Page 27 of Afterglow
Oh, good. He’s not here. Now I can finally study. He’s so distracting. Really, really distracting. And how am I supposedto pay attention when he’s everywhere, walking around the apartment with his handsome face stuck in a book?
Stack of flashcards in hand, I tuck the exam prep manual under an arm and wrap myself in the one salmon pink blanket I managed to finish while in my finger-knitting phase.
The blanket burrito falls apart when I sit on the couch and extend my legs. I adjust it under my ass and pull it over my shoulders, but lose grip of the flashcards. They explode across the space like confetti.
“Perfect. Well done, Bea,” I deadpan. I’ll collect those later. First, a review. I stare at the Comprehensive Bar Exam Preparation Manual. So much for studying. The cover of this cursed exam prep manual is the exact same color as Fletcher’s perfect, rich, thick, auburn hair. Hair that I want to run my hands through. Give a good yank while I ride his face. Fuck, I am way too horny to be studying right now. Maybe I should go rub one out. No. What if he comes home and catches you? Bad idea. I set a timer on my phone for thirty minutes. Alright, let’s try this Pomodoro method business.
Taking a deep breath, I start to read, but the words don’t make any sense. Focus, Bea, focus. Focus, focus, focus. The door lock clicks. My roommate steps through, kicking off his shoes before walking to the kitchen and removing his over-the-ear headphones. I gape at his outfit.
Fletcher Donovan is a slut. A slutty slut slut-slut.
A cropped Ottawa Regents shirt with the sleeves cut off exposes his bulky arms and toned abs. Black shorts with averyshort inseam cut across his muscular thighs and highlight the slutty trail of dark red hair traveling downward from his belly button. He turns to grab a glass from the cupboard, round, juicy ass on display. Jeez, did he go out like that?
Fletcher fills the glass and rounds the counter, bringing it to his lips before noticing my presence. He stills, pushing ahand through his mussed hair and turning a particular shade of crimson that has me crossing my legs and curling my toes. Unbelievable. The man makes me wet because he blushes.
“Hey,” he says through a breath.
“Hey,” I reply, moving my eyes across the open page. The words make even less sense now.
“Your book’s upside down.”
Hey, Earth? How about you swallow me whole?
I hide the flush flaming my face with the manual. “That’s ‘cause I’m stupid.”
“You’re not stupid, Behraz.”
Another exhale hisses through my teeth. “I really suck at studying. I took a practice exam this morning. It was worse than my last attempt.”
“Shit.”
“I’m trying all the different tips and methods to stay organized, but” —my hands show the mess of flashcards scattered across the sofa, coffee table, and floor— “surprise, surprise. I’m failing spectacularly.”
Fletcher walks over and sits on the cushion by my feet. “Can I help?”
You can help by not being a little slut and wearing slutty little outfits around the apartment. That’d be a great help.
“You’re already helping me so much. I’m living here rent-free; you chauffeur me around to work and therapy.”
“So?”
“I don’t know.” I tilt my head back to rest on the arm of the couch. “I’m starting to think I’m unhelpable.”
“Also not true.” He takes a generous gulp of water, halving the amount in the glass. Watching his throat wobble makes my thighs clench tighter. “My little sister, Harper.” Fletcher burps quietly through a fist. “Excuse me. She has ADHD, too.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, she got diagnosed right after she graduated from uni.” His glass empties with the next gulp. He sets it down and wipes a line of sweat from his freckled forehead. “She’s the smartest of us, and we didn’t really understand how she got through all the years of studying without any trouble, but she struggled. We didn’t see it, because she was working hard.”
“Yeah.”
“But I guess working was a completely different structure from school. And moving across the country was a big change. She got support through her job. I spent that summer with her, doing some research and figuring out what worked.”
“You’d do that for me, too?”
“Whatever I can.” His shoulders tense and drop. “I’m pretty useless otherwise.”
My heart rips in two. Is that what he thinks of himself? “You’re joking, right?” I sit up and scoot forward until my feet touch the floor. “You’re literally saving my ass on the daily.”
