Page 78 of College-Virgin & Dark Bully Next-Door

“Like I know you train six days a week and work five days a week, but I never see you.” Peter pushes his vegetables around his plate. “I figured we would hang out at least a few times.”

“Tomorrow we can. Hit the gym with me.” I shrug.

“But where have you been? What’s so important?”

“A girl,” my mom says simply, not pausing before putting her food in her mouth.

“A girl, huh?” My dad turns his attention to me. “Is that why you lost your last match? Girls will come and go. Stay focused.”

Mom shoots him a look, and he instantly backpedals. “Until the right one sweeps you off your feet and then, of course, give her attention. But if that’s the case, we should meet her. If you’re that serious, I mean.”

“We were together for six months before you proposed, love,” my Mom reminds him. “There’s no ‘serious’ until they feel it is.”

“If she’s eating up all your time like that, I’d definitely like to know more,” Peter says. “What girl haven’t you already dated here?”

“Just because of that comment, I’m not telling you.” I point at him with my fork. “How’syourdating life?”

He grumbles about girls not making sense and how impossible they are to talk to until he changes the topic himself. Clearing my throat, I go back to eating, then excuse myself, offering to wash dishes in the morning so I can get some sleep.

By the time I drop my ass in bed, I’ve forgotten just about everything. My eyes start to close, but my phone buzzes, making me realize I’ve fallen asleep already.

I start, look through the window and see Sky with Bonnie. Bonnie is taking pictures of Dracula sitting on Sky’s shoulder like a parrot. I shake my head slowly and go back to sleep, finding nightmares all about that damn spider and Sky growing another six arms.

When I jerk myself out of bed, I feel the tension in my muscles from yesterday and remember I have another long day today. I shoot Sky a message saying I hate being so busy I forget everything but work and I hope she’s having fun.

It’ll have to do since I’ve already committed to a ten-hour day and meeting my brother at the gym. I send another text telling her not to come by the gym, leave it at that, then go wash the dishes since I know my dad won’t forget that promise.

“To another long day,” I say before downing my protein shake and heading out the door.

Chapter 24

Sky

“Why wouldn’t he want you to come by the gym?” Bonnie asks, pacing my room.

I shrug. “It doesn’t matter. I’ve only shown up twice. He takes better pictures when he’s actually fighting.”

“What if he has a gym floozy?”

“He doesn’t.”

“You say that like you have proof.”

“I don’t have evidence hedoeshave a floozy.” I roll my eyes. “Come on, it’s a sunny day. Let’s go for a hike.”

“Can’t we do a normal thing and go to the mall?” She taps my shoulder. “Maybe hide this hickey.”

I gasp and look down, then throw a pillow at her as she giggles. “Made you look.”

But Bonnie gets her way. We walk around the mall, window shop in our usual stores, then drags me into a lingerie shop. I try to pull away, even when she nearly jerks my arm out of the socket.

“Come on! You have a boyfriend now, let’s have fun with it,” she insists.

I stare at the lace, leather, and barely-there fabric. It is absolutelynotme. And doing something like this feels like crossing a line. Bonnie looks at more than a few things, saying she’d love to wear it for someone but doesn’t have an occasion or a boy in mind.

“You’re going to college, you should definitely add it to your closet,” I decide. “There’s always Halloween.”

Giggling, she leads us to the corsets. We try them on, along with other bits of lingerie and silly costumes, making each other laugh. I try on a red lacy corset that could kind of double as a shirt and just stare at my reflection.

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