Page 13 of Mostly My Boss
He chuckled and went back to his salmon. And, because I was the biggest loser on the planet, I focused solely on my salad.
* * *
I looked in the full-length mirror on the wall in my room and grimaced. I did slouch my shoulders. It was something my mother used to complain about all the time. When she had the energy for it.
Then Dad died, and she lost the energy for everything.
Straightening my shoulders naturally pushed my tits out. Was that a good look for me? I wore a C cup and had mostly thought my boobs were an annoyance while growing up, but maybe a tighter T-shirt?
I pulled the material of my shirt snug and focused on keeping my shoulders back. That made the boobs look huge and the last thing I wanted to be known for on campus was my rack.
The door opened then, and I immediately resumed slouch mode, turning away from the mirror as fast as I could.
“Hey, Nicki,” I muttered, moving to my bed.
“Oh my gosh, I had the best day!” She was smiling again, but I decided it was on me to make more of an effort.
“Good class?”
“No, Comp 101 is bullshit. Better than class. I met up with some people and they invited me for…wait for it…coffee. That’s right. My first coffee-group date thing at Harvard. I feel so badass. You should come!”
My mouth opened and closed with a hundred reasons why I couldn’t. I wasn’t invited. This was her thing. She probably didn’t want me tagging along.
Then she sat on the edge of my bed. “Look, Julia, I know we’re not the same people at all. But isn’t that the whole point of college? To hang out with people you normally don’t? So come get coffee and hang out and we’ll just see how it goes.”
Shoulders back, tits out. “Okay. That sounds cool.”
There was a knock on the door. Nicki gave me an exaggerated,I wonder who that could be?look.
Without checking, she opened the door with a cheerful “Hi,” which meant it could have been a serial killer, but whatever.
“Hey, is Julia here?”
I knew that voice.
“Yeah, she’s right here.”
He poked his head around the door. “I need you.”
“I’m not sure I’m open for business,” I told Ethan.
“No, seriously. This is fashion shit. Girls live for this,” he said, coming into the room.
“Uh, I think you criticized my wardrobe at lunch,” I reminded him.
“You have a wardrobe?” Nicki asked. “Is it, like, not unpacked yet?”
Ethan smiled. “You must be Jules’s roommate. She said you have a really amazing smile and you do.”
Nicki practically sighed. “Oh my gosh. Thank you!”
I rolled my eyes while she was gushing at Ethan. He hadn’t been kidding about the charm thing.
Turning to me, she said, “Julia, you didn’t tell me you had a guy.”
“He’s not a guy,” I said.
“I’m a guy,” he contradicted me.
