Page 71 of The Pinkie Pact

Breathing heavily, he stared down into my eyes. "I'll call you tomorrow."

"You better," I said, leaning up to give him one last kiss to make sure he wouldn't be forgetting me anytime soon either.

With the taste of him still on my lips, I went inside, waving one last time at him through the windows, taking in the look on his face that expressed everything I was feeling too.

It was temporary, I reminded myself as I rode in the elevator up to our floor. Looking down, depression gripping me suddenly, I didn't notice a Trader Joe's bag by our door until I was right up on it. Inside was a blanket along with my pillow. I couldn't help smiling. Subtle.

Glancing at my phone for the first time in hours, I saw a text from Kara. "Hope you don't mind some time in the study lounge? Pretty, pretty please for a friend?"

No, I didn't mind. Hearing a moan from our room, I really didn't mind. I grabbed the bag and headed down the hall. At least one of us was getting lucky.

Why hadn't Kieran asked me back to his apartment? Either he didn't want me like I wanted him or he was an actual gentleman, unlike the vast majority of guys I'd ever encountered. But sometimes, being with a gentleman really sucked... especially when I wanted the exact opposite from him.

I opened the door, hoping to nab the one and only couch. But damn it, some dude had already staked his claim on it and was all sprawled out, sound asleep.

So I made do with one of the chairs. At least, it was cushioned. But still, not exactly the most comfortable thing to sleep on. Squirming, trying to get situated, I tried not to let images of Kieran's bed and all the things I wanted to do with him haunt me.

Stupid Study Lounge

Sky

As the cooler days of October swept by, I ended up spending a lot of freaking time in the stupid study lounge... something I didn't understand at all. Gen had an actual apartment with her own room! Why couldn't they just go there?

I had asked Kara about it several times, and she said Gen didn't like her roommate. But that answer didn't sit right with me. Something about it didn't make sense. If Gen really did have her own room, couldn't they just bypass the roommate and spend the bulk of their time in there? It was so weird.

The only positive was I made a new friend named Amir who was in a very similar position. We had a running joke about which one of us would make it to the couch first that night. He always tried to let me have it, but I didn't let him. So we compromised and alternated nights.

Fortunately, he was a really sweet and funny guy that I was comfortable around. Good thing because we ended up spending most nights together lately.

Gen didn't even leave in the middle of the night anymore. She stayed till morning. And since I didn't like being around her, I hung out in the study lounge till I was confident she was gone. At least, she left really early each day.

I kept any complaints to myself, though, because Kara was always so incredibly grateful, thanking me over and over. Plus, she was absolutely in heaven. She was annoyingly happy actually. But maybe it was just annoying because I was so damn miserable.

As I walked down the street to meet Brie for piano practice, I couldn't believe how much I missed Kieran... something I never expected in a million years. But he had been true to his word, calling or texting me every single day since he'd been gone, and something about being on the phone made me even more comfortable with him as we laughed, talked, and teased each other.

And now, getting to know him this way, not only did I lust after him, I actually reallylikedhim. Kieran was a good person. He honestly cared about people, cared about helping this world and making a difference. Probably a little too much.

I could tell it really weighed on him. I mean, come on, this planet was one fucked-up place, and Kieran seemed to take it all on his shoulders, explaining that tension I always saw in him. If I ever got the chance to actually be alone with him, I decided the first thing I'd do was give the poor guy a massage.

Pulling off my coat, I entered the little room and found Brie already practicing. She was an amazing player and, not for the first time, I was wowed just by watching her. Her hands flew across the keys, elegant and sure. She made the most stunning picture with her long hair flowing down her back.

Suddenly, it occurred to me that she might be a good candidate for my matchmaking with Bear. But the problem was she barely even spoke to me. And I wasn't exactly sure why. Did she not like me or something?

I didn't think that was the problem, though, because we texted sometimes and she was always really nice. Thinking back to the few times I'd heard her voice, she'd been so shy and nervous. So maybe it was something to do with that.

She'd also stumbled over her words a bit, stammering, making me want to hold her hand to help her through as her face reddened. Instead, I waited patiently for her to talk and hoped she'd grow more comfortable around me.

When she finished the song, I knocked softly on the wall, making her turn toward me. "Hi, Brie," I said, walking closer and putting my stuff down.

She didn't say anything, just nodded. And as usual, we went right to work with our duet, which was a little too long if you asked me. Of course, we were expected to memorize this crap as well. But with enough practice, I was sure we'd both have it down by then... although with Brie's talent, she probably already knew it by heart. At least, I had almost two months until the freaking recital. Till then, I would try not to think about it.

While we played, we both were lost in the music, and all other thoughts fled my mind, an amazing feeling that kept me sane in this world. That was why I loved the piano because it was something that required my full focus and made me forget my problems. I wondered if Brie felt the same.

When we were done, I decided to try to talk to her a little bit, maybe even invite her out tonight. It was a Friday night after all, and I was ready to let off some steam after a tough week. Maybe I could talk her into joining us.

"So, Brie, do you have any plans tonight?" I asked, gathering up my stuff while she did the same.

She shook her head no.

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