Page 35 of Built to Fall
“Thought you were at weightlifting,” Savannah says in a way that partially sounds like a question.
“I was,” he replies casually.
Both Delaney and Kenzie’s eyes flick to me and back.
“Didn’t know you had company,” Delaney then says.
Savannah slaps her on the shoulder while Kenzie reprimands her under her breath, “Del,don’t be rude.”
“Lina’s not that kind of company,” he says, then turns to me. “Let’s go.”
“Alright, well, you guys have fun. We’re going to the bar for half-off happy hour.”
Five in the morning is a weird time for happy hour, but I don’t say anything about it.
Grant doesn’t seem surprised, as if it’s all too expected coming from them. “Be careful,” he says, deadly serious. Overprotective-sounding.
“We always are,” Savannah tells him. “Anyway, I need tequila ASAP, so we’re going to get going.”
“Bye, Sav,” Grant replies.
“Nice seeing you,” she tells me with a soft smile, heading in the opposite direction.
Once we’re a few steps ahead, I say, “She seems nice.”
Grant groans. “Sav? She’s a pain in the ass most of the time. All three of them are. Put them together and it’s a whole other animal.”
“Uh-huh.”
“What?”
I give him a pointed look. “It’s kind of weird to act like you don’t like the girl you’ve admitted to constantly fucking.”
“I don’t dislike her. She’s my friend.”
My face contorts automatically. “Damn. I’d hate to be your friend.”
“You’re not exactly a picnic yourself, either.”
“I never claimed to be.”
“So you’re aware that you’re kind of a bitch?” he asks with a small smile.
My brows knit together as I examine his expression. “Isn’t there some sort of rule that guys aren’t allowed to call girls that?” Even if there is, I’m still not offended by it.
“I’m not saying it in a derogatory way. In fact, I’m encouraging you to embrace it. I’ve never thought that word should have a negative connotation. If I were a chick, I’d be a mega-bitch.”
It’s a good point. In a way, it feels the same as me offhandedly calling him a dick.
He’s taken something most men would use to objectify or degrade women and put it in a more positive light.
I huff a laugh despite myself. “You’re already halfway there.”
Somehow, he looks proud. “Thanks. I’ll take it as a compliment.”
The brownstone apartment building begins to loom in front of us, brick and ivy settling into the darkness. The rent for this place is crazy high, given the fact that it’s fairly luxurious and in a college town, but if I had to pay for it again, I would. A thousand times over.
I hesitantly head toward the steps, not quite ready to go back inside—to the silence, the stale air, the weight pressing down on me like it always does when I’m alone.
