Page 51 of Necessary Roughness
Bryson:Funny, that tummy ache only came after he flipped you off and told you to get lost.
Jayden:I don’t like group chats like this. It makes it harder for me to tell the narrative I want.
Me:Sorry you had a bad night. I was going to tell you about MY night, and how I did the opposite of strike out. But if you have a tummy ache…
Jayden:…
Bryson:…
Jayden:Are you fucking with us right now?
Me:I am being 100% serious. I just hooked up with… what did you call them? My two fuckboys. We had a threesome.
Jayden:Tell your cunty roommate to put on some noise-canceling headphones, because I’m coming over RIGHT FREAKING NOW and I cannot be held responsible for the amount of enthusiastic screaming I do.
21
Sloane
Finally getting laid had anamazingeffect on my work ethic and motivation.
I was able to focus in class, taking notes and really absorbing the information. I hung out on the campus lawn between classes and reviewed everything I had learned, which helped reinforce everything in my mind. Then, when I went home and wrote papers or took practice tests, I felt like an expert.
I was sleeping better at night. Instead of my brain running through a list of anxiety-inducing topics, I more or less fell asleep within minutes of turning out the light. And then I woke up the next morning refreshed and energetic, a feeling I couldn’t remember having since I was a high school freshman. Back before the weight of the world’s responsibilities began crushing me.
Getting ahead of my classwork meant I had more time to cook for myself at night. Gone were the days of Chinese take-out and frozen dinners. Now I was bookmarking recipes on Instagram and actuallycookingthem, rather than just telling myself I would eventually get my act together. I was even eatingvegetablesregularly!
Yeah, that’s a low bar. So what. It felt like a huge victory to me and improved my mood.
Seeing my two new football-playing lovers in class was mildly distracting. I found my gaze drifting toward Logan during our Creative Writing class, his broad-shouldered frame always in my field of view a few rows down. And every now and then he would twist and look up at me, a knowing grin on his face.
It surprised me how much that simple smile could brighten up my entire day.
Knox was even tougher to ignore since he sat next to me in Art History, with only a narrow aisle separating our two desks. Visually, he was easier to ignore since I needed to turn my head to look at him, but sight wasn’t the problem with this situation.
It wasscent.
Knox Maddox smelled incredible. I didn’t know what deodorant or cologne he wore, but it was subtle and filled my chest with warmth every time I caught a whiff. That scent conjured memories of our threesome at the party, and the night they came over and watchedDie Hardat my place. When class ended, I strategically took my time packing my bag to make sure I followed him out of the classroom, riding in the wake of his intoxicating aroma.
“See you later, Sloane,” he’d say to me when we went our separate ways in the hallway. I didn’t know if he meant in class, or the next time we hooked up.
Either way, I couldn’t wait.
But those weregooddistractions, and didn’t take away from my focus. Overall, I was crushing this semester. Sure, we were scarcely two weeks in, but I had a swagger and confidence that I knew would carry me all the way to exam week.
“It’s going great,” I told my mom on the phone that Thursday while walking between classes. “Seriously, better than I could’ve hoped.”
“You said that Sophomore year, remember?” she replied skeptically. “I think it was the spring semester. You registered for eighteen credits, and thought you could handle it at first. But by spring break you were calling me crying, saying you couldn’t do it.”
“I bit off more than I could chew that semester, yes,” I replied patiently. “This is different.”
“If you say so.”
“Idosay so,” I insisted. “In past years, I felt like I was barely treading water. I’m older and more experienced, now. I’m managing my time better.”
“You’re partying less, you mean.”
I ignored the jab. “It helps that most of my classes from this point forward are related to my degree. I actually care about what I’m learning, as opposed to Chemistry.”
