but at least now, I knew she was a student there too. Or at least, I assumed she was.
“Do you even go there?” I questioned, feeling a little stupid for asking, but the truth was that she could go to one of the other schools nearby.
Fullton State wasn’t the only university in the vicinity, and so far, I hadn’t seen her leaving her apartment once to head in the same direction as me.
“Does it matter?”
Her response caught me off guard.
“I guess not.”
“What if I said no?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know.”
She tossed me a look over her shoulder. “I go to school there. I’ll be right back.”
As she disappeared behind her own door, I stood and waited for all of ten seconds before she reappeared.
“I’m ready. Just needed to turn off the TV.”
“Aren’t you going to lock your door?” I asked, freaking out that she would just leave it unlocked without a second thought. What if someone comes in while we’re gone?
“No.”
“Do you live alone?”
“What do you think?” she asked, her tone almost comical.
I took stock of her demeanor as we walked toward the parking lot. “Yesss?” I said, dragging out the word because I had no idea if she lived alone or not, and how was I supposed to know just by looking at her?
“Yes. It’s easier.”
“What is?”
“Living by yourself. Keep up, Sunshine.”
“How is it easier?” I asked, hoping she wouldn’t bite my head off.
Rocky was a little aggressive. Or maybe it was the fact that her edges seemed more than a little rough.
“No one gets mad if you leave dishes in the sink. Or don’t take out the trash. Or for doing whatever the hell you want to do,” she said as I pointed at my car door and unlocked it with the remote. Rocky pulled the passenger door open. “You don’t have to take anyone else’s opinion into consideration for how you choose to live.”
I listened as I walked to the driver’s side of my car, but I couldn’t really relate. It hadn’t been like that with Danika and me when we lived together. It had been easy but probably because we had similar ways of living. I might have felt differently if all we’d done was argue and fight over things, like Rocky had talked about.
“Baseball player sit here?” Rocky asked as she fumbled around with the seat to raise it. I hadn’t even noticed how far back Mac had reclined. “Why do guys always put the seat back as far as it will go? I’ve never understood that.”
“You’re weird,” was my only response.
“Thanks. You are too,” she said, and I smiled.
“Taking that as a compliment,” I tossed toward her and started driving.
“I meant it as one.”
Rocky switched the radio station from the pop channel it was on to an alternative one and then turned the volume up without asking. I glanced at her, but she was expressionless. Most people wouldn’t touch someone’s radio without asking permission, but I was quickly learning that Rocky wasn’t most people.
“I like your hair, by the way,” I said, and she pulled at the short strands, twisting a bright green one between two fingers.
“Thanks. I’m getting tired of it though. It’s been this color for too long. I was thinking blue next,” she said.
I wondered how people could color their hair like that and not have it fall out. I had been scared to death to try the silver.
“Do you color it yourself?”
“Yep,” she said, popping the P. “I like your new hair too. It’s way better than the blonde.”
“Thanks,” I said as we pulled into the short-term parking lot nearest the bookstore, and I searched for an open spot. “It’s a madhouse,” I breathed out. “Why is it so crowded on a Sunday? I’ll never find a space.”
“We should have walked,” Rocky said, and I choked on a laugh.
“You don’t really seem like the walking type.” I motioned toward the unlaced combat boots on her feet.
“I walk. And they can be tied, you know.”
“Well, we should have walked then.”
“Nah,” she disagreed before pointing a finger straight ahead. “Look.”
I watched as brake lights appeared, followed by the white reverse lights, and the car started to back up. Stepping on the gas, I threw both of our bodies into our seats with the force. No one was going to beat me to that spot.
Putting on my blinker, I waited patiently for the car to shift out of reverse and move forward before I started ahead. Before they could get out of my