by S. R. Watson
When the early morning light filters through my curtains, I see that Peyton is still in bed with me. I ease out of the bed to empty my bladder and brush my teeth.
The apartment is quiet, but it is Monday. Thor must be at football practice. I continue on to the bathroom and when I come out, Peyton is up and brewing coffee.
“How did it go last night?” She asks hesitantly. “Did you guys . . . you know?” She gestures with her hands.
“I couldn’t go through with it,” I reply nonchalantly.
“Oh, thank God,” she sighs as she lets out a cleansing breath. “You’ve waited this long. Give your virginity to someone who deserves it.”
“Thor thinks I went through with it though,” I say rolling my eyes. Last night was brutal.
“What do you mean? What did he say to you?” She stops pouring her coffee and turns to look at me. I share with her last night’s details, including Gavin carrying me in and Thor losing his shit. Peyton is visibly upset. She begins pacing the kitchen.
“What an asshole. He can’t be with Giselle and expect you to save yourself for him. I’m going to give his ass a verbal beat down,” she swears. This makes me smile. I should turn her loose on him, but she needs to stay neutral. I don’t want to affect the relationship she has established with him and Giselle.
“It’s okay. I mean it’s not, but I can handle him. Hopefully last night he got all his animosity out in the open so we can go our separate ways.”
“We have to live together Nevaeh. You can’t avoid each other forever,” Peyton warns.
“I know and that is why I think it is so important that you let us work this out on our own,” I plead.
“Whatever. I’ll let things be for now, but I think this whole thing is going to blow up in both of your faces. Giselle is bound to find out.” She continues pouring her coffee and takes a small sip. “And don’t think I’m going to stand by while he is an ass to you. He better get his shit together.”
“What did you end up seeing last night at the movies?” I ask, changing the subject. Peyton rolls her eyes upward, but she doesn’t acknowledge my ploy to talk about something else.
“We didn’t go. Morgan and I joined a few other friends at Pizza Hut before going to the pool hall. I wanted to get the deets about your date when I came in last night, but I sensed the moment wasn’t right. After that I was too lazy to haul my ass to my own bed—figured you wouldn’t mind the company,” she explains.
“No, but I did mind the snoring,” I tease.
“You’re such a liar. I do not snore.” She sticks her tongue out at me. She doesn’t snore. I’m just giving her shit. “Come on. Let’s go get dressed so we can go out for brunch and go shopping for some clothes for you.”
“Okay. I’ll be ready in thirty minutes.” I definitely need to get more shorts, swimsuits, and tank tops.
Hell, whom am I kidding? I need a whole new wardrobe before classes start. When I get to my room, I decide to wear my favorite yellow sundress that flatters my shape, but I can’t find it. I look through everything twice with no luck. I finally give up and settle for my blue maxi dress with my silver sandals. After getting ready, I find Peyton in the kitchen taking inventory of items in the pantry.
“What are you doing?”
“Today is grocery day. When Thor gets home, we will go grocery shopping. Normally I go with either him or Giselle so one of them can get the healthy shit they eat, but she is not here.” She types in a few more things into her iPad before looking up at me. “Do you want to add anything?”
“Yeah. Maybe some feminine items, but I’ll create my own list.” I reassure her.
“I was talking about groceries silly.” She cracks up. “I’m not buying those things at the grocery store. We can go to Wal-Mart on our own for that.”
“Shut up. You didn’t specify. You just said store. I can’t think of anything right now, but I’ll let you know if I think of anything.”
“Let’s get you some clothes so at least we can check that off of our to-do list. I need some more bra and panties while we’re out.” Damn I need that too. I forgot about the basics. This is going to be a long day.
Our shopping trip was exhausting. I sit down on the sofa and put my feet up on the coffee table. The soles of my feet hurt from all the walking. I think I got everything I needed so I won’t have to see another department store anytime soon, but my wallet is also eight hundred something dollars lighter. Okay, my debit card—but still. I haven’t even contributed to the grocery bill yet. Peyton is in her room putting all her purchases away while mine sit in the bag they came in, on my bed. My feet hurt too bad to take on that task right now.
Thor comes in just as I’m nodding off to sleep. He glances my way briefly before calling out for Peyton. When she enters the living room, he tells her it is time to go to the store.
“Come on Nevaeh. One more stop,” she says as she grabs her purse from the counter.
“We don’t have to take everybody,” Thor replies sarcastically.
“Nevaeh isn’t everybody. What is wrong with you? Let’s go Mr. Grouchy Pants.” She grabs my hand and pulls me off the sofa.
“You’re right,” He smiles evilly. “Let’s get going. She can pick what she is going to cook tonight.”
“I can cook,” Peyton offers.
“No no. It’s my turn. I insist.” I have no idea what the hell I’m going to make, but I need to pull my weight. Peyton eyes me skeptically, but finally nods her head in agreement.
Thor volunteers to drive and says that we will take Giselle’s truck since it has more room for the groceries. Peyton sits up front with him and I sit in one of the captain seats on the second row. On the ride to the store, he plays various songs by Issues—loud enough to discourage conversation. Ten minutes into the drive, Peyton’s forehead crinkle in confusion.
“Which store are we going to?” She asks over the music.
“Our usual,” Thor deadpans.
“Why are we going out of the way? Do you have a stop to make first?”
“Nope.” He begins singing along to the song “The Worst of Them.” Peyton sits back in her seat and folds her arms across her chest—clearly not satisfied with his monosyllabic answer.
“Whatever,” she mumbles. Another ten minutes pass, before we pull into a gas station. “Oh look, it’s Marlene. I haven’t seen her in a while.”
“It sure is.” Thor adds. I look up to see a homeless lady wearing a yellow sundress walk up to the truck—similar to the one I was looking for earlier. The lady peeks her head into the truck on Thor’s side and gives him a toothy smile. “How are you doing Marlene?” He asks. He hands her a twenty-dollar bill out the window.
“Pretty damn good thanks to the clothes you gave me,” she grins. Upon closer inspection, I see that the dress she is wearing has a small bleach stain near the right shoulder area—same as mine.
Son of a bitch. That is my dress. This motherfucker gave her my clothes. I’m fuming in my seat. I just want to smack the hell out him. He wouldn’t even see it coming. This is why he wanted to drive this way. He wanted to run into Marlene. He wanted me to know he gave my dress away. Wait a minute. She said “clothes” as in more than one item. Did he take more of my stuff? I can’t even excuse that he gave my dress to a homeless person. He stole from me. He wanted war; well he’ll get it. My mother didn’t raise a push over. She was strong until the end and it is about time I show him who he is dealing with.
“Nice dress. I used to have one just like it,” I say calmly. The woman strains her neck to see who is talking. When she sees me she says thank you. Thor snickers at my comment. Laugh now dick head. “Game on” indeed.
“Nice to see you again Marlene,” Peyton adds. “You take care of yourself.” Thor says bye to Marlene and we pull off.
“I thought you didn’t have any stops to make. Why didn’t you just tell me you were going to see Marlene? And when did you see her to give her clothes? Where did you get clothes?”
> “That’s why I didn’t tell you. You have a million questions. I came to see her yesterday to give her some clothes that were donated during our football drive. I told Mike to hold a few things back because I knew someone who could really use it,” Thor replies. Part of that may be true, but that was definitely my dress. He wants to be childish. Well I’ve just thought of the perfect payback. He has no idea what he has just started.
I’M UP EARLY THIS morning—back to my usual time. I sit cross-legged on the sofa and watch out of the living room window at the rain that is coming down in sheets. Droplets fall heavily against the windows and the gray sky adds to the gloominess of the day. Thor comes out of his room with his duffel bag in hand. He is dressed in an Under Armor shirt and sweats. Sexy bastard. No words are exchanged as he sets a gallon of water on the counter. He doesn’t even look my way. Instead, he pulls out his mixer bottle from his duffel bag and my heart leaps for joy. I had already ruled out my plan for payback as a fail for today because of the rain. If his football practice is canceled, then I would have to wait to get my revenge. I watch as he pulls his pre-workout drink mix from the top of the pantry where he keeps all of his supplements. I busy myself with the newspaper in front of me and sip on my coffee in an effort not to piss myself laughing.
From the corner of my eye, I can see him chug the drink he just mixed before grabbing his gallon of water and heading out the door. Once I’m sure that he is out of hearing range, I laugh my ass off. Peyton comes straggling out of the bathroom. She looks around the room and sees that I’m alone.
“You are truly certifiable, you know that? What the hell is so funny?” I laugh even harder while she stands over me, waiting for an answer. I tell her about the Miralax powered laxative that I mixed with Thor’s pre-workout drink mix.
“I just watched him drink it. His morning is about to be real shitty.” I slap my knee in hysteria. Peyton joins in on the laughter.
“He is going to kill you when he finds out you’re behind this. He takes his supplements and workouts very seriously. That was a blow beneath the belt babe.”
“Hey. He struck first with his hurtful comments and giving my dress away. There is no telling what else he took. I haven’t had a chance to look yet.”
“I won’t argue that he doesn’t deserve a little payback, but this is so not going to end well,” she warns.
“Whatever. I’m ready.”
“Your funeral. I’ll just sit back with my tea like Kermit and enjoy the show.” Peyton gets up and makes us some breakfast. I take this time to shower, change clothes, and grab a throw blanket before rejoining her in the living room. We enjoy a lazy morning indulging in pancakes and watching Lifetime movies. Two hours into our vegetation, Thor bursts through the door and heads straight to his room without a word. He is wearing the same Under Armor shirt, but the sweats have been replaced with gym shorts. Peyton and I look at each other and snicker. He is back from practice early. I wonder why that is? It seems like an eternity before he finally appears from his bedroom.
He has changed yet again. He is wearing a faded Heather gray university t-shirt that is snug against his muscular chest. I can visually trace every inch of perfection. The navy sweat pants hang low enough to just give a peek at his fuck me lines. Even at each other’s throats, I can’t deny he is sexy as hell.
“You’re home early,” Peyton surmises. “Practice end early?” I can’t help the snicker that slips from my lips. Thor quirks an eyebrow at me. Before he can respond, the doorbell rings. He walks over and opens the door. Michael and Gavin come in rubbing their stomachs.
“What smells so good?” Gavin says—walking into the kitchen looking for food.
“How is your stomach Thor. I heard you damn near shit yourself while you were lifting—that you had to make a run for the restroom,” Michael jokes. He slaps Thor’s shoulder and shakes his head. “Have you changed your diet recently?”
“No, but thanks for sharing that bit of embarrassment in front of the girls.” I can’t hold back my laughter any longer. Score one for me. I think I’m laughing a little too hard because the room is suddenly silent and everyone is looking at me. “You find that funny Nevaeh?” His smile in my direction is devious. It’s one that says I’m on to you.
“Absolutely,” I say refusing to back down.
“Good to know,” is his only response and it is ominous for what is to come.
Gavin is in the kitchen munching on leftover bacon pieces, but I know the interaction between Thor and I didn’t escape his attention. Thor and Michael join him in the kitchen.
“I’ll whip us up something for lunch,” Thor volunteers as he dumps his pre-workout mix in the trash. Peyton gives me the ‘you’re-so-going-to-get-it look.’ I stick my tongue out at her, but I know she’s right. He is definitely on to me and I know he isn’t going to let me get away with this stunt. Thor makes everyone chicken wraps, but I’m not stupid enough to eat one. Am I going to have to watch my food intake from this point on? The guys take a seat next to Peyton and I, while they scarf down their wraps.
“Aren’t you hungry?” he taunts.
“Actually no. Thank you. I had a big breakfast.” I hand the remote to Gavin since I hear him mumbling about chic flicks. “I think I’ll just have some tea.” I’m surprised when Thor follows me into the kitchen. I reach up for a mug out of the cabinet, but his hand gets there before mine.
“Let me get that for you.” The smile plastered to his face is ingenuous. He is so close; I can feel the heat from his body as he stands behind me. This is his intimidation tactic. “Clever darling. I hope you got a good laugh, because the next move is mine,” he sneers next to my ear. He hands me the mug and I don’t even bother to deny my guilt.
Just as I walk back into the living room with my tea, Thor takes his first shot.
“So Gavin. I hear you have a date with Elyse tonight. I know you’ve been crushing on her for quite some time,” he says. You can hear a pin drop.
“That was an asshole move Thor. What is wrong with you?” Gavin shakes his head. He looks at me and silently mouths ‘sorry.’
“What? You’ve been wanting to go out with that chic forever,” Thor defends.
“Don’t be a dick Thor. You know he just went out with Nevaeh a couple of nights ago,” Peyton huffs.
“Okay. And it didn’t work out. It’s not like he is cheating on her. He is free to see whoever the hell he wants.”
“Enough!” Gavin demands. “Let’s change the damn subject.”
“It’s fine. We’re just friends. Let’s not make a big deal out of this. I think it’s great that you have a date with someone you’ve been wanting to go out with Gavin.” I squeeze his shoulder to convey that I’m truly okay with it. Thor thinks I got humped and dumped. Asshole. He doesn’t know that Gavin and I didn’t have a connection on our date. I’m truly happy for him. He will make a great boyfriend for somebody. Hopefully things work out better for him and Elyse, than it did for us.
“Thank you. I would have told you on my own,” Gavin replies as he gives Thor an exasperated look.
“No worries Gavin.”
“Come on Nevaeh. Let’s go finish watching Lifetime movies in my room.” I grab my blanket and we leave the guys to themselves.
I’m trying to register for my Fall classes and this is the gazillionth time my phone has rung. The registrar is not impressed with the interruptions. I keep getting calls from unknown guys looking to get to know me and asking me out on dates. Since these guys all knew my name, I figured they were friends of Thor’s whom he has gotten to harass the hell out of me. How the hell did he even get my cell number? They all denied knowing who in the hell he was of course. The last guy, however, claimed to have found my profile on some dating website. I asked him to give me the info so I can take a look at it later. For now, I silence my phone so the lady working with me, to pay for my classes doesn’t strangle me. I’m taking a full course load for creative writing. I want to be a writer. Giselle and Peyton are bo
th nursing majors while Thor is majoring in athletic training. I didn’t even know such a major existed. Go figure. I finish my official business and shoot Peyton a quick text to let her know I’m all done. She needed to stop by the sorority house to meet with a few of the girls while I took care of my schedule. This campus is so huge. I will definitely need a few days prior to the start of classes to navigate where everything is.
Peyton meets up with me within twenty minutes and we decide to get something to eat on campus at the Rising Roll Gourmet. I tell her about all the phone calls and she nearly falls out of her seat laughing.
“Oh. My. God. That is too fucking funny. I have to see this profile. Pull it up on your phone.” I go to the website the guy gave me and look up the username Heavenly Assets. The fucker managed to tarnish the pet name he once had for me. He described me as an inexperienced woman looking for a man to take the reins and teach me all their naughty fantasies. He has a recent picture of me from behind, zoomed in on my ass. I recognize the wife beater and tights from what I was wearing yesterday so he must have taken the picture when he followed me into the kitchen. My cell number is there for all to see. I’m so glad the asshat had the decency not to share what I actually look like. I don’t know any of the password info so I can’t remove the profile.
“I’m going to kill him.” Peyton laughs even harder. People around us look our way like we are crazy. “It’s not funny. You better get your bail money together.”
“Heavenly Assets. Get it? He has a great shot of your ass too. I can only imagine all the men getting off to this shot.” She wipes the tears from her eyes and tries to bring her laughter under control.
“Eww. Peyton that’s gross. You’re not helping his case, you know?” So this is his answering strike. Well I have one better. “Let’s get to the computer lab. I have an idea and I don’t want to waste the ink in our printer at home.”
