Mrs. Fletcher(8)

“Oh shit,” said Dylan. “Did you barf on them?”

Will shook his head. “I just gave them this sad little wave, like I was dropping by to say hello, and then I fucking bolted. I barely made it out to the hall, and that was it, the end of the road. I ducked into this little kid’s room. I thought there’d be a trash can or something, but I couldn’t find one, so I just yanked open a dresser drawer, pulled out all the clothes, and puked right in there. That whole fucking Meat Bomb pizza. And then I shut the drawer, wiped my mouth, and got the fuck outta there.”

“Did you tell anyone?” Dylan asked, when we were finally done groaning and laughing.

“Fuck no. What was I supposed to say? Oh, by the way, your little brother might not want to open his pajama drawer . . .”

“At least you took out the pjs,” Rico said. “That was thoughtful.”

“What could I do?” Will had that pissed-off look again. “Eight fucking bathrooms, and I can’t find a toilet to puke in? You can’t blame me for that.”

He shrugged and reached for another slice. Sanjay was just sitting there with his mouth hanging open, like he’d forgotten how to speak.

“Whaddaya think?” Rico asked him. “Too late to get back into the Honors Dorm?”

*

Zack and I returned to the room just in time for my Skype session with Becca. I asked if he’d mind giving me a little privacy.

“No problem,” he said. “I’ll put on my headphones.”

“Think you could maybe clear out for five or ten minutes? Won’t be more than that.”

“Why?” He gave me a sly look. “You gonna rub one out?”

“We just need to have the talk. We were broken up for most of the summer, but then we kinda backslid. I have to let her down easy.”

“Say no more, bro. I’ll go see who’s in the lounge. Text me when you’re done.”

“Thanks.”

I got out my laptop and logged on to Skype. Zack was on his way out when I placed the call, but then he changed his mind and sat down next to me on my bed, just out of camera range, as Becca appeared on the screen.

“Hey, baby.” She was wearing a little white tank top, tight enough to give her some cleavage, which wasn’t easy with her little boobs. “How’s it going?”

“Pretty good,” I said. “How about you?”

“I’m okay.” She was talking in a breathy whisper, way more seductive than her normal voice, which could be kinda loud and bossy. “Where are you?”

“In my room.”

She licked her glossy lips. “Are you alone?”

I glanced at Zack, trying to let him know that the joke was officially not funny anymore, but he pretended not to understand. He mouthed the words She’s cute! and pumped his fist up and down over his crotch.

“Brendan?” she said. “Is somebody there?”

I should have just said, Yeah, it’s my roommate and he’s being a dick, but I didn’t want to embarrass him.

“No,” I said. “Just me.”

“I miss you, baby.” She gazed soulfully into the camera. “I’m still thinking about this morning.”

“Yeah,” I said. “That was a really nice surprise.”

“Just nice?”

“It was fucking awesome.”

“Good.” She looked a little bashful, but sort of proud, too. “I watched an instructional video on YouTube.”

That made sense. She’d given me a few BJs in the past, but she was never really into it. She was clumsy and gagged a lot, and mostly just seemed relieved when it was over. But that morning she was a porn star.

“Yeah, you brought your A game.”

“It was a mental thing,” she explained. “I just decided to have a positive attitude. It really makes a difference.”

It was ridiculous—and kind of embarrassing—to be having this conversation with Zack sitting right next to me, but there was nothing I could do about it now except try not to look at him. I didn’t want to know what he was thinking, or how close he might be to cracking up.

“I thought I’d be able to swallow,” she said, “but I just . . . I don’t know. I’ll have to keep working on that.”

“With who?” I said.

Zack made the tiniest sound just then, a single suppressed giggle way in the back of his throat, but Becca didn’t seem to hear it.

“You, you asshole. Unless you want me to find someone else.”

“Practice makes perfect,” I teased.

Zack was waving his hand, trying to get my attention. I could see him out of the corner of my eye, pointing at his dick and mouthing the words I’ll help.

“Hey,” she said, and her voice was normal now, like the sexy part of the conversation was officially over. “Did your mom say anything after I left?”

“No, why?”

“I don’t know. She gave me this weird look when I said goodbye, like she knew what we were up to.”

“Don’t worry about it. She was in a bad mood all day. It had nothing to do with you.”

“Good.” Becca seemed relieved. “So do you like it there?”

“I think so. Just trying to get used to it, you know?”