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I hope you've all had a very Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays to all those who celebrate!✨
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Embarrassment crawls up my spine Saturday morning. Standing in the hallway, I kick open Nova's bedroom door and without looking, throw myself onto her bed.
I throw my face into one of her fuzzy pillows, letting out a helpless wail.
"Morning?" She asks in confusion. Her voice is rough, meaning she's only just woken up. Meanwhile, I've been awake for the last thirty minutes, throwing myself a pity party.
I mumble into her pillow.
The bed shifts. "What was that?" Her voice is right next to my head.
"I fell asleep."
I fell asleep. While he was still in my room.
Oh my God. What if I snored? I freeze. What if I drooled?
I throw my face into my pillow, letting out a helpless wail.
A soft hand brushes my messy hair back. "Well, since the lack of exposure to light causes melatonin release, it is not shocking that you fell asleep at night," she states casually as if anything she just said made sense in my current state.
I groan, rolling over to stare up at the ceiling. "You are such a nerd."
There's a short rustling sound as she moves to the edge of her bed. A second later a flip-flop smacks me in the face. "You're the one making stupid comments at seven in the morning on a Saturday," she retorts, sitting up.
She's wearing a purple silk hair bonnet to protect her curls at night along with a matching pair of purple pajamas. Self-consciously, I glance down at myself and take in my bare legs since I shucked out of my jeans halfway through the night, and the blanket hoodie.
"Now, tell me what happened that's got you beating down my door."
My gaze flickers to her and I pout. "Levi was in my room last night—don't!" I yell, pointing at her open mouth after I mentioned Levi. She lets out a huff and slumps back onto the bed. "After I was banished to the bedroom, he came with me—stop!" An aggravated sigh leaves her lips, a frown on her face. "And while we were talking," I pause dramatically, "I fell asleep."
I press the heels of my palms into my face and pathetically wail. A burst of laughter sounds from next to me. Nova's laugh is loud and when she can't control herself, she starts wheezing. It's the most annoying yet strangely endearing laugh.
I crawl to my knees, grab a pillow and try to smother her. "Stop enjoying my pain!" She snorts, grappling for my wrists while lying flat on her back with me leaning over her.
With one final smack with the pillow, I lie back down as her chuckles taper off slowly. Leaning her head on her hand she grins down at me. "It's only funny because you're making such a big deal out of it. Who cares?" she asks rhetorically.
"I do!" The first time a guy has ever been in my room, that isn't Jonah, and I pass out mostly sober. The fact that I was pretty sober makes it that much more depressing. Passing out when I'm drunk is a normal Tuesday reaction for me but sober? Embarrassing.
Nova climbs over me to get out of bed and fixes her pajamas. "Did he leave you a note or text or anything?" she asks, slowly taking off her bonnet, and bunching her curls to even them out.
I bite my lower lip. "Haven't looked, I'm scared."
She stills. Head turning slowly, she watches me over her shoulder. "Do you—do you like him?" Her question is careful, her voice low.
"What kind of question is that?"
She turns to face me fully. A hand on her hip. "A valid one since you're trying to dodge answering."
I sigh to the ceiling and sit up, throwing the blankets off my legs. Looking her square in the face, I announce slowly, "I do not have a crush on Levi."
A smirk tugs at her lips. "Who said anything about a crush? I just asked if you liked him, that could have been interpreted in any way."
Crap. This is not how I expected my morning to go. "I hate you."
She pouts, unaffected by my words. "And you like Levi."
Giving her an unimpressed look, I slide my hands under my thighs. "He's not my type," I say defiantly.
Nova raises an eyebrow in the floor-length mirror on her closet door. "Do you even have a type? In the three years, we've been here, I haven't seen you with one person." The words settle in my stomach uncomfortably.
Yes, I've never openly expressed my interest in anyone since being in college. Does that mean I haven't been attracted to anyone? No. But as Hallie stated at Coffe Buns on the first day of classes, I have a talent for friend-zoning guys before giving them a chance. And most of the time this happens without even realizing it until they call me 'pal'.
No girl wants to be called a guy's 'pal'. It just sounds wrong.
It's a natural instinct to protect my feelings before someone else can have access to them. I've made that mistake before. I'll be damned before it happens again.
"I have a type."
She grins, calling my bullshit. "Then what is it?"
"Not Levi Saints." Her eyes squint, scrutinizing my facial expression. I swallow. Am I sweating? Desperately needing to change the subject, I rack my brain for anything else to say before it hits me. A sense of dread fills me. "I—uh, forgot to tell you something yesterday."
Wagging her finger at me, she gives me a teasing smile. "I know what you're doing," she says in a sing-song tone.
I purse my lips. "I'm serious, Nova." Her amusement fades as she takes in my stiff posture. She waits patiently. "If it were me, I'd want to know." She nods. "I saw Beck last night."
Her face adopts a blank expression. But I can see how taut her jaw is. "He was here?" She asks, spinning around to look at her reflecting in the mirror, dabbing spots on her face. I nod softly. Her jaw shifts and she clears her throat. "Was he with her?" I don't dare ask who 'her' is, I already know. Her more common nickname in this safe space is 'The Rebound'. But there's obviously more story to just being a rebound.
"No, he was with a few of his teammates in the backyard," I answer, facing the window to give her a second to process the new information.
"At least the bitch wasn't here then." Or that, that is also her nickname depending on the mood surrounding the general topic.
Reigning in my smile, I walk toward her mini fridge and pull out two bottled iced coffees and throw her one. "Trust me, if she were here last night, I would have dragged her out by her hair."
Nova turns to me with an adorable pout, her eyes sparkling. "You're too good to me."
I roll my eyes with a chuckle. "Duh. Ride or die," I answer simply.
She wraps her arms around my shoulders, pulling me into a little cuddle, her head resting on mine since she's so much taller than me. With her being five-eleven, it's very clear at my five feet five inches, that I'm the little spoon in this relationship and that's okay.
I release her and catch my reflection, rubbing the black mark under my eye from leftover makeup, our little moment over. "So, what are the plans for today? And where's Hallie?" I ask, finding it off that she hasn't crashed through yet.
Nova's eyes widen and she twists, holding onto the cupboard door. "You didn't hear?"
My eyes squint in suspicion. "Hear what?" What could Hallie possibly have done now? I shake my head, erasing the thoughts being conjured. Sometimes it's best to wait rather than panic.
"You really need to pay attention to your text messages. Hallie left the party last night." A groove appears between my brows, confusion rising. Nova can barely hold in her smile. "With Nico Bevy."
The words slam into my chest. "Nico? As in Bestie Nico—that Nico?" I ask.
Nova nods her head rapidly. "You should have seen it, it was hilarious. They tried to sneak upstairs and Gianna caught them, made a huge spectacle, and then they just disappeared." My legs knock into her bed and I fall onto it, listening intently. Nova waves around a cotton pad with cream on it. "So then Hallie sends our group chat a text about how she's with him and Jonah was hyping her up the whole time." She sucks in a lungful of breath. "Then, Levi comes downstairs and I swear to God three girls nearly died on the spot seeing him walking down the stairs."
I snort. Her hand flies up, stopping me from opening my mouth.
"Get this, Nico and Levi are roommates off campus so, feeling obligated, I let him know about Nico and Hallie's hookup. And then he just leaves. No ride, and didn't call a taxi or anything. No one saw him for the rest of the night."
Huh. A part of me feels bad that he probably didn't want to go back to his own place given that our friends were hooking up. First, I fall asleep on him mid-conversation. Then he can't go home because his best friend is entertaining one of my best friends. Good God.
"Oh my God," I trail off before shrugging. "Well, as long as she had fun," I say for lack of a better phrase.
Nova gives a pointed look. "Have you seen that man's face, better yet, his body? Also, he looked like he knew what he was doing if you saw the way he kissed her." Nova throws her cotton pad in her little trash can. "If she didn't have the time of her life that would be a tragedy." She gulps down her iced coffee. "He's definitely got a big dick, I can sense it."
I laugh loudly and unscrew the cap of my drink and let the cold coffee fill my senses, cherishing the caffeine I so desperately need right now.
Nova's phone pings.
Then it pings again.
And again.
We give each other a glance while she moves to grab her phone. Carefully reading the text messages, her smile stretches across her face. She waves the phone in my direction. "Wanna come with me to pick up our darling dirty girl?" She asks innocently.
I stare at her for a heartbeat. "I need pants."
|| ✨ ||
Ten minutes later, I'm wearing a t-shirt over last night's lace bodysuit and a pair of sweatpants on our way to pick up Hallie.
Nova's driving Hallie's pickup truck after Hallie told us she hid the spare keys in one of my drawers since her bedroom door is still locked from last night.+
We're following the pin location Hallie dropped a few minutes ago and end up a few minutes away from campus. Conveniently closer to Greek Row and the Athletic section of campus.
The apartment isn't massive. This town's version of a high rise is roughly ten floors at the most. This one's got about six at first glance. The building itself is a beige color with stucco walls. It's old, like most places you see in this town.
Apartment buildings are widely spread out in this town but not uncommon. They're mostly filled with upperclassmen from college and young couples.
We pull up to the front of the building, idling the car. Trying not to press my face against the window, I look up at the building. "Are we supposed to go up?" I ask cautiously.
Nova scrolls through her phone. "She said apartment F4, so I'm assuming yes?" She asks unsure.
We pull into one of the parking spaces lined outside the entrance and jump out. There's a small buzzer outside the door with a keypad on it. A little note gives you instructions on what to do. I hit the F button followed by the number four and finally the pound key.
"Hello?" My eyes snap up to the buzzer. That's Levi's voice coming through.
Nova nudges me. "We're here for the girl," I answer ominously. Nova's shoulders shake silently. "Let us in and nobody gets hurt."
There's silence on his side.
"Ominous...but oddly enough I'm into it." The door clicks and I grab the handle, pulling it open.
Our footsteps tap loudly against the tiled floors on our way to the elevators. The hallway is quiet on the top floor. I knock swiftly on F4.
A soft, muffled bark answers in response. Nova catches my eye, her face twisted in confusion. Does this building allow pets?
"Abby, chill, we've talked about this," comes from the other side of the door and a moment later, a shirtless Nico greets us with a bright smile. We're both caught off guard by his tanned and toned bare chest. So much so, that he has time to lean against the doorway and give us sly smile. "Ladies."
I'm the first to snap out of it and give him a lazy smile. "We lost our friend last night. She's five-seven; has brown hair; a thick southern accent and is horny twenty-four-seven but we love her for it. You haven't seen her around have you?" I ask casually.
Nico chuckles and opens the door wider, showing Hallie lying on the floor. But my eyes fall on Levi, who stands at the stove, scooping scrambled eggs onto a plate. He's also shirtless. That's a sight I linger on for a few extra seconds.
Hallie giggles and when I look over, an alarmingly loud gasp comes out of my mouth.
Nico and Levi freeze and look over in concern. "You have a puppy?" I practically squeal and shove my way through, immediately walking over to the fluffy little dog.
"Keep it down, Peeps or someone is going to hear you," Levi comments, carrying the frying pan to the sink. Peeps? Nova raises both eyebrows, her head rearing back, biting back a smile.
I sit on the floor and the puppy turns my way, sniffing my hand before giving it a little lick. Her tail whips back and forth as she climbs into my lap and tries to reach my face. I cuddle her close, smothering her in kisses.
Surprisingly, the apartment is not at all how I imagined two college guys living together in an apartment, would look. The room is brightly lit and airy, thanks to the big windows. A beige couch set takes up the majority of the open space that houses the living room, dining room, and kitchen. They have a white marble island that blocks Levi's lower half from view.
A regular-sized television sits on a tasteful wall unit. They so did not decorate this place. This has a suburban mother written all over it.
Nico steps aside for Nova to enter and turns towards the island. My eyes bug out. Are those nail marks? Hallie you dirty girl. Nova silently points at his back before giving Hallie a thumbs up, impressed. Hallie flips her hair over her shoulder with a victorious smile. "That's Abby, only a few of our trusted neighbors know about her, this building doesn't allow pets."
Nova frowns at his words. "And yet you live on the top floor of an apartment building. How does she go potty?"
I'm vaguely listening to them talk, too distracted by Abby's adorable little paws. She seems perfectly content lying in my lap. She snuggles her head in my thigh and I look up with a pout, physically emotional at her cuteness.
"Omelet anyone?" Levi asks, holding up the frying pan.
Nico wanders over to the stove and grimaces. "Dude, you burnt the omelet," Nico whines, hip-checking Levi out of the way. "Move aside and let the master work." He cracks his knuckles, grabbing an apron and slipping it over his bare chest.
There's writing on his apron and once I've read it, I blink and reread it to make sure I'm not insane. "Does your apron actually say 'I rub my meat for two minutes?'" I demand, a weirded-out expression washing over my face.
Nico gives me a boyish grin, pieces of his hair flopping over his forehead. "Yup," he says proudly, posing scandalously, "my mom got it for me."
Nova coughs. "Your...mom?" Her face is equally as concerned. If it was gifted to him by his buddies as a joke, that would be one thing but getting it from your mom. Who is this woman and why do I want to meet her so badly?
He looks at us as if we were stupid. "My mother. Madre—my mamma, if you will. The woman who birthed me," he explains, gesturing to his nether regions and mimicking with his hands.
I—I have no words.
Hallie giggles from her spot next to me on the floor.
Nova shakes her head. "You need help." She moves over to Hallie, staying a careful distance from the puppy, and grabs Hallie's arm. "And we can't stay for breakfast, we've got to help clean up from last night." She tugs Hallie's arm until she's standing.
Levi holds open the door for us while Nova makes a run for it. Hallie and I pet Abby one last time before following after her.
"Bye Peeps," Nico calls out, waving the spatula in my direction. My eyebrows furrow. Is this my new nickname then? His eyes shift to Hallie. "Bye Hallie, thanks for the fun night." He winks, cracking two eggs into a bowl with one hand.
"Back at ya!" Hallie calls out with a bright smile. She rushes after Nova, giving Levi a polite smile.
Levi hangs on the door, his face expressionless except for the slightest glint in his eye. "Did you know you snore in your sleep?" he asks innocently.
My mouth drops open. Face flushing. "I do not!" I deny it vehemently.
Levi's tongue pokes out from his lips, as he bites his lower lips trying not to smile. "Really loudly," he continues, "I've heard busy highways quieter than you."
"Oh fuck you, I do not!" I insist with a laugh, shoving his arm as I step across the doorway. Whether or not that's true, I'll never admit it.
His grin is wide. Looking down at his arm where I shoved him, he grabs the handle. "Well, that's just rude," he says emotionlessly but somehow I know he's not serious. "I'll see you around, Peeps."
I open my mouth to demand he come up with a better nickname seeing as how I don't even like those sugary, marshmallow treats but he slams the door in my face, effectively cutting off the impending argument.
"Jackass," I say loud enough for him and probably his neighbors to hear as I make my way to the elevators where Nova and Hallie are waiting patiently for the elevator.
I stop next to them. Nova turns to Dave Hallie. "So, how was it?"
Hallie leans her head back. "You have no idea." Henry voice is soft and breathy.
Nova grins, glancing at me. "Knew it."
|| ✨ ||
Perrie's reaction to dogs is 100% mine. If I'm out with people, I will literally sit on the floor right there and just play with the dogs.
Question — Do you have a pet? I have two dogs & a cat.
Until next time,
Sammipott xx