I really liked Kylie, but she was hella annoying sometimes.
She’d said she was gonna stop by later so we could go to the gym together. I seriously didn’t wanna go.
But the party…
Should I go?
I mean, I already saw the drunk girl one last time, so what was even the point of going? Still… I really, really wanted to see her again.
As I lay there thinking, my roommate Jerry walked in.
“Oh wow,” he said, looking around the room. “This place is unusually clean.”
“Yeah, I did a little cleanup,” I replied.
He thanked me for it and told me that him and the boys were gonna go grab dinner at a restaurant later.
I was about to say no, like I always did, but then I realized something.
If I went with them, I wouldn’t have to go to the gym with Kylie later.
So I said yes.
“Really?” he asked, genuinely shocked.
“Yes, really. I’m starving. When are we going?”
“In like two hours,” he replied.
Before leaving again, he asked me to tell his girlfriend he was at the gym if she came looking for him.
Damn.
Even nerd-ass Jerry goes to the gym.
I kinda felt bad about myself sometimes. Kylie was always trying to push me forward while I stayed stuck in the exact same place.
It’s not like I was proud of my six-foot, 200-pound body. Or my garbage dump of a dorm room. Or the fact that I doom-scrolled social media twenty-four seven.
I wasn’t proud of any of it.
But weirdly enough, I didn’t hate myself either.
I wasn’t insecure.
It felt more like… acceptance.
A few minutes later, someone knocked on the door.
It was Jerry’s girlfriend.
She asked where he was, and I told her he was at the gym.
“I swear, I can never get a hold of that guy ever since he broke his phone. Jesus.”
“Yeah, he’s probably avoiding your annoying ass,” I replied.
She squinted at me.
“Are you on your period or something?”
“What?? Where did THAT come from?”
“You’re kinda moody today. Plus, yesterday I saw you buying tampons at some little store. I would’ve said hi, but you don’t exactly look like the kind of guy I wanna run into in public.”
“THOSE WEREN’T FOR ME,” I snapped. “Kylie asked me to buy them for her.”
She suddenly placed both her hands flat against my chest.
“What are you doing?!” I asked nervously.
“I’m checking if you have boobs.”
Then she smirked.
“But damn, dude… you should hit the gym. That’s a chubby-ass chest.”
And just like that, she walked away.
Fuck.
That was awkward.
About an hour later, Jerry and the boys showed up. They asked if I was ready, and we all piled into James’s car before heading to the restaurant.
The whole ride there was loud.
Everyone kept laughing, making jokes, and talking over each other while I mostly sat there thinking about the drunk girl.
Oddly enough, I hadn’t thought about her as much today.
So I let myself think about her now.
I wondered who she hung out with. What kind of music she listened to. What she liked doing besides reading.
Then my phone buzzed.
Kylie.
She texted me saying she was on her way to drag me to the gym and that I better be ready.
I texted back saying I was out having dinner with the boys.
A second later, she called me.
Oh no.
This was bad.
She was definitely gonna be pissed.
I stood up, walked away from the table, and answered the phone.
“Are you having fun?” she asked.
“Kinda.”
“I’ll catch you later then,” she said casually.
Wait.
“You’re… not mad?”
“No,” she replied. “I don’t care where you go as long as you’re not rotting away inside your dorm all day.”
I smiled a little.
Then I thanked her, said goodbye, and hung up.
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