Page 72 of No One Else

“Right, right,” I murmur, pulling away from him. “Here, let me just...” I run my hands through his hair till it’s back in order, the dark locks silky soft against my fingers.

“I should probably go,” he says, glancing at Morgan, practically tapping her foot waiting for him to leave.

“Okay,” I tell him, disappointed our time’s been cut short. I could have spent all night doing what we just did. Over and over until I entered some kind of sexual coma. It would be worth it, though.

“Bye,” he whispers, giving me a quick peck under Morgan’s watchful glare. “And thanks for the fifteen minutes,” he tells her sincerely with that same cocky grin before he leaves.

I stare at the door, missing him already. I need to figure out a different living arrangement for next year. Morgan and I have never really been friends, we were randomly assigned as roommates at the beginning of the school year, but we tolerated each other just fine before. Her no guys in here rule isn’t going to work for me anymore, though. It hasn’t been an issue before because Carter and I always went over to his frat house, but I need Evan in here for more than a stolen fifteen minutes every once in a while.

I go back over to my bed and lay down, faintly smelling him on the pillow, turning to my side and breathe in deep. Mmm. There’s something about his scent that makes me weak-kneed. Especially when he just made me come so hard I literally couldn’t even support myself upright.

I glance over at Morgan, sitting on the edge of her bed brushing out her hair.

“You know,” I say casually, not wanting to pick a fight but still needing to express it all the same, “when you get a boyfriend or girlfriend or whatever, I’ll totally clear out when you need me to.”

“I just gave you fifteen minutes,” she grumbles, hitting a snarl with her brush.

“Fifteen minutes isn’t enough with Evan,” I sigh, turning on my back and tucking my hands behind my head, staring up at the ceiling.

She’s quiet for a moment, and then says, “He seems a lot nicer than Carter, at least.”

My heart warms. “He is. Oh God, the difference is night and day. I don’t know what I was thinking with Carter. Why didn’t anyone ever tell me?”

“You know, Carter called me a fat pig once.”

I turn over again to face her, shocked. “What?”

“I guess he’d dropped you off and was walking down the hall toward the elevator. I’d just heated up my dinner in the microwave and was carrying it back and he said that.”

I stare at her in disbelief. “Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

“Why would you have believed me over your boyfriend? We’d just moved in together.”

“Morgan, I’m so sorry. Is that why you’ve been giving me such a hard time about Evan?”

She wraps a strand of hair around her finger, avoiding my gaze. “Maybe,” she mutters.

“I can’t believe Carter said that,” I say, more to myself than her. She sends me a wounded look and I quickly backtrack. “I mean, I believe you. I do,” I reassure her. “That was just so incredibly hurtful of him. He never even mentioned you to me.”

I sit up, hugging my knees to my chest. “I didn’t really see how he was till the end, though. I must have turned a blind eye to a lot. There’s no way I could have been that clueless, could I?”

She doesn’t answer me, just continues brushing her hair.

“I chose this college because of him. I thought we’d be high school sweethearts that eventually got married, like my parents did.” I rest my cheek against my knees, suddenly weary. “Delusional, huh?”

She sighs, setting her brush down. “You’re not delusional. Everyone wants that. A love that lasts.”

Yes, that’s what I want. Have I, maybe, found that with Evan? Other than him being jealous and hurt by Carter trying to worm his way back in my life, things have been pretty near perfect between us. “I understand now why you’ve been hesitant about any other guys I date,” I tell her. “But Evan isn’t like that. He’s the kindest, sweetest-”

“Okay, okay,” she interrupts me. “You’re obviously still in new boyfriend la la land.” She gets up and puts her stuff away, grabbing her laptop and sets it on her bed. “Listen, I have a big project coming up I need to work on in the library. Let me know what day works for you and I’ll give you a few hours of uninterrupted time.”

I squeal, jumping off the bed and wrap her in a big bear hug.

She immediately shrinks in on herself, grumbling, “I don’t think we’re that close yet.”

“Sorry.” I pull away, tucking my hands behind my back. “But thank you.”

I eagerly return to my bed, grabbing my own laptop and log on remotely through our VPN to check the gym’s work schedule. We both have off on Monday. I pull out my phone and type out a quick text.

---