and wildly incompatible schedules, my quality time with Violet over the past few days has been limited to driving her home. While it hasn’t been ideal, at least I get to kiss her when I drop her off now. That’s been enough to keep me flying high until I get to see her later tonight.
It’s had a spillover effect into the rest of my life, too. I’ve been crushing it on the ice all week. Classes are suddenly far more tolerable. Even my shoulder feels better than it has in months.
“‘Sup.” Connor strolls into the kitchen wearing nothing but a pair of navy boxer briefs. Frankly, I’m just thankful he’s wearing those. It’s been harder to housetrain him than Biscuit.
I hit send on a good morning text to Vi and lock my phone, returning to my half-eaten bowl of oatmeal. “Not much. You?”
“Got laid again, huh?” He pulls out a container of Greek yogurt from the fridge and peels off the lid, turning back to face me with a smirk.
“What are you talking about?”
Connor leans against the counter, pointing at me with his yogurt-covered spoon. “Are you fucking kidding me? You never talk to me in the morning.”
Fair point. With the exception of practice and dryland, I have a strict no-talking, leave-me-the-fuck-alone policy in effect prior to nine a.m. on weekdays. Noon on weekends. Given that it’s seven forty-five a.m. on a Friday, I would normally level a death glare at anyone who dared to attempt conversation.
He adds, “You’ve been downright nice lately. Pleasant, even. The only logical conclusion is that you’re getting some on the regular.”
Vaughn appears with a silver travel mug in one hand, giving Connor a shove as he walks over to the coffee maker. “Told you, Haas. It’s not a sex thing.”
Getting laid last weekend certainly didn’t hurt my mood. But Vaughn is right; in this case, it’s not a sex thing. Violet and I didn’t even fool around when she slept over Monday night. After seeing how insecure she felt, I wanted to prove that wasn’t what mattered to me. It was nice, in a way—reminded me of when we started dating.
Don’t get me wrong. Nostalgia is great and all, but I’m definitely hoping to fuck her tonight.
“Is Violet coming over later?” Vaughn turns away, popping a slice of bread into the toaster.
I scrape up the last bite of oatmeal in my bowl. “Yeah. Just remember, you guys need to keep the whole ‘us’ thing on the down low while there are other people here.”
It pisses me off that we have to hide our relationship, but at least it isn’t forever. By next semester, this secrecy bullshit will be in the dim and distant past.
“Wait. What are you going to do with the mutt?” Connor nods at Biscuit, who wags his tail eagerly and trots over to sit at his feet, watching him adoringly. He loves Connor, even if it’s unrequited. Then again, Biscuit loves everybody. It’s a good thing we don’t need a guard dog. He’d bring the burglars his squeaky toy to play fetch with instead of chasing them away.
“He can stay locked up in my room.”
Drew stumbles into the kitchen, bleary-eyed and rocking massive bedhead. His LSU athletics shorts are on backwards and I’m pretty sure he’s wearing the same T-shirt he did yesterday. He’s usually impeccably groomed, which makes his current state especially jarring.
Connor balks, giving him a once-over. “What the fuck happened to you?”
“You okay?” Vaughn steps aside so Drew can access the coffee maker, eyeing him with concern.
“I was up late talking to Savannah,” he says, pulling out the biggest coffee mug we own and filling it to the brim. “She had some shit going on. She’s okay now.”
None of us bother to pry. Not because we don’t care, but because we already know he won’t spill. Drew is like a vault with secrets, especially when it comes to Sav.
“Who’s coming over tonight for your birthday, anyway?” Connor asks, tossing his dirty spoon into the sink instead of putting it into the dishwasher beside him. You know, the one I emptied half an hour ago. I’d chew him out, but I’ve given up at this point.
Drew rattles off the guest list. Savannah—obviously—plus a chunk of the guys from the team, and a handful from his poli sci program. Enough that we’ll definitely have an audience.
I’ll have to be on my best behavior tonight around Violet.
Somehow.
