Page 7 of Level Up

My jaw dropped as my head pushed forward. “You know what, don’t worry about it.”

It was no use wasting my breath.

Ryan shut his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose. It was slightly crooked, but not in a way that ruined the symmetry of his face. Somehow, it seemed to enhance it.

Even a broken nose didn’t hold him back from being rich and beautiful. “Alright, fine, I get it, I’ll give you space.” He rubbed the back of his neck. The sleeve of his FU shirt fell back, a dark tuft of armpit hair sneaking out.

I tried reaaallllly hard not to imagine my face buried there.

I failed.

“So this isn’t some sick joke?”

He chuckled and went over to his suitcase. Of course, it was a Louis Vuitton. “Nope. It’s all real.”

I started to admit defeat. I wasn’t going to get a room transfer, not unless I had a stronger reason than my principles being challenged by this dumb jock’s presence in my space. I also didn’t want to rock the boat too much. Not after the shit I went through at my last school. The fewer reasons I gave the administration to look my way, the better. At least until I got around to organizing my next protest. That’s when I’d want all the eyes on me.

A question popped into my head. “Hold up. What are you even doing in a dorm? Shouldn’t you be living in some beachside mansion off campus somewhere?” Ryan started to unpack his underwear. All white and black Tom Ford briefs.

Not that I was taking notes or anything.

“I’m telling you, I’m not who you think I am.”

“So you’re not the son of Christopher Redpine? One of the richest business owners in America?”

He sucked his bottom lip. “Alright, so maybe I’m a little bit of who you think I am. But there’s way more to me than that.”

“That’s really all I need to know.” I forgot about the pizza and kicked off my shoes. I went to the bathroom so I could brush my teeth and get into bed.

All of a sudden, Ryan appeared in the bathroom with me. The space was tight. We were practically shoulder to shoulder in the skinny mirror. I stepped to the side, pushing myself against the wall.

“Well, there’s a lot more about me that you should know,” he said, looking at me through the mirror. “Starting with the fact that I’m not big on leeching off my parents. Yeah, they offered a place for me to stay, but I wanted the full college experience. So I decided to stick to the dorms.”

“So you paid for that suitcase and expensive underwear all your self?”

“You were looking at my underwear?” he said, smirking at me.

“I, uh… no. I wasn’t.”

“Riggght.” He chuckled. “Don’t worry. I barely wear them. I like free-balling it.”

Heat rushed up my chest. I ignored it as best I could.

He put his little toothbrush stand opposite mine, taking out a beaten-up tube of toothpaste that looked to be begging to be put out of its misery. “If you want to borrow a pair, let me know. Used or new. I don’t care.”

I nearly choked on my saliva. “No, I don’t want to wear your sweaty underwear.”

Was that convincing enough?

I brushed my teeth as quickly as I could and left the bathroom, going straight to my bed. This was all way too much for me right now. I couldn’t really believe it, but then again, crazier shit had happened to me in my life. This was one more thing to throw in the bucket.

Ryan came back out of the bathroom a couple of minutes later. He quickly made his bed and got his side of the nightstand set up with a phone charger. I laid in my bed as if it were a coffin, arms at my side and eyes staring straight up at the popcorn ceiling. At least he’d probably be moved back to his dorm once the flooding damage was fixed. How long could that possibly take? A week? Two—at most? I could survive that.

“Mind if I sleep in my boxers?” Ryan asked, already taking off his shirt.

“I thought you go commando?”

“I’m trying to be respectful here.” He winked at me. “I could be the complete opposite if you ask nicely.”

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