Page 20 of Office Hours
“Yeah. Come in,” I say, trying for normal, but my voice cracks on the first syllable.
Andie slides into the room, hair wild and cheeks flushed. She’s in a huge Century College sweatshirt and a cute denim miniskirt, her feet in white sneakers with hearts on the sides. She flops onto her own bed, sighs dramatically, and flings an arm over her eyes. “Fucking Christ, Pam and I just closed down the the Tavern. You should’ve come, babe. I texted like three times.”
I pretend to yawn. “Was dead to the world. Sorry. I have a headache.”
She snorts. “You? You never get headaches. You get existential crises and weird essay assignments, but not headaches.”
I shrug, keeping my face carefully blank. “It happens.”
Andie narrows her eyes, then sits up and stretches, her back arching so her boobs strain the faded college logo. “What did you do all night? You’re glowing like you just spent three hours in a spa, but your hair’s a rat’s nest.”
I run a hand through my ponytail, and feel the tangled knots from earlier, when he fisted it and fucked my mouth until I cried.My cheeks flare. “I studied,” I lie. “And then I napped. Not a whole lot, just a quiet night in.”
She gives me a look, skeptical and soft at the edges. “You know you can talk to me, right? Like, if you’re dying inside or whatever.”
“I’m fine, I swear.”
She collapses back onto her bed, and then rolls so she’s facing me, propped on an elbow. “Did you finish your Melville essay? How was the so-called private tutoring with Professor Thomas? Was it helpful?”
At the mention of his name, a lightning bolt goes through me. I squeeze my thighs together and try to breathe normal. “Yeah. I went over there. He was very helpful.”
I want to laugh at my own understatement, but it catches in my throat.
Andie sighs, rolling her eyes. “You’re so lucky. Half the girls in class would kill for his attention. I mean, I get it. He’s like a sexy Robert Pattinson but not annoying. Did you know his wife left him for the milk man?”
I shake my head, half-listening.
“The milk man? Seriously? Does that even exist?”
Andie shrugs.
“I heard she was some raw foods devotee and that included not just raw vegetables, but also raw milk. So they were getting deliveries of milk daily from some organic farm, and she left Professor Thomas for the milk dude.”
I squinch my eyes.
“I thought raw milk was dangerous though. Like Pasteurization kills bacteria.”
Andie shrugs again and grins.
“I have no idea, but that’s just what I heard. It was the milk dude.”
I shake my head.
“Oh my god that’s so crazy.”
Andie merely grins.
“Yeah. Poor guy.” She sighs again, more theatrical this time, and then sits up suddenly, looking right at me. “Oh my god, did you blow him? Your lips are glossy.”
I freeze.
“No, it’s just my lip balm?—”
She cackles. “You totally did! You have that ‘I just got railed’ face. Oh my god, Simone, you slut!”
“I did not,” I say, but my voice is so tiny it might as well be a confession.
Andie launches a pillow at me, giggling. “If you didn’t, you wanted to. And that’s basically the same thing.” She falls back, staring at the ceiling. “I want to be you in my next life. I’d give anything to have that kind of confidence.”
