We’d have to be.
I dressed in some of his boxers and a t-shirt and we kept studying together. We drank the coffee that was cold now and settled back into the pillows a few feet apart. I kept playing the night through my mind as I read the words in my psychology book, jotting down some important points.
This felt like more than two friends studying. Given that we just had incredible sex, we were obviously more but at the same time, we weren’t. When I was ready to go back to my dorm, I fixed my hair and got dressed in my clothes, realizing that I’d worn my glasses through all the sex. I glanced in the mirror to make sure that I basically looked the same as when I left the dorm. I was aware that Violet was keeping an eye on the situation between me and Sterling. I looked at him on his bed in sweats, his hair wild from the activity earlier in the evening. I saw something lighting up on the floor and could tell that it was his phone with some kind of message or call coming in.
“Have fun studying.” Sterling looked up at me and I smiled. “Thanks for the coffee.”
“Thanks for coming by.” He grinned wearily, and I opened the door and walked out, pulling it closed. I wasn’t sure how I wanted us to part but this seemed too casual. I relaxed my face as I walked to the front door and headed outside. It was getting darker in the late afternoon and I glanced up to see that the sky was overcast. I walked to the next building and headed up the stairs into the lobby. There were quite a few students gathered around and I made my way past them to head upstairs to my room. Trying the door, I found it open and pushed my way inside slowly.
Violet was sleeping amongst her books and notebooks, her head propped up on several pillows. We both worked ourselves to death, and I felt some sympathy for her as I walked over to the desk, placing my books quietly on the surface. I decided to take a shower and picked out some fresh clothes before heading into the bathroom.
I dropped the old clothes into the hamper and stepped under the hot water. It felt good as it pulsed over my skin and I washed my hair, knowing that he was in there somewhere. When Sterling came, he shot it all over my back. The memory made me shudder. I washed my body off, my nipples sensitive from his teeth as I sighed.
I dressed after the shower and braided my damp hair before I crawled into bed. I was exhausted and needed a nap before I tried to read another word of anything.
I woke up to the scent of food and blinked as I looked around. Violet was sitting on her bed eating out of a container in the dim light of her salt lamp. She saw me and smiled.
“I ordered some Thai food. I was starving and couldn’t wrap my mind around the idea of going to the cafeteria. I had to get this downstairs, but that was worth it.” She held up a second fork. “I got your favorite.”
I took the container that she offered me and dropped back to my bed. These memories in this tiny room with Violet would always mean something to me. We’d shared so many dreams and ideas in here. She knew me better than my parents did. I opened the lid and inhaled the scent of the noodles and chicken deeply before wrapping some around my fork. It was so good.
“Thank you. I didn’t know how much I needed this,” I told her before I took another bite.
“There’s ice cream on the way too. Chocolate pints. Amazon is my best friend,” I smiled and shook my head.
“Are we going to study anymore?” I asked as she shrugged.
“I have had enough. I just want to kick it and watch a movie or something.” Violet told me from her bed and I nodded in agreement. “How was it at Sterling’s?” I’d told her where I was going and received a knowing look from her.
“We studied. Nothing big,” I replied as I stabbed a piece of chicken with my fork.
“Just studied?” She queried as I rolled my eyes.
“Yes. We hang out sometimes too, you know.” I was lying, but I didn’t want to discuss the weird things that happened tonight. I still needed to process it myself.
“Hmmm. Okay.” Her voice held doubt, but I ignored that as I ate my late dinner. When the ice cream came, we found a movie on Netflix on the smart TV that her family gifted us last year. I dipped my spoon into my pint, taking small bites as the horror movie played across the screen. It was predictable as most were, but it was dark and quiet in here. I could think about everything without Violet paying any attention to me.