Allison. Friend from back home.”
“Just a friend?”
Felix nodded. “We hang out a lot, but we’ve never hooked up or anything.”
“Why not? She busted?”
“Not even close,” Felix said with a smile. “Probably the hottest girl at my high school.”
“You don’t have a girlfriend, do you?”
“No.” Felix paused. “I dated this girl—Emma—for like three years, then things just… ended right after graduation.”
“Why’d you dump her?”
Emma, Felix’s girlfriend— ex-girlfriend —was the only girl he’d ever been with. They started dating sophomore year and were inseparable all during high school. They did everything together. He’d even told her that he loved her; one star-filled night in the back seat of his Wrangler he’d confessed his unshakeable teenage love to her. And how’d she repay him? Two weeks after graduation she broke up with him. Just like that, three years of movie nights, keggers in the woods, proms and car sex were all discarded like a greasy fast food wrapper. She didn’t even call him after the fire. Everyone gets dumped at some point, but the things Emma had told him at the lake—her reasons for breaking up with him—were too embarrassing and too painful to dredge up.
“I… uh… you know, she was getting too serious and all—stage five clinger type,” Felix lied, taking a long pull from his can, buying time to come up with something believable. “She was heading off to Seattle for college and I was coming here. I thought I should have my freedom. I didn’t wanna be stuck in some dumb long-distance relationship.”
“Good for you, dude. Smart move freeing yourself up so you can bang PC chicks.”
He bought it , Felix thought, relieved. Lucas went back to the Bud Light box, dug out two more cans and passed one to Felix.
There was a knock at the door. “Felix? Hey, it’s me.” Then louder, rising above the clamoring buzz of activity out in the hall: “Felix?” A girl’s voice—Allison’s. Felix took a step toward the door, but it swung open before he could get to it. Allison slipped into the room. Another girl followed. And then another.
“Beer!” Allison exclaimed, noticing the can in Felix’s hand. “Nice.” She smiled at him. “That better not be the last one!” She turned to the girls and said, “This is Felix,” then spun back to Felix and made a fluttery gesture with her hands that made him feel like a contestant on a game show. Back to the girls she went: “This is the guy I was telling you about. The one I went to high school with.” Then back to Felix: “This is my roommate Caitlin”—Allison held out her hand toward a girl who was six inches shorter than her, then she pointed at the other girl—“and this is Harper, Caitlin’s friend from high school.”
“Hey,” Felix said to the girls.
“Hey,” they said in return.
Lucas stepped up to announce his presence in the room: “And I’m Felix’s roommate,” he said, handing out beers and getting Felix’s attention with a big grin and a quirked eyebrow.
While Lucas passed around the beverages, Felix took the opportunity to check out the new girls. The short one—Caitlin—was cute with honey brown hair streaked with blonde highlights, and a tan so deep and rich it went below the skin, the kind that only comes from spending a long summer at the beach. She wore a pair of enormous diamond studs in her ears and her fingers were wreathed in jewels that sparkled in blue, red, and green. Her watch was understated, but Felix didn’t think she bought it at Target. She smelled like money.
The other girl—Harper—was nearly as tall as Allison. Her hair was long, blonde and slightly wavy. It occurred to Felix, quite suddenly, that she was beautiful. He tried not to stare, but the longer he looked at her, the more he realized that she wasn’t simply beautiful in a generic kind of way. She was absurdly beautiful, straight from the pages of a Victoria’s Secret catalogue
“Just a friend?”
Felix nodded. “We hang out a lot, but we’ve never hooked up or anything.”
“Why not? She busted?”
“Not even close,” Felix said with a smile. “Probably the hottest girl at my high school.”
“You don’t have a girlfriend, do you?”
“No.” Felix paused. “I dated this girl—Emma—for like three years, then things just… ended right after graduation.”
“Why’d you dump her?”
Emma, Felix’s girlfriend— ex-girlfriend —was the only girl he’d ever been with. They started dating sophomore year and were inseparable all during high school. They did everything together. He’d even told her that he loved her; one star-filled night in the back seat of his Wrangler he’d confessed his unshakeable teenage love to her. And how’d she repay him? Two weeks after graduation she broke up with him. Just like that, three years of movie nights, keggers in the woods, proms and car sex were all discarded like a greasy fast food wrapper. She didn’t even call him after the fire. Everyone gets dumped at some point, but the things Emma had told him at the lake—her reasons for breaking up with him—were too embarrassing and too painful to dredge up.
“I… uh… you know, she was getting too serious and all—stage five clinger type,” Felix lied, taking a long pull from his can, buying time to come up with something believable. “She was heading off to Seattle for college and I was coming here. I thought I should have my freedom. I didn’t wanna be stuck in some dumb long-distance relationship.”
“Good for you, dude. Smart move freeing yourself up so you can bang PC chicks.”
He bought it , Felix thought, relieved. Lucas went back to the Bud Light box, dug out two more cans and passed one to Felix.
There was a knock at the door. “Felix? Hey, it’s me.” Then louder, rising above the clamoring buzz of activity out in the hall: “Felix?” A girl’s voice—Allison’s. Felix took a step toward the door, but it swung open before he could get to it. Allison slipped into the room. Another girl followed. And then another.
“Beer!” Allison exclaimed, noticing the can in Felix’s hand. “Nice.” She smiled at him. “That better not be the last one!” She turned to the girls and said, “This is Felix,” then spun back to Felix and made a fluttery gesture with her hands that made him feel like a contestant on a game show. Back to the girls she went: “This is the guy I was telling you about. The one I went to high school with.” Then back to Felix: “This is my roommate Caitlin”—Allison held out her hand toward a girl who was six inches shorter than her, then she pointed at the other girl—“and this is Harper, Caitlin’s friend from high school.”
“Hey,” Felix said to the girls.
“Hey,” they said in return.
Lucas stepped up to announce his presence in the room: “And I’m Felix’s roommate,” he said, handing out beers and getting Felix’s attention with a big grin and a quirked eyebrow.
While Lucas passed around the beverages, Felix took the opportunity to check out the new girls. The short one—Caitlin—was cute with honey brown hair streaked with blonde highlights, and a tan so deep and rich it went below the skin, the kind that only comes from spending a long summer at the beach. She wore a pair of enormous diamond studs in her ears and her fingers were wreathed in jewels that sparkled in blue, red, and green. Her watch was understated, but Felix didn’t think she bought it at Target. She smelled like money.
The other girl—Harper—was nearly as tall as Allison. Her hair was long, blonde and slightly wavy. It occurred to Felix, quite suddenly, that she was beautiful. He tried not to stare, but the longer he looked at her, the more he realized that she wasn’t simply beautiful in a generic kind of way. She was absurdly beautiful, straight from the pages of a Victoria’s Secret catalogue
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