Being in love with a straight boy is a straight-up nightmare. Especially if it's been like that for years. But it's even worse when he's your best friend's brother, who has a girlfriend that's there to remind you how straight he is. That's when it b...
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Visiting Harriet was so much easier now that we were literally only a few floors away from each other. I just had to take the elevator down, walk into the opposite hall of mine, right up to room eleven, and there she was.
Only she wasn't. Knocking on the door about four times got me nowhere—there was clearly no one home—so I sighed, took out my phone and called her.
"Hey, where are you?" I asked when she picked up.
"I'm out with Nazy and Krista."
"Oh... Do you mind if I join?"
"No, of course not! We're at Starbucks across the street."
"Okay, I'll be there in five."
I had seen Nazy and Krista only a few times, and I wasn't quite sure why I'd asked to come, because they scared the shit out of me. They were the kind of friends that glared at their friend's boyfriend if he ever did something wrong, with a million death threats on the tip of their tongue and a knife hidden in their sleeves. I suppose Harriet was lucky to have them, though, because she was sometimes a bit too nice and awkward, and while I personally thought it was adorable, some guy she used to date had supposedly taken advantage of it. The idea that somebody had practically used my girlfriend made my blood roil. I would never.
But it was hard to convince them.
When I walked into the Starbucks cafe, the sounds of coffee machines and chattering people filling my ears, I looked around to see Harriet sitting in the back at a round table, her friends cackling at each other while she shyly sipped her coffee, and I couldn't help but smile at the sight of her.
What I absolutely loved about Harriet was that, while she was generally a rather quiet, closed-off person who didn't always say the right thing at the right time, she lit up like a thousand stars when she was with me. Her blue eyes twinkled like she'd never been happier and she stumbled over her words like she couldn't get them out fast enough and... it sort of honored me to know that I was the one to make her feel that way.
When her eyes found mine across the cafe, she got that elated look on her face and immediately got up to meet me, hugging me so tightly that I could almost hear my ribs cracking. I reached up to stroke her hair, strawberry blonde and so, so soft, and she leaned back to show me her breathtaking smile. "Hey."
"Hey," I replied, returning the smile instinctively.
She grabbed my hand and led me to her table, where she gave me her coffee, which was still hot and half full. Her friends stopped talking to greet me and they appeared to be in a good mood today, because they actually looked happy to see me. Or maybe I'd finally convinced them that I was a good boyfriend. Hopefully both.
"What's up, Mason?" Krista called out, moving her chair over so I could squeeze in between. "What's your first week of second year been like?"
"Pretty good so far." I took a sip from Harriet's coffee, before returning it to her. "It's rather convenient to finally be so close to everything. I can't believe I didn't get a dorm before. I'm happy I don't have to travel anymore. And my roommate is really nice."
