Page 12 of Level Up

“There’s nothing naughty about it.”

Unfortunately.

Maddy gave me a “mhmm” glare. “We’re talking about this after class, mister.”

I glanced at the clock on the pale yellow wall. Good. That meant I had about twenty minutes to come up with a way to stop discussing this topic. Everly walked across the front of the class, enthusiastically lecturing us all about how the stains would look under a microscope. I had to give it to him: he was a good stand-in for the professor. Rumor had it he was also a stripper on the weekends, which wouldn’t really surprise me in the least. The guy had a body made for dancing naked and getting bills rained down on him.

Just before the end of class, Everly switched gears. He clicked off the projector and leaned on the desk, crossing his legs. He wore a pair of tight khaki pants that really didn’t leave much to the imagination. “Before I let you all go today, I want to shout out the Clean the Beach event my club is throwing this weekend. There’s a new motion to try and start drilling offshore, which has brought a lot more foot traffic to the beach, along with a lot more trash. If you all want to come volunteer, we’ll be meeting at Beacon’s Beach from noon to evening next weekend. The beach needs us now more than ever.”

“Oh, we’re so going to that,” Maddy said as chairs started squeaking and students started rising.

I gulped. Shit. So she didn’t know about my secret and strengthening crush on my new roommate, and she didn’t know about my pretty intense fear of large bodies of open water—of which the ocean happened to be one of the largest.

“I’ve got to check my calendar,” I said as I stuffed my notebook and textbook into my backpack.

We followed the flow of kids out of the lecture hall and into the bright spring sunshine. I loved this time of year. The days were getting longer, the weather warmer, the shorts shorter. Especially coming from New York, where it was snowing a few weeks back.

“So, spill. What’s going on with you and Mr. Redpine.”

“Ugh, stop saying his name. It’s nausea-inducing.”

“That the only thing he induces?”

“Yes,” I said, giving her a stern look before cracking a smile. “He’s nice, at least. And yeah, he’s kinda hot. But he’s also a Redpine, and that right there is a huge Redflag.”

I said it with the same intonation I said Ryan’s last name.

Maddy cracked up. We headed back to the dorms, walking through the picturesque campus dotted with palm trees. “You know, it’s not such a terrible thing if you two end up sucking and fucking. You can get insider information that way. Be a double agent.”

“There won’t be any sucking or fucking or touching or canoodling or whatever the hell you want to call it.”

“Beasts with two backs, breaking your back, breaking the bed, breaking in your hol?—”

“Okay! I get it. There’s a lot of ways to call it.” I arched a brow. “And how do you know I won’t be doing all the topping?”

“Because we already talked about this that night we first met. We were drunk at Shenanigans, and you quickly made it known that you were a self-proclaimed dick-hungry bottom.”

Blurry flashes of that night started coming back to me. “Hm… yeah. I did say that, didn’t I?”

“You also said that you considered yourself a superhero at sucking dick. Like a mutant dick-sucking spider bit you and gave you the ability to deep-throat any size of man that wanted to shoot his web down your throat.” She shrugged. “Your words, not mine.”

I nearly tripped on myself. “Shit, okay, I need to be careful what I say when I drink, then.”

“Please, I live for all that messy shit,” Maddy said with a chuckle.

It made my heart warm. I smiled as I walked alongside her.

We decided to take the long way to the dorms today. We passed through Liberty Court, a beautiful courtyard sat between four residential houses reserved for students. Maddy pointed out Stormer House, affectionately called Stoner House since the smell of (incredibly strong) weed usually wafted out the open windows.

“I dated a guy who lived there once. Huuuuge… heart,” she said with a slick smile.

“I’m sure,” I said, chuckling as we crossed the grass, passing by hammocks strung up between tall palm trees.

“It’s how this courtyard became one of my favorite spots on campus. Also how I became a size queen.”

We continued talking about stupid shit until the conversation turned to family. “Hold up. I remember you telling me you have five brothers. Are you close to them?” I asked.

“Oh yeah. Well, almost all of my brothers. The oldest kind of self-destructed in his early thirties and never pulled himself back together. It’s hard to see. He’s pushed us all away, even though we try to help him.”

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