Oh. Oh hell. Ash had it good here, rich shit aside.
I all but ran to meet him. His face was cute, dimpled. I adored it instantly, super jealous of Ash. If guy number one looked this good, what would the guys numbered two, three, and four look like? Hot damn.
I extended my hand. “I’m Kelsey,” I said, shifting the backpack on my shoulders. “You must be the cute roommate, Declan.” Probably shouldn’t have said that, but oh, well. Sue me.
“Uh, yeah,” Declan started, glancing at Ash. His stare was kind, warm, the color of chocolate. The very opposite of Levi’s stare. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say his face was flushed as he glanced to Ash.
Huh. Maybe he kind of liked her. Go Ash.
“Good to meet you,” I said once he finally took my hand. I was probably grinning like a stupid idiot as I turned to Ash, whispering, “He’s so cute, Ash. I can totally see why you’re keeping him to yourself.”
I said it to embarrass her, and I hoped to God I did. What else were best friends for?
“I have to pee,” I declared loudly, boldly, and if I might add, proudly.
Declan’s mouth hung agape, as if he couldn’t believe I just said that. Well, the poor boy had it in for a rough weekend if he thought that was uncouth or whatever.
Shrugging, I added, “Just thought you guys should know.” I went to the bathroom, silently amazed that they had their own private bathroom in their dorm room, for just the two of them. No communal bathroom necessary. I was so fucking jealous it hurt. Once the door was closed, I shouted, “Hey, this is actually pretty clean. I’m surprised.”
I didn’t really have to pee. I just stared at myself in the mirror, wondering what the hell I was doing. This…this might be the worst weekend of my entire life, if I ended up doing what I planned on doing.
Fuck it. You know what? I didn’t care. I didn’t care if I ended up regretting every single thing I did this weekend. Wasn’t that what life was about? Living it to the fullest, not having any regrets? I wouldn’t regret this. I wouldn’t. It wasn’t like I was going out and cheating on Levi, because we weren’t together.
When I exited the bathroom, I gave them both a smile. Declan and Ash looked like they were in deep conversation, but I asked anyways, “Do you guys mind if we get an early night tonight? I plan on rocking Hillcrest tomorrow, but I’m feeling jet-lagged from that trip.”
Ash laughed, while Declan spoke seriously, “How are you jet-lagged from a drive? Don’t you only get that from long plane rides?”
All I did was laugh and mock whisper to Ash, loud enough that Declan could hear, “So cute. Definitely a keeper.” Once I gathered everything I’d need to wind down for the night—my toothbrush, a change of clothes, and my hairbrush, since apparently my head was a mess of knots—I added, “And it’s obvious someone’s never spent a long time in a car before. It’s tiring, you know!”
We all got ready for bed, and I made Ash a bit more mortified by telling her that I’d give her five bucks to go over and cuddle with him in his own bed. Hey, when you went all out, you went all out. No holding back for me this weekend.
Eventually Ash and I crammed ourselves onto her bed and ducked under the sheets. We texted back and forth for a while, silently giggling when the other said something funny. It reminded me of a time long gone, what we used to do, way back when. God, it really felt like ages ago we were in high school.
I knew things would never be the same as they were back then, but still, I hoped to get some of the magic back. What was the point of life if all the magic was gone? If there was no fun to be had anymore? What the fucking hell was the point of all of this if you couldn’t let loose and have fun when you wanted to forget the drama?
Mom was right. I was a bitch to guys. I pushed them away when they got too close, and Levi? Levi had done everything wrong. He’d done everything wrong and now it was my turn to do something wrong. Tit for tat.
Tit for fucking tat.
Chapter Twenty-Nine – Kelsey
Declan had wanted to come. What a ridiculous cutie. I made some comment about not wanting other people to think we were together, or him cramping my style. I didn’t have much style, but I had some.
Okay, a little.
A teeny, tiny bit. Almost immeasurable.
My brown hair was freshly-cleaned and curled, falling down my back in soft waves. I’d lined my eyes with black eyeliner and red eyeshadow, and my lips carried a matte red stain. My shirt was very tight, the kind of shirt you had to do a little dance to get into. It was also red to match the rest of me. My jeans were also of the skintight variety, having paint splatters on them. I’d chosen black flats for shoes, knowing I’d need shoes that were easy to walk around in.
Ash was the Yin to my Yang. Her hair was straight, the pink in its lengths the only bit of color on her besides white and silver. Her grey eyes were lined with thick black kohl, her eyelashes long. The word God was scribbled onto her nametag, the angel in the darkness. A bit grungy, but hey, definitely a god among men.
Me? I thought everyone knew what I was by now.
The
