Page 2 of Campus Crush
For a while, Sam had been my rock—I genuinely don’t know if I would’ve survived the rest of freshman year without her—but lately it felt like she was trying to push me out of the comfort zone I’d settled into.
“It’s always good for a girl to know how to do it and know what she’s doing, so the guy doesn’t try to pull some bullshit like, ‘Oh, I don’t have any condoms. I’m gonna have to go in raw,’ or whatever.” She rolled her eyes like that was an excuse she’d actually heard. “We gotta look out for ourselves.”
I would take her word for it.
Sam picked up the dildo and set it on the coffee table, which wasn’t much better than the couch, but at least I knew it was clean. Then she sat down on the couch. “I didn’t expect you home so early. I thought you had to work at the tutoring center tonight.”
I sat down next to her. “I do, but I’ve got some time to kill before my shift,” I said, kicking off my shoes. Scholarships covered tuition, but rent, books, and groceries still needed paying—and two part-time jobs barely made a dent some months.
One of them was working in the tutoring center of our university, and the other was a low-pay internship with an engineering firm in the nearest city, Missoula. The tutoring center had needed tutors who were available to help with the summer sessions, and I needed the extra cash.
“Cool. Wanna watch an episode ofReal Lives of Mormon Wives?”
Sam was obsessed with that reality show—probably because she’d grown up in a strict Catholic household and had a thing for religious drama. Or maybe it was just the chaos of reality TV in general. That definitely wasn’t the only show she binged like her life depended on it. Since freshman year, she’d exposed me to so much reality TV that now I was a bit of a junkie for it myself. It was the one thing that was completely out of character for me. One of those little tidbits I could use in the game of “Two truths and a lie” and everyone would assume it was the lie.
Despite my logical brain and my love of math and science, she had brought me to the dark side of loving the chaos of reality television.
Before I could answer, she looked at me knowingly. “Or did you really come home to playStardew Valley?”
She said it with a smile, but my cheeks still flushed with a hint of embarrassment. I knew she didn’t judge me for playing, but I also knew she thought there was something flirty going on with me and BigBear88. She’d been pushing for me to try to meet him in real life—I knew he went to CFU with us—but I didn’t want to lose what he and I had online. I was worried meeting in person would ruin the relationship we’d built, and that wasn’t a risk I was willing to take.
I couldn’t stomach the thought that he wouldn’t like what he saw in real life. I wasn’t innately gorgeous like Sam or nearly as confident. I knew from experience that a guy was more likely to look right past me than to notice me. And I was invested in my online relationship with Bear enough to know I’d be totally crushed if we met in real life and he decided I wasn’t his type.
“I thought I’d play for a little bit. Clear my head before I go to work.”
“Mm-hmm,” she said, her lips pursed together but tilted at the corners as if she was fighting back a smile.
I rolled my eyes and grabbed my stuff, taking it into my room, but before I could shut my door, she called out, “Say hi to BigBear for me!”
I shook my head, but couldn’t ignore the smile already on my face or the swirl of butterflies that took off in my belly as I dropped my bag by the door and grabbed my laptop.
A minute later, the familiar chime of a new message lit up my screen.
BigBear88:
Emergency.
I accidentally gave Pam a diamond and now she thinks we’re dating. Send help.
A laugh slipped out before I could stop it—real, full, and warm. I hadn’t even realized how much I needed that until right then.
PeachyKeen:
You reap what you sow, my guy. Good luck explaining that one.
BigBear88:
I panicked! I thought it was wine! Now she’s calling me “her shining star.”
This is slander. I demand a trial by farming committee.
PeachyKeen:
You’re onyour own, Bear.
Also, I’m 100% putting this on the bulletin board.
BigBear88:
