was getting dangerous. Aivery had still been seen around campus in places or during odd times with Pettiford. I still hadn’t whispered a word of me knowing to her. That, though, wasn’t due to any maturity on my part. It was because deep down inside, I still believed she hadn’t been fucking him. If I had, things would be way different.
“I don’t know if we’re going to his place or my dorm,” she was sure to wonder out loud. Then she gasped before looking over to me. “Dad says this better be a drop-off and not a turn-in for the night,” Aivery giggled, pitch similar to a child’s.
I didn’t mirror her reaction to her father’s subtle threat. There was nothing funny about it other than Dan Cooper being helpless to me having been fucking his baby girl for about two years now. The moment my empty regard left a cheery Aivery and returned to the dark road ahead, my disconsolate thoughts resumed.
Another reason I hadn’t confronted Aivery about Pettiford was because of my inexplicable feelings for Tori. Shit. The things I wanted to do to her—I would do to her—couldn’t be stopped if I wanted them to. It was like a storming impulsion I didn’t want to get rid of. The shit was about to explode, and having this “relationship” matter settled with Aivery would lessen the damage. But how would this turn out? On her birthday. I was about to do the unthinkable on her birthday.
When I pulled into the Winnie dorm parking lot, Aivery was finally closing the call. I was able to find a park and grabbed her leftover food while she got out of the car. As we stalked into her dormitory, countless people in passing wished her a happy birthday. Aivery absorbed all the cheer, eating it up. We rode up to her floor on the elevator in silence, my fucking stomach toiling. I was going through with it. The cheering Brick did for me solidified it.
I trailed behind to her suite. In this building were miniature apartments referred to as suites. Their common areas, living room and kitchen, were the size of a common hotel suite. More efficiency space rather than an apartment like my dormitory. With Aivery being a senior, she got seniority and was assigned a suite.
She smiled at me while pushing the door open. “I have to pee so bad.”
She shimmied her way inside. There were flowers everywhere. Colorful bouquets on the table and floor. I closed the door behind me as she took lunges toward the bathroom.
“Shit, Karm!” Aivery slapped the door. “I’ve gotta pee!”
“I’m coming!” Karm yelled through the door.
Seconds later, the door opened and Aivery shot past Karmen, damn near pushing her into the small corridor. Karm’s face was tight until her regard landed on me. She froze at first, eyes popping wide then suddenly relaxing. She looked at me from head to toe before her mouth twisted and her humor faded.
She gestured the bag of gifts Aivery had collected before we left for off campus as well as her leftovers from the restaurant. “You wanna go put those in her room?”
I shook my head. Then I thought to place them on the kitchen chair nearest me. Karmen took her time gazing at me before taking off to her room down the hall. The toil in my stomach returned when I was alone. This was the time. I had to get this over with.
A few minutes later, the latch to the bathroom door sounded, and my head popped up the moment Aivery stepped out. Wiping her hands with a paper towel, her eyes scanned the flowers in the small common area.
Swallowing involuntarily, I opened my dry mouth to begin. “Aivery, wa—we,” I stuttered. “We need to talk.”
Her regard roved up to me. “Sure. Have a seat?” She pointed to the small living room, fitting no more than a sofa for three, a single coffee table and television stand.
I shook my head, regard falling to my busy, wrestling fingers.
“So, you’re gonna stand to do it?” she murmured, eyes rolling.
“To do what?”
“What you’ve been trying to do since the start of the semester.” One hand was on her hip as she swung the other arm in the air. Aivery still wore her off-white motorcycle jacket and high heeled Valentino Garavani booties. “You want to break up, for real.”
“We have been broken up, for real.”
“Not homecoming night!” she shouted then quickly caught her temper.