Page 76 of Blitz

“Mic!”

My brother laughs. “You should have seen that coming a mile away.”

“Excuse me for thinking you were finally grown up.”

He shakes his head. “You know better than that. Where’s the boy?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Micah rolls his eyes. “So he still won’t have sex with you. Good.”

I frown, remembering the… discussion we had on Monday night. The light kisses on the cheek he gave me on Wednesday for our study session. I didn’t see him at all yesterday. I miss the poor bastard.

“No, he’s not.”

He throws his arm over my shoulders. “You’ll change his mind soon enough.”

“Yeah, I hope so.”

Sex is supposed to feel good. It’s supposed to be relaxing. Who cares about love when sex is on the line?

Except that while it feels good in the moment, after the fact I don’t feel good about myself. That’s what Tucker is trying to avoid. I know he’s right; I just don’t know how to fix it. I’m not broken. I don’t need therapy. I’m just... me.

“I’m starving,” Micah announces. “Take me to your nearest food place.”

“There aren’t a lot of options.” There’s a reason I take all of my meals in the ASC: it’s because all of the other dining halls suck.

“I don’t care. Feed me.”

I roll my eyes at his dramatics. He picks up his duffle bag and slings it over his shoulder. After a moment, he pulls my backpack off my shoulder and throws it over his, too.

“You don’t have to carry my bag.”

He laughs. “Yeah, I do, Princess.”

“No. You don’t get to call me that.”

“Priiiiiincess.” He chases after me, wrapping both arms around me in a bear hug. “You like it when he calls you that.”

“Yeah, because it’s his name for me. Not yours.” I shove him away. “Only he gets to call me that.”

“All right, all right.”

We laugh and joke on our way to the ASC. It’s good to see him. I didn’t realize how much I missed his light-hearted earnestness until confronted with it again. Using one of my coveted few guest passes, I badge him into the dining hall, and we stow our things at a table. It’s still early; there aren’t a lot of people eating at this time of day.

The back table where the football team sits is occupied only by Greg, with the man bun and caveman beard. His back is to me as he hunches over his plate, a thick textbook open in front of him.

Micah loads his plate with two chicken breasts, steamed veggies, and a whole grain roll. He’s still on the pre-combine eating plan, trying to gain a few pounds of lean muscle. I opt for the Thai green curry with brown rice. Knowing him, he’ll probably try to steal a few bites and end up eating half of mine in addition to his.

“So this is Newton,” he hums, taking a look around.

“I like it.”

“Yeah, and how much of that is the people here?”

“That’s not fair. I’ve made friends here,” I point out. “You’re not allowed to sleep with Fred or Melissa or the other girls I live with. Anyone else is up for fair game, but you have to go back to their place.”

He rolls his eyes. “I’m here to see you, not hook up. I’m sleeping on your floor whether you like it or not.”