Mickey blinks. “She had him all day. Besides, I want Van there because—oh.Oh, shit.Yeah, my bad. You guys are gonna go have sex, right? Totally cool.”
I want to bury my face in Van’s neck, but then Mickey turns around. “But like, if you’re gonna have a quickie or whatever, you could just come to the arena after.”
Norris takes a breath. “Dude. Inside thoughts. We have had this conversation before.”
“Right, right,” Mickey agrees as Norris steers him toward the kitchen.
Ollie’s just shaking his head. “I love the guy, but I have no idea how the hell he gets as much play as he does.”
Mickey pokes his head back in the room without missing a beat. “It’s the hyperfixation. When I get really into something, it has all of my attention, you know what I mean? Plus, my dick’s really b?—”
I can’t help it. I burst out laughing and Van does the same.
Rosco’s cracking up, too. “You know what’s even crazier? He went for two grand at the bachelor auction. A whole sorority pooled money together to bid on him. Mickey was the biggest money-maker of the night.”
Ollie’s nodding. “Right? The fuck? Van and I only brought in $250 each. It boggles the mind.”
I go a little stiff in Van’s arms, which is totally unfair, but jealousy isn’t logical.
“Does that bother you, Jos?” he asks in my ear. “It shouldn’t.”
“I know,” I say, purposely keeping my voice quiet. “It doesn’t, not really. If it did, that would be ridiculous. You had every right to go out with the highest bidder, whoever she was. Although, I’m with Ollie on this one. The bidding should have gone much higher.”
“Aw, you think I’m hot,” he teases. “And the date was awesome. Ollie and I doubled with sisters?—”
“I have no right to be jealous, but I still don’t want to hear about it,” I say.
Ollie mustn’t have heard me, because he starts spilling all the details. “That all-you-can-eat buffet was fire. And I cleaned up at BINGO. Those were good times, man.”
I look at my boyfriend. “Is he joking?”
“Nope,” Van answers, pulling me in for a quick kiss. “We were bid on by Gladys and Martha, two of the ladies at the senior center where Mel interns. And they may not be big spenders, but they’re both on fixed incomes. Tons of fun, though, if you don’t mind being home before the sun sets. You would love these ladies. You have the same taste in cardigans,” he jokes, tugging at my sleeve.
My phone buzzes and though I know what it will say, I check it anyway.
Zane: Home with the hellions.
Levi: Home
“Everybody in?”
“Yeah,” I tell Van. “All safe and sound. I should probably do the same. I have a test tomorrow and I need to look over my notes.”
He hugs me tightly before lifting me off his lap and standing up. “Let me walk you back?”
“It’s barely dark. And I am fully capable of walking home,” I say. “Go to the arena with your teammates.”
Van’s shaking his head. “I’m not asking because of the dark or because I think you can’t get yourself home safely. Why do you think I started walking you home from the library every night?”
“Because of the buddy system?” I guess.
“That’s smart, but no. It’s because I wanted to spend an extra five minutes with you. And that’s what I want now, too.”
How can I turn that down? We say our goodbyes and walk out hand in hand, the same way we came in.
A few hours later, I’m finally ready for the week ahead. I’ve studied for my test, done all the assigned reading, and finished the research portion of an upcoming paper. Feeling accomplished, I treat myself to a chapter ofForever Afterbefore turning out the light to go to sleep. Ward has just escaped captivity, and when he finally makes his way to London, Susanna doesn’t recognize him. I’ve read this book dozens of times, but I still want to shake the heroine. She’s at a society ball being called upon by half a dozen suitors. She declines each dance, even when courted by her one true love. She can’t see past his long hair and beard, or maybe it’s the scar that reaches from the corner of his mouth up to the top of his ear. Either way, she dismisses him, choosing instead to stand against the wall, observing rather than participating. Unsatisfied with her cursory glance and wounded that he could be so easily forgotten, Ward follows Susanna across the room, fixes her with his icy gaze and says his iconic line: “True love waits.” Just as my heart is melting, my phone lights up.
Mel’s about to get an icy glare from me. This is one of my favorite passages, and she’s interrupting. I can’t be too grumpy,though, because I’m pretty sure I have the whole chapter memorized.
