth barely twitch at his words, but it’s the way he squeezes my shoulders that keeps me in place. “Sex can be amazing. It’s also embarrassing a lot of the time, and that happens to everyone. So really, don’t stress so much.”
I blink a few times, struck by his little speech. A part of me wants to argue, but there’s genuine feeling in his words. Slowly, my shoulders relax.
As if he can feel it, Olli nods at me. “This evening is for you, right? Enjoy it, experiment, live a little!” He shakes me, and despite myself, I laugh.
“You’re…yeah, okay, I’ll try.”
“That’s more like it!” With a final squeeze to my shoulder, Olli lets go and hops down the stairs.
I feel dazed, like a storm went through my head.
When I come back to my senses, Olli has already reached the front door. I have to lean over the railing to call after him, “Hey, uhm…thanks!”
My sentiments of gratitude are short-lived, though, when my phone buzzes with a text as soon as I'm in my room.
PS: don’t forget to use protection! ;)
Micah, June 16th
The days since our conversation in the car pass in a flurry, each one stuffed with extra training sessions under the sweltering heat. I expected sharing this secret with Linden would make things awkward, but we’ve fallen into a careful rhythm of avoiding each other. He’s taken on some additional shifts at the dog pound, and I spend most of my days at the training facility.
So the plan slips to the back of my mind until I receive a text from Linden. No emojis, no context, just a simple ‘house will be empty for the afternoon’popping up beneath a thread that’s so far only consisted of grocery lists, so it takes me half a second to catch on.
“I’m sorry, guys, but I’ll have to cancel on you,” I tell Evander and Felix, one of our wide receivers, as we trudge back to the locker room. We intended to soak in the ice bath for a bit, then find a quiet corner on campus and review our summer reading lists. A lot of my teammates don’t take their academics seriously, but if the NFL doesn’t work out, I’ll have to put my econ degree to use. It seemed like a smart choice when I applied for college—not too hard, yet useful enough as an alternative career path. But the thought of actually having to do something with it has my stomach in knots.
“What? C’mon, man, you too now?” Evander groans. Seb already left an hour into our workout, mumbling something about a video he needed to record for his mom.
“Yeah…roomie emergency,” I claim, waving my cell at both of them.
“Dude.” Felix scrunches up his nose at the sight of my trashed screen. “You need to get a new phone.”
I duck my head, slipping the phone back into the pocket of my sweatpants.
“Haven’t found the time yet,” I lie. I’ve already searched for refurbished models online, but it feels like a huge waste to order one when mine is still working. Even a little money’s still money I could put into other places. I need to focus on my car first, which I realize again when I have to call an Uber just to get back to the Nook. I tell the driver to let me out around the halfway point, then jog the rest of the way, soothing the sting of the unnecessary expense.
Getting out of the car feels like stepping into an oven; stuffy and unbearable. I have to pull out my towel and hang it around my neck to protect myself from getting sunburnt.
A few minutes later, I tiptoe into our little townhouse like a burglar, even though Linden’s car is the only one occupying our driveway. I don’t know why I feel guilty, but there’s this prickle in the air, like we’re about to do something forbidden behind our roommates' backs.
“Don’t be stupid, you’re two consenting adults,” I hiss at myself as I drop my keys on the sideboard, then call out, “Linden?”
“I’m up here!” comes the muffled response, and I follow his voice to the second floor.
I’ve only ever caught glimpses of Linden’s room in passing. He mostly keeps his door closed, and considering how tiny my room is, I spend most of my free time outside of the Nook anyway. When we hang out, it’s in the living room or the kitchen. I don’t know what I expected—probably some typical college-guy room with bare walls and textbooks all over the floor. Instead, I push his door open and step right into an urban jungle.
“Oh my god, you live in a greenhouse!” I gasp. Linden chuckles from where he’s sitting cross-legged on his bed.
“Not quite there yet, but I’m trying my best,” he says, a soft note of pride in his voice.
It’s not an exaggeration—there are plants everywhere. Pothos and English Ivy hang from a shelf above his head, little rocks and vases arranged between them. His bookshelf is dotted with little succulents, and a sprawling Monstera sits on the ground next to a plant stand that looks like an old ladder. It holds another dozen pots in various sizes and forms, but I only recognize lavender and aloe vera. I absent-mindedly close the door behind me and wander over, squatting down to take a better look.
“What’s this one called?” I ask as I gently brush my fingers over the long, stiff leaves of a particularly intriguing-looking plant. They remind me of dark green swords sticking straight up.
“Snake plant.” Linden gets up from the mattress to cross the room and stand beside me, hands buried deep in the pockets of his dark jeans. Did he dress up for me? I’m still wearing the athletic gear I put on after showering.
