Endless

5

Ty's POV

When I walked out that dorm, I swear my legs felt like spaghetti noodles. Not even the thick kind — the Dollar Tree box kind that get soft too quick.

I took maybe ten steps before I had to stop, press my hand to the wall, and breathe like I just ran a marathon.

"Bruh... get it together," I whispered.

But my brain was replaying everything:

"Shawty."

"You can come inside."

"You look scared."

His smile.

His chest.

The fact that he did NOT flinch when I said I was gay.

The fact that he lowkey softened up when I walked in the room, like all that tough shit had melted into a puddle around his ankles.

I don't know what the hell that was supposed to mean, but my heart was beating like it was trying to escape my body.

I made it outside, down the steps, and into the night air again. I swear the humidity slapped me across the face like I owed it money.

My phone buzzed.

Lex. Again.

I rolled my eyes so hard they almost got stuck.

Lex 💅🏾:
SOOOO??? DID U GIVE HIM THE SHOES OR R U STILL BEIN A LITTLE BITCH ???

I typed back:

Me:
Stop texting me like u my parole officer damn

Instant bubble.

Lex 💅🏾:
DID U DO IT

Me:
yes

Lex 💅🏾:
AND???

Me:
He ain't beat my ass, that's all u gettin rn

I locked my phone before she could send me another paragraph.

I reached my car, got in, closed the door, and just sat there with my hands on the wheel. The quiet hit me first — that soft hum of the AC, the little click-click of my car cooling down, the darkness outside making everything feel too close.

I stared straight ahead, still trying to process how I felt.

Cause... I didn't just feel relieved.

I felt... something else.

Something I wasn't ready to name.

Something warm.
Something dangerous.
Something that made my stomach flip the way roller coasters do when they drop.

"Bruh..." I muttered. "This boy gon' stress me tf OUT."

—

When I got back to my dorm, Lex was literally sitting on the floor outside my door like a stray cat waiting on food.

As soon as she saw me, she jumped up.

"Well???" she said, planting her hands on her hips like a nosy auntie.

"Move, damn," I said squeezing past her to unlock my door.

She followed me inside like she paid rent.

"You talked to him?" she asked, shutting the door with her foot.
"You didn't get beat up?"
"You didn't get cussed out?"
"Was he ugly in the light?"
"Was his breath hot?"
"Did he—"

"LEX." I turned around slowly. "Please hush."

She blinked. "Ohhhh so it got juicy."

"It didn't," I lied.