“What’s going on?” My voice wavered so much that I barely recognized it.
He snapped his head up, and the girl writhing on top of him finally turned her face to me. I wanted to scream, but for some reason, no sound would escape my throat. It was Ashley, a sister of mine from Beta Omega Pi. We’d never gotten along great, but she always seemed to come up to me and make conversation at mixers.
Now I knew why.
Because for the last four months, I’d been bringing my boyfriend—sorry now my ex-boyfriend Kevin—and she’d been anxious to see him.
“What is happening?” I finally squeaked out.
Ashley slid off of Kevin like she’d been scalded. I turned away as she grabbed her clothes and shucked them on in record time. The slam of the door was the first welcome noise I’d heard since I’d come early this morning to surprise my boyfriend for his twenty-first birthday. Big surprise. It was all just on me instead.
“How long?”
Kevin sat up in bed and threw the comforter over his waist as if that would make any of this better or hide the fact that I’d caught him red-handed. Among other things. “Look, I can explain.”
“That you’ve been screwing one of my sorority sisters. Damn it! We haven’t even slept together yet, and she’s in your bed?”
Kevin clenched his jaw, and I could see the vein in his forehead starting to pulse. I wasn’t sure what he was doing. If he was going to try and lie his way out of it, well, there was no explanation good enough to excuse me walking in on Ashley riding him cowgirl style. There was no “Oh this isn’t what it looks like.” What it looked like was that I was the only one around here who wasn’t being screwed.
“We’ve been growing apart.”
Daggers stabbed into my heart, and my eyes grew wet. “Today’s your birthday. I spent all last night baking a cake for you from scratch. We’ve been spending every weekend together for three months. I thought…”
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Well, Ashley’s been able to see me more often.”
I swallowed, hard. “Is this some kind of punishment? Did you start with her to get back at me? I was trying to take things slow. You knew when we started dating that I wasn’t the hookup type.”
He stood as he wrapped the sheet around his waist. “You’re pretty, Selena. But that’s not worth waiting forever. I am into you, but it’s a lot of work.”
I stiffened. “But you’re saying that Ashley was easy, the sure thing?” My voice was wavering by then, and I didn’t want to break down in front of him. I wasn’t in love with Kevin, but it was the most serious relationship I’d had so far in my life. I thought we were building to something. Damn it. For once in my life, I thought I could have something special. “Because that’s pretty much what it sounds like.”
He glanced down at the sticky, gooey remains of the birthday cake. “It was fun while it lasted is what I’m saying. I’m willing to keep a slot open for you on Saturdays, but you have to up your game. Fuck, I’ve always wanted to try a threesome. If you’re up for that, then nothing has to change.”
I wanted to vomit and punch him and scream all at once. I settled on option three. “So, I’m welcome as long as what?”
“You heard me.”
I shook my head and sped past him and toward the door. I was so done with this. He grabbed me by the wrist as I marched by. “Let go.”
“I’m just saying, babe, think about it. It could be fun.”
I spun around and slapped him; the flat of my hand smacking hard against his cheek. The sound of it rang out between us. “You’re a bastard.”
“Look, like I said, you’re hot. I was trying to wait, but you’re the one who’s acting like the Ice Princess. You’re the one who waited too late to do anything.”
“Well, if three months is too late,” I said, “then I’m glad. I wouldn’t have wanted to sleep with you anyway—knowing what kind of jerk and womanizer you are.”
Yanking my hand away, I stomped through the cake and slammed the door shut behind me.
***
“I can’t do this. I can’t believe this. I don’t…” My voice cracked, and I put my head in my hands.
Tammy, my best friend and roommate, patted my back. “He was a jerk.”
“I know.” I hiccupped after that and took in deep, shuddering breaths until I could try and get back to a sense of calm. “I liked him though. I’m not sure if I feel worse because he broke my heart or because I just feel incredibly stupid, like I should have seen it right off.”
Tammy sighed and flicked her dark hair out of her eyes. Often, I envied her. She had the sharp cheek bones from her model mother that made men drool, and was basically perfect. She was also tall, which would have been a nice thing to be. I got tired of grabbing a stool every time I needed anything. I’d often felt overshadowed by her. I didn’t fault her for it; no one could argue with genetics. It just was that she never had trouble with guys. I’d had a few interested in me during college so far, but between my classes and the intense work schedule I had to maintain to pay my way through NYU, I barely had time for anything else. Kevin had been so adamant, so persistent that I’d let my guard down with him.