Page 38 of Damnation
“Mmm, that smell…” I close my eyes and inhale, ecstatic.
We devour our dinner while chatting in an atmosphere that is, finally, relaxed. Vince does get a little hot under the collar when he tells Thomas about some disagreement between the football guys and the soccer guys, the latter of whom are about to “catch an ass whupping” as he says, if they don’t chill out. He asks me what I think, but I’m honestly too busy savoring my empanadas to pay attention. I spout something vague in support of him and keep eating.
After Thomas clears his plate in record time, he declares himself full. Spreading his legs slightly, he rests one hand on his abdomen, while the other lies along the back of my chair. As he talks to Vince,he twirls strands of my hair around his fingers. It’s something he does often, and I get the feeling that it relaxes him. And every time he does it, I melt.
Every now and then he turns to watch me eat and smiles. It’s embarrassing, being watched as I fall on my food like a hungry lioness on a gazelle, but he seems to find it entertaining. Maybe even cute, judging by the look he gives me.
Despite the guys’ lack of faith in me, I manage to finish everything on my plate, even if it does feel like I’m literally going to burst. By the time the bill comes, it’s a struggle to even stand up. Thomas, who never misses an opportunity to laugh at me, cracks up over the mournful faces I make while complaining about having eaten too much. We fight over the bill a little, but in the end, he prevails and gets dinner for us all.
After leaving, we take Vince back to his dorm on campus, and then, after a short walk through the rows of now bare trees, we arrive at the frat house. The place that will be my home for the next few months.
Ten
“I’m so tired, Thomas. I don’t think I can do it.”
“Don’t be dramatic. You’ve done it a million times.”
“It’s different this time. It feels like they’re never-ending,” I whine.
“There aren’t that many.”
I stare at the tall staircase before us and then slide my gaze over to Thomas. “I can’t.”
He snorts. “Next time I take you out to eat, you’re getting a salad,” he teases. I don’t have time to answer before he lifts me up with disarming ease, one arm under my knees and the other behind my back.
I wrap my arms around his neck, and as we walk up the stairs, old memories start to flicker through my mind. Memories of the night it all started, when, seeing me shaken and wounded after the breakup with Travis, Thomas invited me to a party at this very frat house. I was looking for a distraction, some way to numb the pain, turn off my brain, and forget. But it was more than that. There was always an awareness there, some part of me that wanted, more than anything else, to be with Thomas. It was only with him that my heart seemed to start beating again, the pain went away, and I was finally able to feel good.
Eventually, I’d gotten so drunk that I couldn’t stay on my feet, and it was Thomas who put an end to the ridiculous show I was putting on. He took me in his arms and carried me up to his room. And against all the odds, I never wanted to leave again.
“Why are you laughing?” he asks me, bewildered.
I rest my head on his chest, snuggling in.
“Memories,” I whisper gently.
When we reach his door, Thomas puts me down and reminds me that I still have the keys to his room.
“Right.” I didn’t give them back to him after stopping by this afternoon for a shower.
Once inside, my gaze is drawn to the poorly made bed. I try to ignore the shiver that runs down my spine when I think back on the two of us between those sheets… Everything was so different just two months ago.
I find myself looking at the room through new eyes, in a way I’d never imagined I would. It’s no longer just Thomas’s room, but mine now as well… I let my gaze wander over the empty sofa, the desk to my left scattered haphazardly with books and sketch pad, across the black walls that surround us. God, those walls are tragic. It’s going to take some getting used to.
“I must admit, I’m always surprised by how neat you are. Not a thing out of place,” I note, chuckling as I step into the middle of the room.
“What were you expecting?” Thomas grins, shutting the door behind him.
“Oh, I don’t know…” I turn around, my wrists crossed behind my back. “Bottles of booze, thongs hidden here and there, bong residue on the floor…” I joke.
“Nah, I’m the quiet type. A real homebody,” he says mockingly.
“Yes, of course. The shy, reserved sort, that’s you.” I give him a suggestive look before turning my eyes back to the bed. This time, however, the shivers down my spine are cold ones as I dwell on just how many girls took a turn in there.
“I’m going to need new sheets,” I inform him, pointing at the mattress.
Thomas frowns so hard his eyebrows almost meet over his nose. “Those are clean; I changed them today. What’s the problem?”
“You can’t seriously believe I’m going to sleep on the same sheets that have played host to every female creature in the county?”
