“Oh shit. Please tell me you’re joking?” Melissa asked, making gagging noises.
“I wish. I ran into her downstairs, where she tried to warn me about him. As if she’d ever try to help anyone. I think she was just looking for a way to tell me they had hooked up,” I wailed. What a disappointing end to an otherwise perfect date. I wouldn’t even allow myself to think about the kiss. The idea that his lips had kissed hers made me seriously consider taking a stiff bristle brush to my own lips.
“Monkey asses. I was hoping he was the guy for you,” Melissa huffed, returning to her nails.
“You and me both,” I grunted, heaving myself off the bed so I could drown myself in the shower. This would be why I set such high guidelines when it came to dating.
By the next morning I was able to successfully put Justin in the same category with all the other guys who didn’t matter. I blocked out the insistent voice that kept trying to convince me otherwise. I took the wimp’s way out and sent him a text, telling him I would need the whole day and evening to study for my made-up exam. He never returned my text, which showed he had the attention span of a gnat. I patted myself on the back, convincing myself I had dodged a bullet.
The day turned out to be long and tedious anyway as I really did try to get schoolwork done. It proved to be difficult as my brain highlighted moments from the day before. The way he had warmed my face when we had arrived at the aquarium or the way his younger sister’s eyes had shined when he told her he was taking her to see her favorite play. By two o’clock, I gave up studying. It seemed futile at the moment. I tossed my schoolbooks on my desk and lay back on my bed with the book I’d bought a few days prior. Even recreational reading proved to hold little appeal as my mind continued to focus on Justin. Finally giving up, I tossed the book aside and picked up my iPhone. The relief I felt after I had sent him my lame text earlier turned to irritation as I pondered why I hadn’t heard from him. Bypassing the text messages, I went to my standby Spider Solitaire game that always did the trick when I needed something to occupy my mind.
Several hours later, I’m embarrassed to say, I was still lying on my bed playing the mindless game when Melissa returned to our room.
“Hey, you want to get some dinner?” I asked.
“Don’t be mad, okay?” she said, stepping into the room, but leaving the door open behind her.
“Why would I be ma . . . Oh God, please tell me you didn’t,” I mumbled as Rob and Justin strolled into our room. Our room that was the size of a closet to begin with. With two extra people we were packed like sardines.
“So, Rob and I will be back in a minute,” Melissa said, dragging a confused Rob from our room as she ignored the daggers she knew I was glaring at her.
I swung my legs around and sat up on my bed, trying not to dwell on the fact that Justin wasn’t exactly catching me at my best. My hair probably looked like a bird’s nest and I was wearing an oversized UW T-shirt with no bra and my favorite Victoria’s Secret sweats.
“What are you doing here?” I demanded, taking out my discomfort from the situation on him.
“We have a date,” he replied. He plopped down on Melissa’s bed, looking unfazed by my tone.
“We had a date. I sent you a text,” I stated, holding up my phone for emphasis.
“That’s right, and if I remember correctly, you broke it off so you could study,” he said pointedly, looking at the game that was still open on my phone.
“I was giving my fried brain a break,” I lied.
“What’s the deal, Brittni? I like you. A lot. I’ve made that clear, but I can’t keep chasing you if you don’t want to be caught,” he huffed, running his hand across the light layer of scruff that covered the bottom half of his face. “I mean, what do you want from me? Are you really not interested?”
I sighed heavily. How could I articulate my feelings without sounding like a jealous half-wit? “It’s not you . . .” I started.
“Oh, please. Tell me you’re not trying to feed me the ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ crap. I’m not sure I’ll be able to stomach that.”
“Fine. It is you. Well, not you exactly. It’s who you’ve banged,” I snapped, jumping to my feet so I could pace the room.
“Who I’ve banged? Are we at that point in this relationship where we’re handing over our lists?”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “You want to think it’s ridiculous, that’s your problem, but did you really have to sleep with Kara the Twat-Face?” I sank back down on my bed and dropped my face to my hands.
“Kara the Twat-Face?” he questioned, prying my fingers from my face.
“Fine, that’s not her real name.”
“That’s a relief, but I’m still drawing a blank here.”
“It still doesn’t change the fact that you dated the one girl I can’t stand, Kara Bellmont,” I said, wanting to puke.
“Kara Bellmont? In that bitch’s dreams,” he shuddered.
“You didn’t date her?” I asked. What a relief if he was telling the truth.
“Hell no. She was in my Bio Chem class last year. She tried, believe me. Always talking about how she ‘can’t keep any of the formulas straight,’ and ‘could we get together to study.’ Study, my ass,” he said.