The Hardest Fall(17)
His words sank in, and I felt another flush in my cheeks. He was right—I actually hated people who stereotyped everyone, people who judged before actually getting to know a person. I was making an ass of myself yet again. Maybe it was something about him that unsettled me? That triggered the word vomit? It was easier to put the blame on him instead of admitting I was acting like a bitch.
Letting go of the door handle, I shook my head and backed up. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I don’t know why I said that. I don’t know you. I know a few people who play and just because they would rather die than open a book or take notes, that doesn’t mean you’re like that too. I’m sorry.” I reached for my own door and broke our brief eye contact, mostly focusing on his ear and the window behind him—anywhere but his eyes. “This is my room.” I pointed over my shoulder. “I’ll let you get settled in and maybe see you around later.” I opened the door and before disappearing inside, I turned back. “Oh, about the desk—I don’t have one in my room either, so I bought one off of Craigslist last year. It’s in the living room. I’m not sure if you saw it with everything else going on, but my camera equipment was on it. It’s pretty small, but it gets the job done. I rarely use it anyway, mostly use the coffee table. I’ll get my stuff off of it, so you’re welcome to use it anytime you want.”
Without waiting for an answer, I closed my door.
Alone—finally.
After resting my forehead against the door for a few seconds, I quietly banged my head on it and didn’t even care that he could hear.
Chapter Five
Dylan
Two hours had passed since I had settled into my new room and Zoe had disappeared into hers. So far, I had been attacked, and with a rolling pin, no less. I’d been flashed (granted, not voluntarily) and stereotyped, all by the same girl—the same girl who had intrigued me so much the two times we’d bumped into each other. I was still intrigued, maybe even more so, and I knew I shouldn’t have been. I’d mistaken a few girls for her a handful of times, which meant my eyes had been searching for her ever since our last run-in and I wasn’t even fully aware of it. That same girl was my new roommate.
Life was a tricky bitch sometimes.
Lightly knocking on her door three times, I relaxed against the frame and waited.
Zoe opened the door—only slightly—and her head peeked through the opening.
“Yes?”
“I thought we should talk.”
“About?”
“About this whole thing. If we’re going to live together, we should get to know each other. At the very least, I should know more about you than just your first name—your last name to start, perhaps?”
“What do you need my last name for?” She looked back over her shoulder. “It’s eleven thirty, getting a little late—maybe we could do that tomorrow?”
I bet she’d have loved to just avoid me altogether. Unfortunately for her, I wasn’t going anywhere.
“Are you going to bed?”
Holding on to the door, she worried her bottom lip with her teeth. For the first time since answering the door, she looked up at me as she grudgingly answered. “Not yet.”
Taking my hands out of my pockets, I straightened. “Come on. I’ll ask you a few questions, you’ll ask me a few, then we’ll both go to bed and rest a bit easier about our new situation.” Already walking away from her, I added over my shoulder, “Not to mention, I’ll be reassured that you’re not going to try to attack me with a rolling pin in my sleep.”
Hearing her mutter something under her breath, I let her follow me at her own pace. When I glanced back over my shoulder, she was pulling on the hem of her shirt, looking down at her feet.
“Clarke,” she mumbled, her gaze still fixed on the hardwood floor as she stood in the middle of the living room. This time, she spoke loud enough for me to hear.
I turned back. “Sorry?”
“My last name…it’s Clarke.”
“See, that wasn’t so bad, now, was it?” I gave her a quick grin, which she chose to ignore. “Mine is Reed.”
“I know. Everybody knows your name.”
“Oh? I remember you telling me that the second time we met. You a football fan? Come to any of our games?” Since she and her family were close to Coach—close enough that they shared an apartment, apparently—I thought maybe she’d attend the games with them.
“Not really.”
Her gaze briefly met mine then darted around the room as she tried to decide where to move to.
I had to be quick before she rounded the couch and saw the object of my first official ‘getting to know my roommate’ question. “My first question is…” I reached down to grab the unexpected find and turned to face Zoe. “Should I prepare myself to find more stuff like this innocently laying around the place? Or is this the only one?” Her jaw slowly dropped open, and even though I was trying my best to sound as serious as I could, the horror on her face was too much. I lost it and laughed. “You should see your face, Zoe Clarke.”
Her gaze was locked on the pink, ten-inch vibrator held loosely in my hand, which seemed to have all the bells and whistles. “Oh my God,” she managed to say, all breathless. “Fuck.”