And this apartment bore witness to almost all of it.
Eating breakfast at the kitchen island, bleary-eyed and gossiping about the night before. Watching reality tv on the couch. Going endlessly back and forth between each other’s closets to find the perfect outfits for every occasion, whether it was going to class or going out. Hugging each other in our rooms when our families disappointed us. Crying on each other’s shoulders when the boys broke our hearts.
These walls were constant during the highs and lows of the past year. They housed us, our emotions, and our memories.
So, we decided to give The Pen what it was owed – a proper farewell, one worthy of all the time we spent here together.
Last week with the date quickly approaching on our calendars, we’d opted to throw a girls-only, ‘final sleepover’ themed night.
Booze in ample quantity.
Snacks in ampler quantity.
And no boys.
This wasn’t about them. It was aboutus.
They’d been banished back to their mansion with a mandate that they weren’t allowed to text or call unless texted or called first.
They’d taken the news about as well as could be expected.
Poorly.
“You know you have to sleep in my bed every night,” Rogue grumbled, wrapping an arm around my waist and pulling me close. “Contractually.”
I grinned up at him. “Show me the paperwork.”
“Let me marry you and I’ll have the officiant put it in the vows. I can have someone here within the hour to make it official.”
I patted his chest. “After I graduate college.”
“One thousand three hundred and ninety eight,” he answered.
“What?”
“That’s how many days until your college graduation,” Rogue said. “I counted.”
I curled my hand around his nape and pushed up onto my toes. His face came down to meet mine halfway as I reached to kiss him. He mumbled a heated ‘fine’ against my lips when I pulled back minutes later.
Behind me, Phoenix groaned dramatically. “You’d do this to me during our honeymoon?”
I could practically hear Six’s eyes roll back into her head. “Fijiwas our honeymoon, babe.”
“The honeymoon phase is over that quickly for you, huh?” he pouted, crossing his arms. He was going to make a great lawyer one day.
She disarmed him with a soft look and equally tender smile. “No one’s loved anyone in this room longer than I’ve loved you, Nix,” she reminded him.
“That’s not true.” He wrapped his arm around her neck and pulled her into the crook of his shoulder as he fingered a strand of her red hair. “I saw you first, remember?”
“Come on, Rhys,” Thayer implored. “Distance makes the heart grow fonder and all that. And honestly, I’m being generous by calling it ‘distance’, it’s just one night.”
He crossed his arms, his eyes raking slowly down and back up her body. “I don’t need to miss you to want you, love. Never have, never will.”
I watched the man physically melt when she gave him a brilliant smile in answer to his sweet words.
Tristan, meanwhile, outright refused.
“Out of the fucking question,” he said, shaking his head. “I spentfour monthssleeping without you, Nera. I just got back into your bed, I’m not giving you an opportunity to find a way back out of it.”