Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
LEVI
Stevie’s ex looks like he wants to murder me, and the pleasure that courses through my veins is pure fucking ecstasy.
I’m not sure what happened between them, but not only does the guy look like a complete dick, he also spoke to Stevie like he owns her.
She looked surprised to see him here. Then again, she looked at me the same way a minute ago when I grabbed her hand, and again a few seconds after that when I claimed to be her date for the night.
It was an instinctual move. My friends and I have done it from time to time.
Hopefully, she doesn’t get pissed at me when we walk away from this tool.
The asshole laughs at me like I’m joking, and while I am lying, I don’t appreciate his condescending tone.
“You’re her date?” He points a finger toward me, then to Stevie. “Come on, babe, you wouldn’t move on that quickly.”
“You did,” Stevie spits out aggressively. “What are you doing here?” She looks at his hands and tips her head to the side. Stevie points to his empty cup. “I thought you hated drinking.”
Calling him out on his shit. Nice job, Bambi.
A bleached blonde woman comes up behind Andrew and wraps her arm around his.
“Babe, why’d you leave me?” As if she suddenly realizes he’s been talking to two people this entire time, she looks at me and bites her lip.
I contain my eye roll. Then she switches her gaze to Stevie, and her eyebrows are raised.
“Look who came to a bar for the first time. Didn’t know you had it in you. ”
“Tiffany, stop,” Andrew tries to warn her in the most pathetic tone I’ve ever heard.
A bleach blonde named Tiffany? A real class act, this guy.
“The whole group has been coming here regularly since last year, it’s about time you joined.”
The blonde gives Stevie a menacing grin, and by the look on my roommate’s face, this is the first time she’s hearing about it.
Fuck, she looks completely taken off guard.
The bitch cornered her, and Andrew, being the tool I knew he was, doesn’t say a thing.
Instead, he shuffles on his feet, looking down at his shoes.
What a fucking pussy. There’s nothing I hate more than a cheater, and the words that left Tiffany’s mouth are confirmation enough. I’ve been in Stevie’s position. I know what it’s like to feel betrayed by someone you deeply care about.
“So, you’re Tiffany.” My statement catches her attention.
“Yes, I am,” she says sweetly. “And who are you?” Her head tilts, and she gives me a seductive smile.
“Stevie’s told me so much about you.”
She raises a brow, clearly skeptical and confused at my easygoing tone. “Really? Like what?”
“Well, that you have great hair.” That makes her grin in appreciation.
“That your teeth are in perfect shape.” She waves a hand in dismissal.
“And that Andrew told her you were the worst sex he’s ever had.
That was when he tried to win her back after she found out about you guys.
” I inhale a sharp breath and cringe. “I recommend not using teeth during a blow job.”
All three of them are now gaping at me with their mouths wide open. Andrew, who I’d expected to punch me, is now as pale as a sheet of paper. Tiffany looks horrified, and Stevie looks stunned.
Shrugging, I put my arm over my friend’s shoulders. “Let’s get out of here and go to our apartment, babe. Tiffany, Andrew, a pleasure.”
Stevie doesn’t shrug me off or fight me as I guide her off the dance floor, and while I don’t look back at the dicks I just met, I can still hear them over the music.
“You live with him?!” Andrew yells.
“I used my teeth one time, you fucking asshole!” Tiffany screeches, and I have to bite my lip to hold a laugh in.
Who knew I’d be right on the nose when it came to the blonde and her oral skills? Sure, it was a petty move, but I could tell she was completely superficial, and tearing her ego down would be the exact kind of thing she fucking needed.
Once we’re outside of King’s Wolf, Stevie shrugs my arm off and walks in front of me. I expected this reaction since I gave her no warning of what I would say or do.
“Stevie, please wait.” She halts in her tracks. “I’m sorry if I overstepped—fuck, I know I did, but those assholes deserved it and more.”
Her glossy green eyes meet mine. “I’m not sure whether to cry, scream, or laugh.”
I hesitate because the woman really does look so confused about how to feel. Even after all that, she’s not letting one tear fall, and I admire her bravery.
“You can do all three in no particular order?” I offer.
She doesn’t move. Instead, her face becomes serious. “You overstepped, Levi.”
“I know, I’m sorry—”
“But you also saved my butt back there, so…” She clears her throat. “Thank you.”
I blink a couple of times. “No problem.”
She sighs. “I’ll give you a heads-up the next time I need saving.” Stevie begins to walk back to the apartment again, and we’re silent for a while until I break.
“If you want to talk about it, I’m here,” I say gently.
Stevie’s laugh is shaky. “I think you got the gist of what happened. I’ll tell you the details some other time. Right now, I need to process that my former friends, who were never really my friends, hid everything from me for who knows how long.” She quickly wipes under her eyes.
Right, what Tiffany said about them going out for the past year without her.
There are still so many questions I have.
When did it start? How long till she found out about it?
When did she find out about it? But those questions will have to wait.
Stevie will be my roommate for the rest of the semester, and hopefully, my friend for a long time afterward.
When she feels comfortable enough, she’ll tell me… hopefully.
We reach the apartment, and the clock in the kitchen reads that it’s only midnight.
She heads straight to the bathroom and after she’s done there, tosses me a quick good night and shuts the door to her room.
While I get ready for bed, I open the bathroom door in case she needs anything.
There are no sounds of sobs, yelling, or falling, but the light that peers under her door remains on, and I swear I can hear the sound of crumpling paper being thrown till four a.m.
STEVIE
Three hours and a half a bag of BBQ chips later, and my list is finally done.
LEVI
“Bullshit.” Kami points at me and narrows her eyes.
I run a hand through my hair. “Fuck.”
Kami dances a little in her place, and the rest of us groan as she wins another round of Bullshit. She’s scarily good at this game. We’d all thought Jake had the best poker face, but no, it’s Kamila all the way when it comes to Bullshit.
“Movie time?” Jake asks.
We all nod as we continue the routine that is our Sunday game nights.
They don’t happen every week, but we try to do them as often as possible.
No boyfriends or girlfriends, only the four of us.
Which is becoming rarer with Kami’s jobs and her boyfriend.
Along with Em fighting to get on the school paper, the Driscoll Wolf Weekly, named after our mascot, and Jake’s parents hounding him on everything that is going on in his life.
The closer we get to graduation, the less time we spend together, and that fucking sucks.
But it’s still a year and a half away…who knows where we’ll be by then?
It’s been over a week since that night at King’s Wolf, and I’ve barely seen Stevie.
The gang has asked me a couple of questions about her, and they also included comments on how much they liked her, which doesn’t surprise me.
I never once mentioned her neurological condition or running into her asshat of an ex while they questioned me.
Of course, Jake probably knows about her epilepsy, but Jake, being Jake, hasn’t brought it up.
There have been at least four instances this week where I almost knocked on Stevie’s door and decided against it.
We haven’t had another Gilmore Girls night; in fact, she hasn’t been outside of her room except when she leaves for class or comes back.
I’ve run into her on bathroom runs, but even then, she gives me a quick “hi” and runs back to her cave.
I might’ve grown up with two women, but neither of them was twenty-one and in college, so I’m not sure how to handle this without making it weird or fucking up our roommate situation.
I thought we’d left everything on good terms, which is why I need advice from the second most private person in our group, who also happens to be a woman.
I make my way toward Em, who is standing alone by the mini fridge.
“Em, I need some advice,” I whisper.
It’s as if I asked a dog if they wanted a treat. She immediately straightens and steps closer to me, intrigue filling her eyes.
“Who about?” she whispers back.
I look around the room, and Jake and Kami are flipping through movies and arguing about which to watch.
My eyes meet Em’s baby blues, and I harden my voice. “This stays between us.”
Her face softens, and she raises a hand. “Scout’s honor.”
Rolling my eyes, I summarize what happened last weekend, excluding certain details, and get to the point of Stevie avoiding me and the world outside her bedroom.
“Should I approach her, or leave it alone?”
She nods, and I can tell she’s trying to contain her excitement over all the new information I gave her. Emma lives off other people’s stories, but hates talking about her personal life. Although she’s surprisingly great at keeping secrets when asked.
“It sounds like you guys were bonding that first week.” She looks at the ceiling in contemplation.
I nod, agreeing with the statement.
“Of course, you don’t want to force her, and it’s not like you guys are super close.” She shrugs, still trying to come up with whatever advice she’s conjuring. “Your concern is quite sweet considering you’re only roommates—”
“Em, anything helpful would be nice. They’re going to call us over there any second now,” I interrupt, annoyed at her obvious statements.
She shakes her hand and rolls her eyes. “Fine, don’t get your panties in a bunch.
I know there are certain things you aren’t telling me.
” Spot on. “You don’t like her in any other way than a friend, from what I can tell.
” Also true. “But you seem to have built some sort of connection with her in a short amount of time.”
“Stating what I already know, again.”
She puts on a serious face. “Talk to her like a normal person, Levi. Talk to the girl like you would one of us. Maybe not exactly like you would us, but voice your concern. Find the right time and don’t wait too long.”
Okay, that was somewhat helpful, I guess.
“The worst thing she can do is blow you off, and you’re simply polite roommates as you have been. Would that really be so bad?” She shrugs.
I think for a moment, and even though it’s only been two weeks since Stevie moved in, it would be weird not speaking to her as a friend anymore, especially with everything I already know about her. But Em’s right. Ultimately, it’s her choice.
“I’ll try to talk to her then. Thanks, Em.”
She pats me on the shoulder. “Good.” Suddenly, a bottle of vodka and beer are in my face. “Which one do you want? Jake brought both in case we felt like getting a little crazy. Don’t worry, we have plenty of chasers.”
Seeing a five-foot woman with a family who comes from old money, in a white shirt and shorts, and a messy bun holding two bottles of alcohol in front of me, while offering them with an innocent-looking face, is something I should be used to, but never will be.
Before I can answer that I want a soda, Jake speaks up. “Horror or mystery?”
Kami looks at me over Jake’s shoulder and keeps mouthing something, but I can’t understand shit of what she’s saying.
“Horror, I guess?” I say unsurely.
“Goddammit,” Kami thunders.
Em shrugs. “I’m feeling horror too.”
“You guys are so bad at reading lips,” Kami sighs.
I choke on a laugh. “I don’t think we’re bad at reading them, you’re just bad at—”
Once I see her stare, the following words I was going to speak get caught in my throat. Grabbing a bowl of popcorn, I offer it to Kamila as a peace offering. She angrily takes it and demands a bottle of water.
“Beer or vodka? Or soda, if you want to be boring,” Em asks one final time.
“Jell-O shots!” Jake announces at the same time that I request a soda.
I look at him, confused. “She said vodka, you idiot, not Jell-O shots.”
“Yeah, we don’t have those,” Kami reaffirms.
He winks at me. “Check the bottom of your fridge, where you keep your leftovers.”
Em opens the door skeptically and, after a couple of seconds, emerges with a platter holding twelve Jell-O shots.
“When the hell did you put those in there?” Kami sits up and shoots her hand out as Em carefully carries the platter over. Kami, of course, picks a red one, while Em picks a blue, Jake a green, and I relent and choose purple. We all take the shot.
Smooth, not too strong.
“Jake, seriously,” I say, wiping my mouth. “When did you put those in there?”
“Last night.” He chuckles as Kami and Em both go off on him, and I’m caught in the crossfire, covering my ears because fucking ow.
“Cam and I were having sex!” Kami yells.
“How did you get in?” Em asks, and then turns to Kami, faking a gagging sound.
Meanwhile, I lie back and watch Jake in amusement, knowing this isn’t the first or last time he pulls off something like this.