"I'd just prefer it if you called me before coming over," I said, following him. The countertop next to my fridge was covered in Tupperware, my leftovers. He was prying each one open and inspecting what was inside like this was his house.
"It's not like you were busy, what's the big deal?" he asked, searching my drawers for a fork. He started eating my pasta leftovers from the night before right out of the container with all the other ones still sitting on the counter and the fridge wide open.
"Could you at least use a plate?" I sniped. He stuffed his mouth with cold pasta, looking inside the fridge again.
"Why don’t you ever have any beer?" he asked with his mouth full.
"It's ten in the morning," I said incredulously. He pulled out a can of La Croix and popped it open, taking a long swig before he made a face and just stuck it back in the fridge. I couldn't watch him anymore, I walked over to the fridge, nudging him so he'd move and started cleaning up his mess. He didn't say anything, just burped loudly in response.
"Hey, I wanted some of that chicken," he protested as I refilled my fridge with everything he had pulled out.
"Why are you here, Sean?" I asked, closing it and standing with my back against it so he'd have to pay attention to me.
"I wanted to see how you were," he said shrugging.
"You haven't even asked me anything yet," I pointed out.
"I can tell just by looking at you," he said. His brow furrowed slightly. "You look a little sick, are you okay?" he asked. No you idiot, I just got up, sorry I didn't have any time to put on my face before you showed up unannounced. I rolled my eyes and walked out of the kitchen.
"I'm heading to campus later, I need to get ready to leave," I said.
"School? Why?" he asked, following me back into the living space. He still had the pasta and one of the three bananas I had been saving to make banana bread with.
"If you must know, I've been thinking about taking summer classes before my last year," I said. He laughed loudly.
"Why the fuck would you do that? School finally cuts out and the first thing you do is go back?" he asked.
"The sooner I finish my classes, the more time I have later to work before graduation.”
"That's stupid," he said definitively. "Just go to class when class starts. It's called summer vacation because you're supposed to be on vacation."
I was only telling him this because he happened to be the only other person in the room. Sean was the last person I needed to be talking about academics with. He lived in a new development in an apartment he shouldn't have been able to afford since he didn't have a job. His family was pretty wealthy and paid for both that apartment he lived in and that education he was hardly getting. They had paid for the massive television and gaming consoles that took up all his time, too.
"I don't know. I think I want to get all my studying done off top then have time and money for the rest of the stuff," I said.
"What's the deal with you and school? You're not ugly, it isn't like you have to be smart to get by," he said.
I closed my eyes, calming down before I said something to him that I might have regretted. It was my mistake for keeping him around, I knew that, but he wasn't always like this. What was that Tiffany had said to me about him? That I was projecting and no, he wasn't actually the kind of guy I thought he could be?
"You know what? I'm busy today, Sean. You have to leave."
"You're going to school, then coming right back. That doesn't sound busy to me," he said.
"Just go."
"Are you waiting on someone?" he asked, suddenly interested. "A date?"
"Since you asked, yeah, I actually might be going out with someone tomorrow night," I said, crossing my arms.
"Might? Like you aren't sure? Just go," he said lightly.
"What?"
"Yeah. Were you waiting to ask me permission or something? It's not like you're the only girl I've been talking to. We're not exclusive, you can date whoever you want," he said. I knew that. I already knew that, so why was it making me so mad to hear him say it?
"Do you go to all their houses when you run out of food at your place?" I asked. The pasta was gone and he had left the banana peel in a heap on the edge of one of my end tables.
"Naw. Just you. You're the best cook, baby," he said coming up to me and putting a hand around my waist.