Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 91363 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91363 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
“Speaking of things staying between us, Olivia likes you, and she wants me to put in a good word for her.”
Ben’s eyebrows shot up his forehead. “Oh? So what’s the word?”
“Ha ha. You know what I mean.”
The word was sixty-nine. But how was he to know the word was a number? Unless I told him. Which I would never do.
“I haven’t really taken a long look at her, but she’s not ooglay. Right?”
“Duh. No. She’s not ugly. She’s fine if you’re into makeup and big hair.”
“Big boobs? Smart?”
“You’re such a doofus. How can you ask about her boobs and if she’s smart in the same breath? You’ve seen her breasts. I haven’t asked for her GPA yet. Besides, I don’t think she’s looking for a boyfriend. Just someone to …” I rolled my lips together. Ben and I were well-practiced at finishing each other’s sentences. Surely, he could read between the lines.
His lips parted, eyes flaring a bit. “She just wants to mess around? She’s looking for a boy toy?”
“I don’t know.” I averted my gaze to the window.
“Oh, you know. I’m not stupid. Having a girl as a best friend has given me exclusive access to Chick World. And I know chicks tell each other everything. So spill. Is this what she wants?” He gestured his hand up and down his body like one of Barker’s Beauties showcasing a new refrigerator.
I snorted. “You’re a dork. Girls are not chicks. And I don’t know why she’d want,” I mimicked his gesture, “all of that, but she seems to think she does. However, I don’t like the idea. She’s my roommate, and as much as she pretends it would just be casual, I fear you could break her heart.”
Ben scratched his chin. “Of course I could break her heart. It’s not my fault that when they fall, they fall hard.”
I stuck my finger down my throat. “Gag me. Could you be more arrogant?”
“I’m the right amount of confident, and you know it.”
“Shut up.” I wadded a piece of paper from my desk and threw it at him.
He caught it and laughed. “You’re so tough.”
I jumped out of my chair and lunged at him because I was tough. He fell flat on the mattress as I landed on him, our faces inches apart, grinning as far as our ears as we laughed.
“Now you’re just asking for it,” he said, tickling my sides.
“Stop! You need a shower.” I giggled, trying to wriggle out of his hold. “S-stop … I’m gonna pee my pants!”
He didn’t stop, so I flailed my arms and legs, trying to break free from his hold.
“Tell me I’m a stud, and you’re the nerd,” he demanded.
“You t-think”—my sides hurt from him digging his fingers into them and laughing so hard—“‘Chopsticks’ is a ballad.”
“Take it back,” he said with his mouth at my ear as we rolled one way and then the other, making a tangled mess of Olivia’s bedding. “Say it.”
My joking about wetting my pants turned into a real possibility, so I had to say “uncle” first. “Fine! You’re a stud.”
“I can’t hear you.”
My body jerked to get away, but he was too strong. “AHH!” I squealed. “YOU’RE A STUD!”
In the next breath, he released me, and I rolled to sit up, only to find Olivia at the door with her mouth agape. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to”—she shook her head, confusion stealing her face—“I can come back later, if you need to finish.”
“What?” I jumped to my feet and straightened my clothes before combing my fingers through my hair. “No. There’s nothing to finish. Nothing going on.”
Olivia’s gaze ticked between Ben and me. “Well, just so you know, everyone on the floor has their heads poking out of their rooms because it sounded like you were getting nailed pretty hard, if you know what I mean. You’re lucky our RA left for dinner. Dude, I could hear you with my Walkman on.” She set her yellow Walkman and headphones on her desk.
I slapped a hand over my mouth, and Ben had the nerve to snicker. It wasn’t funny. I had never been so much as kissed by a boy, and thanks to my obnoxious best friend, all the girls on my floor thought I was a loud hussy having sex in my dorm room with a real stud.
“I want to die,” I whispered, dropping my hand from my mouth.
Ben stood, tightening the drawstring to his sweatpants as if we had done something. I cringed, meeting his unaffected gaze before shifting my attention to Olivia, who tucked her hands into her hoodie pocket. Her expression was hard to decipher, so I didn’t read into it.
“He was tickling me because he’s mean and he’s an idiot. That’s why he doesn’t have a girlfriend, and he’ll most likely die alone as an eighty-year-old conductor.”