Page 7 of Stay Toxic

“I could have fallen asleep in the middle of a night club, I was that tired,” I admit, biting into a delicious grease-filled burger that isnotmaking me feel guilty. “But you know, he wasn’t creepy. Just…without many boundaries, I guess.”

My friend rolls her eyes to high heaven. “Please. It was totally creepy. If you don’t think so, you understated his hotness level.”

Damn, I forgot how astute she is. I take another bite, feeling myself flushing.

“Oh my god! He totally was a hottie, wasn’t he?”

There’s no point denying it. “Greek god level,” I admit, nodding my head for emphasis. “If one thing can be said about my elusive roommate, it’s that she has good taste.”

“You still haven’t met her?”

I shake my head.

I made it in late on Sunday night, and given the fact that I collapsed within seven seconds of hitting the sack, I’ve never actually seen my roommate. She left before I did this morning. I hope, despite the obvious, that we’ll manage to get along, because I’m not returning to the office to ask for a room change again unless my life depends on it.

“I was thinking about picking up something in town, you know. To break the ice. A box of chocolates, maybe.”

Tanya narrows her eyes. “Tia, you don’t need to buy anyone’s friendship. If they can’t see how awesome you are, they aren’t worth your time.”

I smile at my friend. She’s too sweet. But I also know that she can be abrasive, and hard to get to know. We were seated close by in Humanities, and I wanted to get to know her. So I brought candies. And it worked.

“I said chocolate, not diamonds and roses.”

She rolls her eyes, jumping to her feet. “Fine. To break the ice, today. But you’re not buying anything else.”

I roll my eyes, bringing my mouth to her cheek as she bends to kiss me goodbye. “When’s the show opening, again?”

“Thursday. I got you tickets—two, so you can break that Greek god with you for inspection.”

I audibly snort as I watch her bounce back to the theater. “Yeah, right.”

4

Nervous at the idea of actually meeting my elusive roommate by the time I get back to the dorms, I take a moment to stop outside our door and listen. Given the last time I entered the room without precautions, it feels necessary. I only catch the sound of upbeat music blasting through—no squeaky bed, no moans. She’s here, then.

I know better than to think that means the scene will be completely PG. Maybe she put on the music so loud to drown out less savory sounds. Bracing myself, I scan my keycard and push the door open.

In broad daylight, the room looks even bigger than it did last night, or this morning, when I left in a hurry, and I’m greeted by the brightest smile I’ve ever seen.

The gorgeous, petite brunette immediately drops the stack of books she was arranging on shelves onto her bed, and leaps toward me, arms wide.

“Hi!”

Before I know it, I’m squeezed into a tight hug, which is pretty disturbing.

I blink several times because what the fuck? It’s the very first time I’m meeting this girl. I think I was less surprised when I caught her naked on her hands and knees.

It’s not that I’m entirely unaccustomed to hugging. My big brother can be a veritable octopus. Plus, I just left a hugger at the cafe, but it took Tanya months into our freshman year to get that comfortable with me.

“Bass told me you’re Hestia, is that right?” the girl rushes to say, finally letting me go. “I’msosorry about yesterday, darling. I was hanging out with the guys, and then one thing led to another—you know how it is. I figured you wouldn’t make it until tomorrow as it was so late. Bass said you were pretty shocked?Please, forgive me.”

And then she pouts. Those big, golden brown doe eyes plead better than the average golden retriever puppy.

“IswearI’ll never have fun with guys in our room without checking if you're around and letting you know. Give me your number? I’ll text to check if you’re coming soon next time things get heated.”

She says all this without stopping to breathe, eager for my approval. That sounds...highly reasonable. I smile back, the tension I've felt all day at the thought of this confrontation dissipating. I expected some sort of altercation, maybe a few veiled insults—her calling me a prude or something. But apparently, she’s a bubbly, adorable, friendly sweetheart.

Just the kind of sweetheart who likes to get railed by a couple of guys at once. It's none of my business, so long as she sticks to her promise to not do that sort of thing when I'm around. She seems sincere, and I decide I'll take her at her word until she proves otherwise.