Page 23 of Catching Feeling

She’s put out an olive branch, and fuck… I’m taking it.

After a long-as-fuck day of class and practice, I don’t make it back home until after nine that night.

Exhausted, sore, and fucking starving, I feel like I could eat the entire house at this point. Usually, I’m better about grabbing a bite at the commons or packing something protein-filled in my bag, but I was distracted this morning by Viv’s note. She’s been on my mind all day, and I’m doing my best for her not to be.

I shut the front door behind me, then hang my keys on the hook next to it and waltz into the kitchen.

I’m already dreaming about the ground turkey I’m going to make. Which admittedly doesn’t taste that great, but I’ve gotta fuel my body, and I can’t do that with junk. My stomach growls almost on command. Making a beeline for the fridge, I reach to open it and stop when I get a whiff of my armpit.

Shit, that’s rank. Okay, shower first, then food.

When I round the corner to the hallway, I run directly into Viv, who screams at the top of her lungs and nearly jumps out of her skin.

Things happen so fast that I barely have time to recover from the fact that my eardrums might actually have fucking ruptured before a fist is flying toward my face, hitting me directly in the nose.

“Fuuuuuck,” I groan, clutching my nose, noticing the wetness already coating my hand and realizing that it’s fucking bleeding.

Viv just gave me a bloody nose with her Rocky right hook.

Fucking Christ.

My eyes are watering, and pain radiates from my nose to my cheekbones. I already know I’ll have a black eye tomorrow. I can feel it throbbing in sync with the blood pumping in my head.

“Oh my god, Reese! What in the hell are you doing? Shit, are you okay?” Viv cries, and I can hear the genuine concern in her voice. Only then do I pry one watery eye open and see her pulling her earphones from her ears in a frantic jerk. “Oh god… you’re bleeding.”

Her face is ghostly white, and suddenly, her entire body sways.

Fuck, she almost broke my nose, and she’s about to pass out? “Sorry… I’m not great with blood.” She covers her mouth with her hand and drags her gaze from mine. “I’m sorry! I… you… My earphones were in, and I didn’t hear you. I’m actually really sorry, Reese. I thought you were an intruder an?—”

“Viv. Babe. As much as I appreciate the apology, can you please get me a towel before I bleed all over the floor and ruin the carpet?”

She glances back at the blood coating my hand and then swallows visibly and nods before darting off to the kitchen.

How does someone so tiny have that much power in their swing?

She flies back into the hallway with an armful of kitchen towels and thrusts them toward me. Some of them fall at my feet, but a few manage to land in my outstretched hand.

“Motherfuuuuucker,” I groan when I tilt my head back and press the towel to my nose to apply pressure to stop the bleeding. This bitch hurts. “So much for that white flag, huh, Viv? Damn,” I tease.

“You can’t just sneak up on women, Reese,” Viv mutters in self-defense. “It was a fight-or-flight reaction, and I just… reacted!”

Not sure who looks more worked up right now, me or her, and I’m the one with the bloody nose.

“Well, I do live here, so I wouldn’t consider me walking to my room sneaking up on you.” Leaning against the wall, I let my head fall back. “But I’ll be sure to give you a smoke signal before I enter the room.”

She rolls her eyes, then huffs. “Look, I was engrossed in the lecture I’m listening to for Spaced Out. Sorry. You surprised me, and I’m just a little on… edge.”

“Yeah? What’s this week’s episode about?” I ask because I genuinely am interested.

She and Hallie have a weekly podcast where they talk about all things supernatural. As often as Lane talks about how proud he is of his girl, I feel like I’ve listened to every episode, even though I haven’t heard a single one.

I’m planning on changing that soon. I wanna know as much about my new roomie as I can, and it seems like the place to start.

“Leprechauns,” she says with a grin.

My eyes widen slightly, and when she notices, she laughs, soft and so sweet that for a second, I forget that I’m bleeding everywhere.

Goddamn, I love her laugh. And I feel like I haven’t heard her do it enough these days.

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