↠5↞

It must be bad

Friday drags a bit — a side effect of me vehemently waiting for the weekend to finally begin.

Nathan offered to take me out bowling, right after we had had an amazing sex. All the anger that he's been holding in, he put into pleasuring me, and I have to say, he was indescribably good.

I've tried to avoid talking to Will, always using the pretext of being focused on the lectures. Him and Rayna, however, they've been continuously chatting and laughing, making jokes about Mrs. Cohen and her non-existent adoration for Will.

"Class dismissed. Enjoy your weekend, and don't you dare turn up drunk on Monday again, Mr. Hakes." The professor scowls at the mentioned individual.

Having left the lecture hall, Will asks abruptly, "So? What are you girls doing this weekend?"

Rayna purses her lips to the side, thinking. "Not sure yet. We all could go for a drink tonight?" She looks at me quizzically.

"I've already got plans," I confess, deliberately omitting Nathan's name. It'd make me feel somewhat uncomfortable saying it in Will's presence.

What does Will even see in me?

Okay, I might not be the ugliest girl on the campus, but I don't belong to the prettiest ones either. I had always thought that Rayna, with her long, blonde hair and big, blue eyes, had more chance to make someone fall for her, not me.

My rejection renders her curious. "Really? What are you going to do?"

"Well, I'm going bowling with Nathan." I intentionally avoid any eye contact with Will, who remains silent anyway, listening to our conversation.

"Didn't you have enough fun playing with balls yesterday?" she asks, and I instantly regret sharing the details of last night with her.

"Thanks, Rayna." I stealthily beckon at Will.

She ignores my body language. "You're going with us. Period."

"What about–"

"Take Nathan with you."

This idea doesn't occur as one of the best to me, and neither does it to Will, because he momentarily lets an exasperated groan out.

"Oh shut up, you." Rayna shoots him a glare. "It'll be fun."

"Fun?"

The emphasis bodes nothing good.

Will then adds, "Does this word even exist in Fall's dictionary?" As usual, he refers to Nathan by his surname.

"It surely does when the atmosphere is clear of your self-established superiority," she snaps back at him, making even me feel speechless. "You two always stop us from going anywhere together. You need to bury the hatchet."

Will gives a bitter laugh. "I'm not shaking hands with Fall." He suddenly speeds up, as if he was trying to run away from this discussion.

"What has he done to you anyway? Rayna quizzes. "Why do you always jump into each other's throats?"

Will's fervent walk is relentless in speed. "He's just a dick," he says.

Not surprised, I roll my eyes and strive to draw level with them.

Rayna pouts her lips and begins to baby talk, "Has he made fun of your penis and it made you cry every night?"

I watch Will shut his eyes in amusement. An involuntary smile flickers across his face. Merriment has ever had the ability to make him appear even more attractive than he already is.

He lays his black eyes upon Rayna's petite figure. "You are a mental one, I swear." His mouth sets into a smile regardless.

She gives him a puppy-eyed look. "So?"

Will combs his sooty hair with his hand. "Okay, fine!" He sighs in capitulation. "A drinking night with Fall."

Well . . . this is going to be a disaster.

~~~~~~~~~~

"No. Hell no." Nathan shakes his head.

"Come on. Just one drink and we can sneak out," I beseech.

He runs his tongue along his teeth. "No way."

"Please?"

"No, Davina."

"Pretty please?" I fold my hands in prayer.

"No. You know that I hate Will."

My shoulders slack. "I know, but it was Rayna's idea."

"Why did you even agree?" He intertwines his fingers at his nape, watching me with his eyebrows arched.

"I didn't have much of a say in this." I give a listless shrug. "So?" My stare is pleading.

Nathan wraps his arms around my waist. "You can't do this," he admonishes.

"Do what?" I play innocent.

Nathan caresses my cheek with his thumb. The cold of his signet ring feels pleasant against my skin. "Look at me this way. You know that I won't be able to say no to your cute face," he says.

"Is that a yes?" The excitement in my voice is palpable.

"Yes," he acquiesces, shaking his head as I fist pump the air. He then pulls me in for a kiss.

We remain silent, losing ourselves in the intimacy of our closeness. My hand vanishes in the volume and softness of Nathan's hair, my mind, however, gets lost in the marvelous warmth of his sandalwood perfume. The smell is enhanced with a note of a night-scented stock, my favourite plant, which makes my legs become weak within seconds. Nathan literally smells like a warm, summer evening. What's more, all of his piercings have been restored back into their place, which renders me happy because I like him just the way he is.

Nathan disengages his lips from mine. "I think you should go and get ready before you know," he lustfully eyes me up, "I can't control myself anymore."

I try to steady my breathing, but the bulge in his jeans, which presses against my tummy, isn't really helping. "Okay." My agreement is proceeded by another question. "What are you going to wear?" I drag my sight across the room until it meets his wardrobe.

Nathan's room is two floors up from mine, and it's somewhat cozier, but I think it's just the fact that all of his belongings are in here, and there are quite a few.

His wall is fully decorated with his astonishing art prints. On his desk there are some CD albums and a nice perfume collection. On his bedside table, however, resides a framed picture of us. The black blanket on his bed, alike to the duvet and pillows, is habitually smoothed and neatly spread. Everything in here is so clean, yet Nathan somehow always appears messy, obviously in a good kind of way.

He knits his eyebrows in bemusement. "Why do you want to know what I'm going to wear? Don't want me to embarrass you in front of Will?" His tone is teasing, yet there is something in his eyes that makes me think he might actually be a bit jealous.

"Don't be daft. I just don't want to look like the Ugly Duckling by your side," I explain quickly.

Nathan rolls his eyes. "You aren't ugly, Davina. You're beautiful. Now go and get ready," he orders, gently and swiftly slapping my bottom twice to make me hurry.

"Okay," I whisper, then fondly kiss him on the lips before I leave the room.

~~~~~~~~~~

The bathroom mirror reflects two faces — Rayna's and mine— both equally beautified with a rational amount of make up. We've been making ourselves ready for the last forty minutes.

Suddenly, but not unexpectedly, there is a knock on the door.

"Come in!" I shout, knowing that it's Nathan. He sent me a message a few minutes ago, priming about his upcoming appearance.

He makes himself known at the bathroom threshold. "Never ready on time." He leans against the doorframe, his words convey sham annoyance.

Rayna remains silent, way too focused on fixing her eyeliner.

I brush my hair. "We're almost done. Can you just pass me a hair pin, please?"

"Sure. Where is it?" he asks, eagerly pushing himself off the doorframe.

"My desk, in the drawer."

Nathan momentarily disappears into the room. After a few minutes of him not coming back, I start to wonder what's taking him so long.

"Did you find it?" I ask, frowning.

"Yeah." Is all he says when he reappears at the threshold. He then passes me the hair pin.

I take it from his hand. "You okay?" I ask, worried, because it seems like his mood has completely changed.

"Sure," he says, but doesn't even look at me, immersed in typing away on his phone.

His sudden frigidity doesn't go unnoticed. Rayna instantly locks her eyes with mine in the mirror. "What's going on?" she mouths.

I make a confused face and shrug infinitesimally.

"Did something happen?" I venture to ask Nathan.

He locks the screen of his cell. "Can we just go?" He finally decides to look at me.

His eyes are much darker now. The cool, mint hue only vanishes when something deeply upsets him.

Unsure what it is, or how I should act, I respond quietly, "Yeah, okay." My nerves, however, remain unquelled.

If Nathan hurries to go to the same place as Will, it can only mean one thing. Something happened, and it must be bad. Really bad.

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