“Liv, you have got to stop using that as your fun fact.” Delilah groans.
“What else am I supposed to say?” Olivia asks.
“I don’t know, anything but that! And you definitely don’t have to show everyone either.”
During their banter, someone from the back of the room yells my name.
I turn my head and look over my shoulder at the rows behind me. It takes only a few seconds to spot Adrianna with her hand raised above her head, waving to get my attention. Once our eyes lock, she gestures for me to come sit with her and her friends a number of rows back.
Internally groaning, I flash her a meek smile and give a small wave before turning back around in my chair, clearly rejecting her offer.
“—tell everyone you have a third nipple.” I just catch the end of Delilah’s sentence.
“You what?” I nearly choke.
“Delilah!” Olivia scolds her friend, turning a deep shade of red. Her head quickly snaps in my direction. “I do not have a third nipple, by the way,” she states.
“But, see, it really grabs someone’s attention,” Delilah teases.
“Just—ugh!” Olivia covers her face, slumping back in her chair, causing both Delilah and me to chuckle.
Before I can comfort Olivia, I feel someone looming behind me, and twist in my seat to see Rat Boy—Quinton—scowling at me.
“You’re in my seat,” he says coldly.
I make a show of scanning the desktop, and even the back of the chair. “I don’t see your name on it.”
His jaw ticks and his beady little eyes stare a hole right through me. Sizing me up, he realizes I’d knock him on his ass in point two seconds, and so his eyes shift to Olivia, waiting for her to say something.
She shrugs before pointing out, “There’s an open seat next to Delilah.”
Displeased Olivia isn’t coming to his defense, he stomps past us to take the empty chair next to Delilah.
“Jeez, what’s up with me and sitting in people’s unassigned seats? This is college, not elementary school. Professors don’t give a rat’s ass about where you sit,” I mutter so only Olivia can hear me, trying to make a joke to clear the air.
I watch as her lips press together, suppressing a smile.
Our professor walks in and sets up the projector. We spend the next hour jotting down notes from the PowerPoint presentation.
“Man, I didn’t miss taking notes,” I complain, flexing my fingers as we finish the class, students gathering their belongings and filing out of the room to flee to their next class.
“It only gets worse from here,” Delilah says, shoving her binder into her backpack. “Oh, hey, Liv, I may be a few minutes late meeting you at the car. I have to meet Josie after class to grab a few things from her, and you know how she likes to yap.”
“No problem, I have some reading to do for English class. It’s hot out there so I’ll just wait for you in the library. Text me when you’re finished and I’ll meet you,” Olivia says.
“Shit, I forgot about that,” I mumble, referring to the assigned reading for our English class.
I stand from my chair and grab my backpack, slinging it over my shoulder and waiting for Olivia to finish packing up her things. While waiting I feel someone sneak up behind me, a hand landing on my shoulder as a body presses up against my side.
“You’re going to the party tonight, right, Bronx?” Adrianna purrs in my ear, her hand on my shoulder sliding down my back and slipping into the back pocket of my jeans.
I squirm, awkwardly clearing my throat. I feel uncomfortable with Adrianna being this assertive, and I can sense the rising tension radiating off Olivia.
“Uh, yeah, I might swing by for a bit,” I reply, recoiling.
Adrianna grins triumphantly. “Perfect, I’ll see you there,” she says before standing on her tiptoes and planting a kiss on the corner of my mouth, taking me by surprise.
Anger and embarrassment bubble inside my chest as I watch her walk away, clearly pleased with herself, like an animal that’s just marked its territory.
