Page 4 of Becoming Selfish

I give her a slight smile, cross the hall to my room, and unlock the door. When I enter, I’m shocked to see just how large it is. I’ve never experienced the college dorm room lifestyle, but this doesn’t seem like an average dorm room. I knew it was going to be a little different because the grad school housing is single dorms—no roommates. But I had fully assumed that it would be the size of a shoebox since it was a single, but man was I wrong. A queen bed covers the furthest wall from the door, and there’s a small side table next to it. The bed is pushed against the corner to maximize space, making the room look even more massive than the images I saw online. Across from the bed, there’s a dresser, and next to that, a desk. The only drawback to this dorm room is the bathroom situation. The bathrooms are communal, which makes me a little nervous. I’ve never shared a bathroom with anyone before, and especially not with guys.

Crossing the room, I set my pillow and purse on the bed, and place my water bottle on the nightstand. I grab my phone out from my bag to find a text waiting from Marc.

M: Woah, you made good time. Okay, well, I’m grabbing the rest of my stuff from EJ’s house. I’ll be there soon. If you want help, I can force him to come with and unload your car. Don’t say no just to be stubborn.

I roll my eyes while smiling at my phone. Marc knows me way too well, but that’s not going to change the fact that I can unpack on my own. Plus, I haven’t met his stepbrother yet, and from what he’s told me, he’s not the nicest person to people outside of his family. Marc loves him, obviously, but I don’t need to be asking favors from someone like that. The last thing I need right now is to have to deal with some asshole relative of my best friend.

L: Marc, I’m good. I’ve almost finished already. See you when you get here.

A little white lie isn’t going to hurt anyone. Ever since I met Marc and filled him in on the last few years of my life, he’s been overly protective of me. I’ve never had someone want to look out for me, but then I’m also independent and have never felt like I needed it. It is nice to have someone care about your wellbeing, but I’m just used to taking care of myself.

Chapter 2

Eli

I can’t believe it’s finally my senior year. Well, super-senior year. Whatever, it takes most people five years to graduate anyway. Not that I give a shit how long it takes to get my degree, I’m just here to play hockey. After I had to redshirt my sophomore year because I broke my ankle, I took my time with classes and made my semesters as easy as possible since I knew I had to be here for five years. Unless the league called me up early. I would leave in a heartbeat, no matter how close I was to graduating.

This year is going to be the best for sure. I barely have any real classes to take, so I can enjoy my final year, play hockey, and party. The only shitty thing is that Marc isn’t going to be living with me this time. We lived together in the hockey house for the last four years, even though he wasn’t on the team. The only time we’ve ever been apart was last semester when he went to Spain to study abroad. Those few months were absolute shit without him. He’s my only real friend, and I couldn’t be happier that he’s back even though he’s going to be living in the grad school dorms, while I’ll still be in the hockey house. Knowing him, he’ll be over here most the time anyway.

Today is when he officially moves out, even though he wasn’t here last semester or this summer. I didn’t leave this summer; I had too much training to do. This year is my last shot at getting called up to the National Hockey League, and I can’t have any distractions.

“Hey man, the last of my stuff is loaded in the car. I’m going to head out.” Marc peeks his head in through my door, pulling me out of my thoughts.

“Alright, man. You coming tonight?” I get off my bed to hug him goodbye. A manly hug. The kind where you just swing one arm over their shoulder and give them a quick tap with your fist.

“Yeah, for sure. I wouldn’t miss your first party of the year. I’m bringing Logan by the way.”

Marc made a new friend while in Spain, which doesn’t surprise me. He’s friends with everyone. Not like me, where people want to say they’re friends with me, but in reality, they don’t give a shit about me. Most everyone thinks I’m just some selfish hockey player with an attitude who gets with any chick he wants. Which, to be honest, is mostly true. But I care about people too. I just haven’t met anyone who I care about that isn’t related to me.

Anyway, Marc made a new friend named Logan. He hasn’t shut the fuck up about him since he got back, which makes me think that this guy is actually cool and someone Marc sees as a real friend. Marc is friendly to everyone, and everyone loves him, but he’s picky about the people he keeps close to him.

Somehow, he convinced this guy to move all the way from California to attend grad school here. Who in their right mind would leave California’s weather to live in Minnesota? Besides the fact that this guy is clearly out of his mind, I hope he’s cool since he will most likely be spending a lot of time around here with Marc.

“Cool. Sounds good. By the way, Patrick is moving into your old room. I don’t remember if I mentioned that or not.”

Marc rolls his eyes at the sound of Patrick’s name. “Fuck that guy.”

I couldn’t agree more. “Well, you’re the one leaving me to live with the asshole,” I remind him as I try to guilt-trip Marc into staying.

He chuckles. “Yeah, well, I’m not turning down living by myself in grad school housing to spend another year in a party house with a bunch of dudes. Did I mention that there are coed bathrooms?” He smirks, wiggling his eyebrows a couple of times.

I huff out an arrogant laugh. “Yeah, I get it. You’re going to be surrounded by grad school chicks all the time. Meanwhile, I’ll be here hosting every party this year and offering my bed to any girl that might need a place to crash.” I raise my eyebrows back at him, giving him a knowing look.

I don’t mean my actual bed, but Marc understands that, so I don’t feel the need to clarify. He knows I don’t allow anyone in my room, let alone my bed. If I’m going to fuck someone, it definitely isn’t going down in here, and there’s sure as shit not going to be a sleepover afterward.

“Okay, okay.” He raises his hands in defeat. “Trust me, EJ, I know how many girls you can pull. But this is my first year being single, so if you can try not to sleep with every girl you lay your eyes on, that would be great,” he says in a somewhat condescending tone.

“Well, if you’re trying to find a chick who hasn’t been with me, you might want to start with the incoming freshman class,” I add with a smug smirk.

“Speaking of chicks, is Lauren coming tonight?”

I can’t fucking stand that girl. I didn’t like Lauren the whole time her and Marc were dating, and I hated her even more when she broke up with him. I know she cheated on him; I just don’t have any proof.

“I’m assuming she’ll be here. She’s at every party, but I can kick her out. Trust me, I don’t mind.”

“Nah, it’s cool. I can’t avoid her forever. Might as well rip the band-aid off tonight.”

“Alright, as long as you’re sure?”

---