The Pursuit of Felicity

{ Chapter 6 }

I feel Rex's gaze on me as I tug on my pants in his dimly lit room. "Are you alright?" he awkwardly questions as he tugs at one of his locs.

"Yeah." I grab my shirt off the floor. As I shove my head through it, I turn to face him. "Why?"

"Well, for one, it's six o'clock on a Thursday..." he acknowledges slowly as he pulls himself into a sitting position. "And you messaged me, which you never do unless you're mad and need to blow off steam."

I tilt my head at him and put on a flirtatious smile in hopes that it'd get his mind off of the topic. I don't know what's gotten into me lately and the last thing I need is to be questioned by a guy I hook up with once every week or two. "Are you complaining?" I quirk a brow, "because you didn't seem to be complaining a few minutes ago."

He laughs at this and gives me a weak shrug. I can tell he's going to drop it soon. He cares enough to ask but doesn't care enough to pry; that's why I appreciate him. "I'm not. I just figured I'd ask."

"I'm just stressed from studying," I lie without a second thought. If this were Danny, we wouldn't be having this conversation. We wouldn't be having any conversation. He'd be falling asleep and I'd be slipping out of his apartment as quietly as I can. "I needed a break. That's why I texted you."

"I figured." After acknowledging his understanding nod, I grab my purse and point a finger at him.

"I'll see you around," I call as I open the door to his room.

"Sure thing," he confirms as I shut it behind me. I leave his apartment, not even risking a glance at his roommate, whose gaze I feel on me as I walk out the front door.

My relationship with Rex is odd, mostly because there is no relationship. We met at a party last year and he was the first person I've ever slept with. But it wasn't anything magical or special and I definitely didn't develop feelings for him. In fact, he doesn't know that he was my first. I'm sure he'd have been uncomfortable had I told him, though. I sort of expected to fall for him; I was okay with it because I figured I'd move on fast; I barely knew the kid so there wasn't much I could be attached to. Besides, I only thought that because I'd read so much about losing my virginity and how I'd release a bunch of different hormones that'd make me fall in love with him. But I guess it didn't work that way for me because not even a month later, I slept with someone else.

I appreciate Rex, though. He's very considerate and he never tries to push the boundaries. When I say no, it means no and he respects that. Though it should be like that all the time for everyone, it unfortunately is not. He also respects social boundaries; he never asks me to go out to eat with him or to hang out. He knows my schedule well enough to not hit me up during the weekdays but if I message him when I'm annoyed and need to distress, he's there. Take today, for example. Plus, whenever we see each other out and about, we say 'hello' and keep it pushing, which is completely fine with me. Not to mention, he's good at what he does. I guess if I had to label our 'relationship,' it'd be a friends with benefits situation and a completely healthy one at that.

Danny, on the other hand, not so much. He's equally as respectful when it comes to my body. But socially, not so much. He'll look me dead in my face in public and not acknowledge me at all, not that I ever expect him to; it just strikes me as odd. Not to mention, we don't share very many words for people who have sex roughly twice a month. In fact, we don't do much talking at all. The only time he texts me are on the weekends and they're basically just a combination of emojis that hint at what he's trying to do. In addition to those texts, he messages me pictures of his monthly STD tests, which I also send when I get mine.

How I met Danny is a bit weird. We had a class together during our spring semester last year and we got paired up for a project. There was a lot of tension between us and at one point, we had to work on the project but the library was closed. He suggested his apartment and one thing led to another and we ended up sleeping together. We managed to get an A on the project and he kept me in his contact list. I didn't complain, for obvious reasons.