All Your Fates (Currently editing/updating)

Chapter 25: Kept Promises

Music tracklist as per bellasera's suggestions! Cheer's for that -- sick songs for the chapter: SHUGGIE ~ Foxygen; FITZPLEASURE ~ alt j

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Pepper's POV

I rolled on the bed beside David, and had to squelch the groan of the mattress or risk waking him. Poor poppet. He needed some well-deserved rest.

Somehow we had managed to end back at my place in the wee hours of the night. Too skunk drunk to do anything but crawl face first into bed and pass out in each other's arms. David pulling me into his warm body as if I was a squishy-wooshy teddy bear.

I cast a glance at his figure. He was shirtless for some reason that I can't imagine – my place was very cool as it is. I don't remember him ever taking off his shirt, and his back muscles were drawn taught and tight. I ran my fingers lightly over his back. Yum! David had a nice body, although a little on the skinny side but I had enough cushion for both of us. And thankfully, he had been quickly gaining weight now that he was apparently eating again. And he looked so much manlier without that ridiculous facial hair.

His sweaty mop of hair was sticking every which way on his head, making him look adorably boyish. I imagined his mom used to think he looked like a right little angel in his sleep.

I sighed and rumpled his hair. Poor David. He will forever trip and fall faceplant first in love, I surmised while rolling off the bed and made my way to the bathroom to have my early morning shower.

And I was completely fine with whatever latest love interest grabbed his fancy. For I knew all too well that for him it had nothing to do with the girl herself at all but his sadomasochistic mind that seemed hell-bent on torturing him with unrequited love.

Don't get me wrong. I know I would never make David happy, although I was good for a laugh. Nor did I intend on trying. I don't have silly romantic notions like many women (and men), preferring to be a "love-the-one-you're-with" kinda gal. I had my fun, and the men I had fun with had fun with me until it was no longer fun.

And right now, David was loads and loads of fun...in that so easily teased and adorably ruffled way he had. I started to giggle in the shower thinking of the look on his face when I had insisted on doing tequila shots off his abdomen. There really needs to be a syndicate series: When Nerds go Wild, I thought to myself and then snorted at the thought of awkward nerds shaking in their boots at the overt threatening sexuality of the women before them.

Even after I had dressed and put my makeup and ate breakfast and checked my Facebook feed, David was still dead asleep. Poor moppet, I said to myself again. I tried to tickle his toes awake and remind him it was time to go to work but he only rolled over and said he refused to go in today. "There simply was no point," he hissed into the pillow.

I was actually a little relieved at that. It would give me a chance to stroll over to the "dragon's lair" alone and brandish my sword like St. George himself. And this time I wasn't going to let old "Uncle Atty," wiggle his way out of the impending beheading. I changed my Facebook status to "It's complicated" and friended David mostly for the fun of making him squirm.

But when I arrived on campus Atticus wasn't in his office. I dared not believe he was actually in the lab "working," but I went anyway not about to leave without no stone uncovered.

And there at the door of the lab was a girl crumpled asleep against it. She was very pretty, of that typical sort of beauty if that was your bag, despite the drool bubbles forming at her pouty lips. Sure, she's they type that drools and the world rolls over, I said to myself in spite.

I cleared my throat loudly and waited for her to stir. She opened her beautiful blue gray eyes fringed with luxurious eyelashes that made me insane with jealousy. The girl looked at me with squinty-eyed confusion. I patiently waited for her to get her bearings.