Who Breaks First (Clearwater University)

Where the hell did that come from?

Jesus, don’t even go there, Emma. It’s bad enough you slept with all three of them. But they’re not yours. Never forget that.

“Right,” I say, taking a deep breath and trying to erase my thoughts from my face. “Well, let’s just say, a lot of shit has gone down between us.”

“What kind of shit?”

“Well, they bullied me a lot in high school; still do. Trent is convinced I sabotaged his mother and father’s marriage, and now our parents are dating, which is super fucking awkward. Anyway, back in high school I was attracted to… all three of them.”

“Before or after the bullying?” Leslie asks, leaning f

orward a little.

“Probably both,” I admit, a guilty expression on my face.

“Damn.”

“So, West and I had sex in high school, and I didn’t tell the other guys.”

She shrugs. “Probably a smart move.”

“And last week, well, I had sex with Trent.”

“Your dad’s girlfriend’s son?”

“Yes, I know, I know.” I groan, covering my face with my hands. “It’s awful and insane. It just—happened.”

Well, part of why it happened is because I opened the door dressed in a skimpy piece of lingerie and then jumped on him. But there was a reason for that, and Leslie doesn’t need to know about my blackmail material right now.

I’m trying to ease her into this fucked up situation gently.

“Well, that doesn’t seem so bad.” Leslie’s looking at me with something almost like jealousy herself.

“But wait, it gets worse.”

Her eyebrows shoot up, and this time, there’s a definite flash of jealousy in her eyes. “I feel like I know where this is going.”

“Yeah. I had sex with Reese. Last night. In his car.”

“Oh my god!” She flops back down on her bed, fanning herself. “This is intense!”

“I know.”

Fuck, when I say it all out loud like that, it does sound insane. No wonder it feels like everything between us is more tangled up than a mess of Christmas lights, a hopeless knot that we’ll never untangle.

Finally, my perky roommate rolls over, propping herself up on one elbow and grinning at me wolfishly. “I have to say, I’m impressed. Now I can’t fucking believe I haven’t had sex with Rory yet.”

“This isn’t some kind of competition.”

“I know, but damn girl. Whatever perfume you’re using, I want to bathe in it,” she teases. Her voice is a little dull, and I see the envy glinting in her eyes again.

It strikes me that every salacious story she told me about her and Rory was mostly about what she did to him—as if he were more of a lazy bystander than an active participant. Maybe their sex life isn’t actually all that good, which could explain why she’s looking at me like I’ve just won the lottery or found the Holy Grail or something.

But doesn’t she understand?

Yes, the sex was mind-blowing. World altering.

The scorching hot sex comes with enough baggage to fill a 747 though. Maybe she’s the lucky one, having somewhat boring sex with a somewhat boring guy. If everything exists in the middle, at least the highs and lows don’t batter you back and forth so hard.