Maybe Someday(23)

? ? ?

131/692
I have the pillow pulled tightly over my head, but

it doesn’t drown out the sound of gravel crunch-

ing beneath shoes. Why is someone walking on a

driveway so noisily? And why can I even hear it?

Wait. Where am I?

Did yesterday really happen?

I reluctantly open my eyes, and I’m met with

sunlight, so I pull the pillow tighter over my face

and give myself a minute to adjust. The sound

seems to get louder, so I lift the pillow from my

face and peer out with one eye open. The first

thing I see is a kitchen that isn’t mine.

Oh, yeah. That’s right. I’m on Ridge’s couch,

and twenty-two is the worst age ever.

I lift the pillow all the way off my head and

groan as I squeeze my eyes shut again.

“Who are you and why are you sleeping on my

couch?”

My body jumps, and my eyes flick open at the

deep voice that can’t be more than a foot away.

Two eyes peer down at me. I pull my head back

against the couch to put more space between me

132/692

and the curious eyes to get a better look at who

they’re attached to.

It’s a guy. A guy I’ve never seen before. He’s

sitting on the floor directly in front of the couch,

and he’s holding a bowl. He dips a spoon into the

bowl and shoves it into his mouth, then begins

the loud crunching again. I’m guessing that’s not

gravel he’s eating.

“Are you the new roommate?” he says with his

mouth full.

I shake my head. “No,” I mutter. “I’m a friend

of Ridge’s.”

He cocks his head and looks at me suspi-

ciously. “Ridge only has one friend,” the guy

says. “Me.” He shoves another spoonful of cereal

into his mouth and fails to back out of my per-

sonal space.

I push my palms into the couch and sit up so

that he’s not right in my face. “Jealous?” I ask.

The guy continues to stare at me. “What’s his

last name?”

“Whose last name?”

133/692

“Your very good friend, Ridge,” he says

cockily.

I roll my eyes and drop my head against the

back of the couch. I don’t know who the hell this

guy is, but I really don’t care to compete over our

levels of friendship with Ridge. “I don’t know

Ridge’s last name. I don’t know his middle name.

The only thing I know about him is that he’s got

a mean right hook. And I’m only sleeping on

your couch because my boyfriend of two years

decided it would be fun to screw my roommate

and I really didn’t want to stick around to watch.”

He nods, then swallows. “It’s Lawson. And he

doesn’t have a middle name.”

As if the morning could get any worse, Brid-

gette appears from the hallway and walks into the

kitchen.

The guy on the floor takes another spoonful of

cereal and looks at Bridgette, finally breaking his

uncomfortable lock on me. “Good morning, Brid-

gette,” he says with an odd, sarcastic tone to his

voice. “Sleep well?”

134/692

She looks at him briefly and rolls her eyes.

“Screw you, Warren,” she snaps.

He turns his gaze back to mine with a mis-

chievous grin. “That’s Bridgette,” he whispers.

“She pretends to hate me during the day, but at

night, she loves me.”

I laugh, not really trusting that Bridgette is

capable of loving anyone.

“Shit!” she yells, catching herself on the bar

before she trips. “Jesus Christ!” She kicks one of

my suitcases, still on the floor next to the bar.

“Tell your little friend if she’s staying here, she

needs to take her shit to her room!”

Warren makes a face as if he’s scared for me,

then turns his head toward Bridgette. “What am I,

your bitch? Tell her yourself.”

Bridgette points to the suitcase she almost

tripped over. “GET . . . YOUR . . . SHIT . . .

OUT . . . OF . . . THE . . . KITCHEN!” she says,

before marching back to her bedroom.

Warren slowly turns his head back to face me

and laughs. “Why does she think you’re deaf?”

135/692

I shrug. “I have no idea. She came to that con-

clusion last night, and I failed to correct her.”

He laughs again, much louder. “Oh, this is

classic,” he says. “Do you have any pets?”

I shake my head.

“Are you opposed to porn?”

I don’t know how we just began playing

Twenty Questions, but I answer him anyway.

“Not opposed to the principle of porn but op-

posed to being featured in one.”