Drop Dead Queen (Corium University Trilogy 2)

“Next time I tell you to fix something, you fucking fix it. Now, where are her panties?”

At my question, his eyes go impossibly wide. So wide, I think they might pop out of his sockets. With trembling hands, he points his finger to his coffee table, where I find the small pink piece of fabric. I snatch the panties from the table and stuff them in my pocket.

The man never even tries to get up as I step past him and head toward the door. “Tomorrow, you fix her room. Clean it up well, and make it look nice, got it?”

“G-got it!” He nods, looking like he is about to piss himself.

That’s what I thought.

Leaving the douchebag on the floor, I see myself out of the apartment. I hate the fact that this asshole has a nicer place than Aspen, but that’s not something I can’t help right now. At least she’s going to stay warm in my bed tonight.

At this time of night, the hallways and elevators are deserted. The only sound echoing through the empty halls are my own footsteps as I make my way back to my apartment.

When I get back to my place, my room is completely quiet. The door to the bathroom is open, but the light is turned off, and the water is not running anymore. The faint smell of my soap lingers in the air, which is the only sign left that someone took a bath recently.

The lamp next to my bed is turned on, illuminating most of my room. I frown when I find my bed empty.

Where the fuck did she go?

Stepping into the attached bathroom, I scan the small space. The bathtub is drained, a wet towel draped over the edge, and a small pile of dirty clothes is stacked in the corner. Her soiled clothes remind me I didn’t lay out anything for her like I told her I would. Which means she either helped herself or is running around naked. I smirk at the thought.

A rustling sound next to my bed catches my attention, and I spin around. My eyes land on the small body on the floor, curled up into a ball. She is wearing one of my hoodies and a pair of sweatpants. They are so big on her, she could pass as a pile of laundry with feet sticking out. I walk over to her and nudged her leg with my foot.

“What the hell are you doing?”

She rolls over and looks up at me, half asleep. “I told you I would sleep on the floor. Where did you go?”

Ignoring her questions, I order, “Get up on the bed.”

“No, I’m fine down here.” She turns away from me again like a petulant child.

“Either get up on the bed or give me my clothes back,” I warn. “You wanna sleep on the floor, do it naked.”

“Ugh. Fine,” she huffs and scurries off the floor. Crawling on the bed, she curls up on the edge of the mattress.

“On second thought, maybe I’ll have you naked on the bed as well. You know, just in case my dick gets cold, and I need a place to warm it up.”

“Don’t you have a microwave you can put it in?”

“I prefer your pussy. Last time I microwaved my dick, I burned the tip.”

A tiny giggle escapes her lips, but she still doesn’t turn over to look at me. “I’m tired and sore, Q. And I’m about to get my period. Can we please not do this today?”

“Fine. You can keep the clothes for now, but I can’t guarantee that I won’t be peeling them off your body in your sleep.”

“Okay.” She yawns. “That’s fair…” she trails off, her voice laced with sleep. After that, the room falls silent.

Just when I think she has fallen asleep, her tiny voice fills the room once more. “I didn’t wear a wire. I wish you would believe me.”

“Even if I believe you, it won’t change anything between us.” And it won’t… nothing will ever change the war between us. We will always remain on two different sides.

21

ASPEN

This time when I wake, there is no sewage smell or water pouring from the ceiling in my room. In fact, I’m not even in my room, and I know this because the pillow beneath my head smells spicy, manly, like Quinton.

I blink my eyes open and look to the other side of the bed. Unfortunately, I’m alone, though I don’t know why I expected him to be here. I can’t believe I actually had the courage to come here.

I stretch beneath the sheets before tossing them back and sit up in the bed. It’s so comfy that I consider staying in his bed forever. Ha, like he would let me do that. I mean, maybe if I was naked.

I roll out of bed and look down at the clothes I’m wearing. This isn’t going to work. I can’t go to classes wearing Quinton’s sweatpants and T-shirt. My eyes scan the room, and that’s when I spot a T-shirt, pair of yoga pants, and tennis shoes all neatly stacked on top of each other in the chair. A smile appears on my lips. I shouldn’t be smiling, so what if he did something nice for me?