Page 72 of Cheater and the Saint
“I don’t want to be here when he gets home.” I pressed my face more into the pillow as images of him rolling around in bed with someone else filled my head. With those images also came ones from whenwe’dbeen together; the sound of his moans, the way he’d cling onto me as I filled him, and then that dazed look in his eyes after he came apart in my arms.
He was doing that with another guy now. Or girl.
Angel shut off the movie before turning the lights back on. His hard expression told me he was pissed, and I had a feeling he’d probably start a fight with Leo if he was here when Leo got home. His hazel eyes focused on me, and some of that anger left him.
“Want to hang at my place tonight?” he asked, standing in the middle of the room and putting his hands in his hoodie pocket. “You shouldn’t have to deal with this shit, and I don’t want you upset when he gets back.”
I nodded. “Thanks. I’ll pack a bag.”
I was glad Angel didn’t follow me to my room. I needed the time alone. To cry. To punch something. I didn’t know, but something was bubbling inside my chest and would ignite any moment. Sitting on the edge of my bed, I stared at the floor as tears blurred my vision.
You brought this on yourself.
That didn’t make it hurt any less, though.
It wasn’t the end of the world, I knew that, but it was definitely the end of mine and Leo’s arrangement. I couldn’t still be with him when he was screwing other people at the same time. How I’d even thought that was a good plan was beyond me.
After I pulled on a hoodie, I filled my gym bag with a change of clothes, my kindle, my laptop, and a toothbrush before walking back to the living room.
“Let’s go,” I said, trying to smile, but I was sure it came out more like a grimace.
Angel had gathered the snacks and movies back into the sack he’d brought them in, and we left. As we walked down the hall, noise from inside the other dorms reached my ears. Guys moaned and shit banged against the wall. In one room, loud music blared. Not wanting to wait on the elevator, I ducked into the stairwell and went down the three flights of stairs to the lobby.
Angel was right behind me, silent, but having him with me was comforting.
Once we were outside, I breathed in the cool air and snuggled more into my hoodie. The weather had turned cold fast, actually being below-average in temperature for that time of year. I wasn’t complaining.
“Where do you live?” I asked, realizing I’d never asked before.
“Not too far away,” he answered as we got to his car. “I couldn’t afford student housing, so I got an apartment off campus.”
Understandable. It was costing me—with tuition, housing, and food combined—a little over six thousand dollars that semester. I had several scholarships that paid for most of it, but I’d had to take out a small loan to cover the cost of my books.
As we drove, rock music played through his speakers, and he turned it down a little so it wasn’t blasting my ears off. I appreciated that. I didn’t have a problem with rock music, but I preferred instrumental and classical.
Maybe because my mind was so loud already.
Once we arrived at the apartment complex, he parked under an awning and we got out of the car. There were three buildings on the property, and it was well-lit and clean. Not that I expected Angel to live somewhere shitty, but it still reassured my paranoid brain nonetheless. I followed him to the building on the far left and walked up the stairs to apartment ten.
“Just to warn you,” Angel said as we got to the door and he turned to me. “My cat is really lovable and will probably attack you. I hope that’s okay.”
“It’s fine,” I replied with a tight smile.
Right when we entered the apartment and turned on the light, the biggest and fattest cat I’d ever seen in my life was sitting on the couch, staring at us. It was a dark gray Persian, with lighter fur around the neck, and it had orange eyes. The monster of a cat slowly blinked at me before losing interest and showing its backside.
Angel laughed. “Oh, Diego, you sassy beast.” He looked at me. “He gets jealous sometimes. Sorry. He’s mostly lovable, though.”
I sat my bag on the floor and looked around. His apartment was small, but organized. One door was to the left and another was to the right, but other than that, it was just a square living room with the kitchen and dining table all in sight, no wall separating the areas.
“It’s not much, but it’s home,” Angel said, a bit self-consciously.
“It’s great,” I told him, and I meant it. “Do you want to finish watching that movie?”
Angel arched an eyebrow. “You sure you can take it, scaredy cat?”
Pretty sure nothing was as horrifying as my own thoughts in that moment. I agreed, and we sat down on the couch to watch it. During the movie, Diego jumped up between us and stared up at me. From the corner of my eye, I saw his orange eyes, and his fluffy tail swishing back and forth. Then, he stepped onto my lap and lay down.
“Aw, he likes you,” Angel said with a smile.
