Hi Everyone!
UNEDITED!!! I've literally just finished writing this chapter, I've been a bit blocked lately.
But I hope you enjoy it xx Let me know what you think! If you catch any spelling or grammatical errors, feel free to point them out!
|| ✨ ||
"So wait," Nova begins, holding her cocktail glass out in front of her while leaning her elbow on the table, "he just dropped you off at home afterward?" Her eyebrows furrow.
Hallie sputters when I nod. "What? Nothing else?" she presses, standing from the booth to look down at me like we're in the middle of some interrogation.
I shrug, throwing back my shot of tequila. I'd ordered the hard liquor as soon as we walked into O'Connors. This place had not been on my agenda but once Nico successfully ruined the mood back at Levi's apartment, we'd awkwardly watched a short movie before agreeing to end the night there.
Not even a minute after he'd dropped me off, I was being shoved out of the front door and into the back of Hallie's truck.
"We watched a movie!" I defend loudly, falling against the cushioned seat, and leaning my head back to look at the dim lamp above our table.
The bar is packed since it's Saturday night. We're lucky we got this booth. Crowds hound the bar for their drinks and then shove through the rest of the students squished in this small space.
Hallie looks offended. "A movie? Did you even touch his dick?" she asks, mouth open in shock.
A glare settles on my face. "No, I didn't."
Her hand smacks the wooden table. "How the hell, did you not touch his dick? Did you at least fool around some more on your part? When last did your vagina see a man, huh?" Nova wheezes with a laugh.
"Can you not say shit like that out loud?" I say through gritted teeth, clenching the shot glass in my hands.
Hallie whirls around, her wavy hair flying around her face. "Penis! Vagina!" She yells, twisting this way and that, seeing if anyone notices. "See? No one cares."
"Doesn't mean I want to hear it," I say, slumping further into my seat, wanting to disappear.
Someone walks up to our booth and I'm ready to shoo them away when he opens his mouth, "I heard there was a penis, point me in the direction."
Hallie howls with laughter, shoving his arm. "Get lost, Oliver." He winks at us and leaves, stepping into the crowd. "I still think you should have drawn the sexy bits out," she starts up again, her gaze focused on the crowd around us.
Placing my hands on the table, I rest my chin on the back of my palms. "What was I supposed to do?" I ask rhetorically, getting fed up with her stupid comments. We're not all confident like Hallie Webber.
"Let him lick your titties!" Hallie yells out, throwing her arms in the air. My face flushes as I slam my head against the table hopefully giving myself a nice concussion. Maybe I need another drink so I can forget this conversation ever happened.
"Who's licking titties because I am in," Jonah announces, waving his hand.
Charlie walks up behind him, confusion marring his face. "What the hell did we just miss?"
Hallie points at me and before I can grab her she opens her mouth. "Our dear friend Perrie just got an amazing orgasm from Levi—ah!" Hallie falls to the side as Nova's handbag hits her in the face.
Jonah's eyes dart to me. "Wait, this thing with the swimmer was serious?" He shakes his head, confused.
I shrug, staring down into my empty shot glass. "Who said it was serious?" I mumble.
"Like you'd ever let a guy near your lady garden if it wasn't serious. You forget that we know you, Perrie," Jonah explains, folding his arms across his chest. "So what's his deal? You a couple?"
Giving him a flat look, I stand up. "Can you not do this whole protective thing? It's not serious."
Nova grabs the edge of Hallie's jeans and yanks her into the seat beside her. "Enough dramatics, she gets it." Nova, being the mature adult out of the three of us, laces her fingers together and stares me down. "Was he respectful?" I nod. "Did you enjoy it?" Looking into her eyes, I nod again. Her jaw shifts. "Do you trust him? He is an athlete, after all, a group you swore never to involve yourself in, and in two days you've kissed and fooled around with a Swim Captain."
She's not malicious about her questioning. One would think with her grudge over Beck she'd swear off athletes too but she knows the history behind them and why I chose to follow that statement.
"He's different," is all I can muster. Because he is. Yes, he was less than welcoming when we met but I did throw up on his shoes.
Hallie snorts, sipping from her beer bottle. "Athletes don't know how to be different, they're all the same. Passionate, aggressive, self-centered, and super horny from the first two," she informs us, fiddling with the bottle. My mouth shuts. "Trust me, I've slept with a lot of guys, and the athletes are the ones who never differ."
That didn't sit right with me. Because Levi was different. Wasn't he? He drove me eight hours in one day just to drop my sister off at home.
Hallie and Jonah kept talking, their voices drowned out by my excessive thinking. Nova casually surveys my expression. Hallie's reminiscing over a football player and his hurt ego over a comment she made in the middle of sex.
Nova pulls something out of her jeans pocket. She nods her head at me. "Let's go for a smoke."
And no, she does not mean a cigarette. She and I have very different experiences with weed and I'm still traumatized from the last time. Reluctantly, I butt-scooch out of the booth. A waitress comes to a stop in front of the table, a tray with a shot glass of something clear and a glass with amber liquid.
Before she can set them on the table, I snatch the shot glass and down the contents. Jonah sputters out a gasp. "Bitch, that was mine!"
I slam it back on the table and shake my head, letting the alcohol settle. "Order me another one," I say, following Nova outside into the crisp night.
We walk around the entrance, away from the small crowd outside, and stop at the edge of the building.
The alcohol keeps me warm but I still tug my coat closer to my body. Nova opens her metal tin box and pulls out a joint, lighting it up. She puffs out a cloud of white smoke away from me. She offers me a hit.
I shake my head repeatedly. "Hard pass."
She grins. "Come on, it wasn't so bad last time."
Giving her a pointed look, I press my back against the brick wall of the bar. "I had a panic attack over a leaf following me, Nova, I'm not going through that again," I remind her, shivering at the memory.
Nova chuckles, leaning against the wall. "Fair enough. Now that we're away from Hallie's horrifying fetishes. Talk to me."
My face shuts down and I shrug, scuffing my feet against the rough asphalt. "Nothing to talk about."
She levels me with a classic unimpressed Nova look. "That's bullshit. In the last two days, your sister ran away, you hooked up with a hot guy and got into a fight with your mother," her tone softens as she speaks, reminding me of the turmoil I've gone through this weekend and it's only Saturday. "You deserve to be frazzled right now."
"She didn't even take the blame," I say, leaning my head against the wall and looking up into the starry night. Just hours ago I was lying in Levi's bed and before that, I was arguing with my mother. Hell of a day. Feels like it's lasted a lifetime. "She couldn't just admit that she forgot Wren, she just started gaslighting me."
Nova settles next to me, resting her head on my shoulder. "Your mother's always been difficult—."
I place a hand on my head, trying not to punch the wall from the frustration building inside me. "But that doesn't give her the excuse to behave like this, it's embarrassing."
My best friend throws up her arms in surrender causing a piece of ash from her joint to blow off in the breeze. "I know, I know, just running through the facts."
"I'm just sick of her. Sick of being around her, I don't know how Henry does it," I wander out loud, sniffing against the cold chill seeping in. "And Levi was there to see it all, holy fuck."
Nova gives me a wry smile. "Well, I think the fact he saw all that and still wanted to finger you really speaks volumes," she notes, shaking her head.
My body turns to face her, leaving the side of my body pressed against the wall. "Do you think I'm insane for liking him?" She watches me from the corner of her eye.
"No, not insane." She twirls a piece of her hair before taking another puff of her joint, blowing the smoke out into the night. In the minutes that we've been outside her shoulders have drooped, and her body finally relaxing. She never gives herself enough time to forget about her studies. "But," she begins, "I am surprised that an athlete got your attention, you've refused to even acknowledge their existence the last few years and all it took was one cute fish boy to sway your opinion."
"He's not," she says simply, her gaze lost to the wall across from us, "because they're not all high school assholes who hold grudges. They're not all bad," she muses, her eyes shuttering for a second.
I swallow silently, nervous. Shuddering a breath, and fidgeting with my fingers, I ask, "Do you regret dating Beck? I know he wasn't captain back then but he was just as busy."
We're quiet for a bit. The sounds of the bar behind us were the only noise in the vicinity. People walk past every now and then, some getting into taxis and others braving the cold to walk back to campus.
"I don't regret it." Her voice breaks the silence. "Because I loved him, and even though he hurt what we had, during our relationship he was so good to me." Her eyes gloss over. I grab her free hand, squeezing it tight. She gives me a sad smile before clearing her throat, letting her vulnerable expression disappear. "But we were both busy, we both had separate lives and goals which was good and bad since we both couldn't feel guilty if we both focused on our own things," she pauses, glancing at me, "did that make sense?"
I nod with a closed-lip smile. Levi and I are not like what Beck and Nova were, he's passionate and focused but I don't even know what I want to do with my life. I'm only twenty, I'm still young. I don't have to have my whole life figured out this second. I'm here to make memories.
"But the guy spent the whole day in a car with you and didn't feel the need to shove you out in the middle of the highway, so I say that's a win," she teases with a grin. I shove her arm making her laugh louder while nearly face-planting the ground. "Just make sure you're both happy, that's all that matters."
I press the side of my body against hers and lean my head against her shoulder quietly, feeling her body shift with each breath. We stay like that until Nova's joint dwindles.
"Well, today both sucked and rocked," I say folding my arms across my chest as Nova finishes off her joint, "Wanna get drunk?"
She slips her arm through mine and together we move toward the bar's entrance. "God, yes."
|| ✨ ||
"Tell me again why we couldn't just take a taxi home?" I whine, panting with my hands on my knees hours later. "That fourth margarita was a mistake."
Nova giggles, taking a wide step away from me. "Look at how beautiful the sky is in the morning!" She gushes, hands over her mouth as she stares up at the pink and orange hues decorating the early morning sky with bloodshot eyes. "We should go for morning walks to see this stuff every morning," she mumbles.
"I would rather die," I reply, stretching my back and taking a few more steps. She laughs loudly, stumbling into me. God, how much did she smoke? Charlie and she disappeared outside to share a smoke at around one in the morning but I don't remember anymore. A dull ache throbs in my head when I try to think.
We left the bar about fifteen minutes ago. Jeremy, the bar owner, finally kicked us out after we fell asleep in one of his booths. The others were gone, the rest of the bar completely empty aside from Nova and myself.
We stumble into each other as we walk, watching the street lights turn off one by one. The athletic centers loom over our walk. We're both shivering from the cold morning, our coats in Hallie's truck locked and still sitting in the small parking lot next to O'Connors. My nose is running and bright red and I'm afraid to think of how I look, I couldn't bring myself to look in the mirror at the bar.
My makeup is smudged from rubbing my eyes but it's fine because it's five in the morning—.
"Perrie?" A voice calls from the parking lot we're currently walking through to cut time off our trek back to the sorority house.
My lips clamp together and I crouch down slightly. Nova raises a lazy eyebrow in my direction. "What are you doing?" She asks breathily, her eyes darting to where the voice came from.
"Hiding."
Nova spins on one heel, her tight coils flying around her face. "We're in an empty parking lot."
Fuck.
"Are you okay?" The voice asks, coming closer. I squeeze my eyes shut, praying I accidentally took an edible and am hallucinating because I know Levi is not here right now.
Nova nudges me. "I think he's talking to you," she whispers loudly, tilting her head toward where his voice came from.
My expression falls flat. "Gee, thanks," I snap back sarcastically. Spinning on my foot and nearly falling over, I casually place a hand on my hip. "Hi—guys!" I finish awkwardly, noting Nico and Beck climbing out of Nico's car, the only car in the entire parking lot. "What are you doing up so early?"
Levi walks up to me, his concern melting into a confused smile, with both hands behind his back. "A few of us like to go for a run on Sunday mornings," he explains, coming to a stop right in front of me. He stares down, eyes bright. "What are you doing up so early? Or late, should I say?" He grins. "I thought you hated mornings?"
Grabbing hold of Nova in hopes of keeping us both balanced, I gesture around us. "Oh, you know, enjoying this lovely fucking freezing morning, the usual."
That gets his attention. "The usual?" he grins brows nearly touching his hairline. Nova snorts, grabbing her nose and I pinch her side.
Nico raises an eyebrow, barely trying to hide his smirk. "Are you two drunk?" He asks playfully. Beck watches us quietly.
A gasp leaves my mouth. "I resent that accusation," I say, dramatically pointing a finger at his face. "I'm drunk, she's just higher than her own IQ right now." Nova waves with a relaxed smile on her face.
Levi scratches the back of his head, observing the empty parking lot and the two of us standing there, shivering. "We'll walk you home," he decides, shoving his hoodie over my face before I can say another word. I pull the fabric closer, sighing happily from the warmth. "Just don't throw up on it." I cut him a glare.
Beck starts to automatically pull off his own hoodie but Nova throws up a hand. "Don't even think about it, I may be high but I'm not stupid enough to take anything from you."
I perk up, leaning against her, wrapping my covered arms around her. "That's true, one time Nova finished an escape room in five minutes while high, it was glorious."
Nico unties his hoodie from around his waist and hands it over to Nova, who quietly thanks him, slipping it over her messy hair. Having sobered up a bit from the sudden audience, Nova leads the way, a touch of a frown on her face.
Levi sidles up to me, resting an arm around my shoulders. I look up at him and see he's already staring at me. "You're still in yesterday's clothes," he notes quietly, "I dropped you off at your place at eleven last night, when did you go out?"
I tilt my head. "Like five minutes after you left. Hallie insisted."
He freezes, his arm pulling me back to where he stopped. He glances around the empty area. "Where's Hallie?" The rest of them turn toward us.
"Oh," waving a hand dismissively, I wrap my hand around his waist and force him to keep walking, "she went home with some guy," I rack my brain, "the hot dance major right, Nov?"
She walks backward. "Yup, he did the Dirty Dancing move on her and she was halfway to the door within a minute of touching the ground again, it was beautiful." I nod in agreement.
"Hot dance major guy?" Levi reiterates, eyes wide.
"You should have seen his arms," I say dreamily.
A crease forms between his eyebrows. "Have you seen my arms?" he asks dumbfounded. I nearly laugh out loud.
I shrug nonchalantly, his arm a heavy weight on my shoulders. "Guess I'll have to take a closer look next time."
Satisfied, Levi curls his arm until I'm pressed against his chest. He slowly tilts my head up as he bends down to kiss me softly. "You better document it in your diary next time so you don't forget."
Smiling through the kiss, I whisper against his lips, "Maybe I'll have to dedicate a page in my scrapbook to them."
He chuckles, kissing me again. "I'll make sure you get all the good angles."
My hand trails down his shirt. "So generous," I murmur, the fingers on my free hand brushing against his jaw.
"Yes, thank you, I am freezing my balls off standing still here but you two have your moment, go ahead I'll wait," Nico announces, his arms folded across his chest.
Nova's watching us quietly and Beck is watching her. She smiling. I bite my lip, pulling away from Levi with a squeeze to said biceps, and rush to catch up with Nova.
The five of us continue our walk, exiting the parking lot and moving into Greek Row. The guys chat about some statistics for one of their sports, I think. Nova and I link arms and walk ahead, only stumbling a couple of times. After the second misstep on the concrete, they walk next to us.
"I could really go for a donut right now," Nova muses.
Slowly, my face turns to her with wide eyes. "Right?" I whisper, surprised at how badly I want one at the mere mention.
"You two are so funny like this," Nico chuckles, walking along next to Levi. Beck walks closest to the road, leaving Nova and me to walk along the grass of each property.
Leaning my head around Levi, I grin up at Nico. "Just be thankful we got a nap in at the bar otherwise we'd be super cranky and hungover."
Levi's head whips to me. "A nap at the bar?" He nearly yells, his mouth dropping open in shock.
Nova, having ignored the whole conversation, tugs my sleeve. "Do you think Coffee Buns is open? They have good donuts," she drawls, running her pointer finger over her bottom lip.
"Aren't you not allowed to be high on campus?" Nico questions, hands on his hips in thought.
Nova shakes her head. "A student is not allowed to get high on campus," she says, sounding as though she's memorized the rule straight from the school Code of Conduct...which she probably has. "I got high at the bar which is off campus so if I go to the cafe, I'll already be high." She glances at the three boys. "Loopholes."
Levi nods his head, impressed. "Nice." Beck's expressionless face cracks into a small smile.
"We'll get you some donuts when we wake up in the morning," I promise.
Nico chuckles. "It is morning."
I glare at him. "Later morning," I grumble, flipping off his stupid face. After a few more feet, we get to the sorority house property, the bright green (definitely sprayed that way) plushy grass making our shoes sink into the soil.
"I need chips," Nova announces. "Thank you for walking us." She quickly disappears inside, shutting the door quietly.
Seconds later the door opens again and Nova throws Nico's hoodie at him before closing it again.
"Thank you for walking us," I say, taking small steps toward the porch. "I'll text you?"
Levi smiles fondly, taking in my horrifying appearance. "You'll have one when you wake up. Get some sleep," he orders. My head bobs with a contained smile as I wave one more time before walking inside and closing the door.
From the window, I see the three of them talk for a few moments then set off at a brisk jog. Crumpling plastic grabs my attention. Nova stands in the entryway, an open bag of chips in her hand and a handful of chips in her mouth.
A few girls jog down the staircase, dressed in workout clothes. Nova and I nod to them in greeting and head for the stairs. "Ready for bed?"
"Fuck yes."
|| ✨ ||
Good Lord I love drunk Perrie and high Nova, they're the best.
I hope you enjoyed it!
Until next time,
Sammipott xx