Slingshot by Mercedes Helnwein

Author:Mercedes Helnwein
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group

22

The thing is, you can make a bubble and set up shop in it, creating a world where the laws of physics obey your own whimsical rules and the air smells exactly as you want it to and pleasantness abounds and the harsh light of reality cannot penetrate the confines of your fantastic little globular existence—but the fact remains that a bubble is meant for one purpose only. To burst.

I had forgotten about Derek. It seemed centuries ago that the sex happened, if it had happened at all. The deeper I got lost with Wade, the thicker the amnesia grew.

But here he was. I slammed the door to my room shut behind me after having left Wade and Calvin in the parking lot, and there was Derek, sprawled across my bed with one of Georgina’s magazines on his lap.

I fell back against the door.

“Hey, what’s up?” Derek said. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”

“What are you doing here?” I asked, unable to keep the panic out of my voice.

He threw the magazine aside. “This is your bed, right?” he said. “I wasn’t totally sure, but I didn’t think you’d have a picture of Werling on your nightstand. Does your roommate like that dumbass?”

I pressed myself harder against the door, scared to death that Wade would cut his hangout time short and come looking for me. “Derek, what the fuck are you doing here?”

“I just came to say hi.”

“Okay, great. You said it. Can you go now?”

“What’s the rush?”

“You can’t be in here. Seriously.”

“Why not?”

“Because,” I said, “it’s against the rules. You can’t be in here. It’s not allowed.”

He got up from the bed. “Stop freaking out for a second, will you? Nothing’s going to happen.” He walked over to me, and as much as I wanted to move out of his way, I felt I had to guard the door. He took a second to notice that I was wearing a little kid’s T-shirt, which was a change from my usual baggy attire.

“Excuse me!” I said, placing my hand across my chest.

“What? It’s not like I haven’t seen your tits before.”

“Thanks for reminding me.”

“Hey, what’s wrong with that memory?”

“Seriously, can you get out of here? Constanze’s room is like three doors down!”

“I told you, she’s not my girlfriend.”

“Yeah, okay,” I said, rolling my eyes.

“You think she doesn’t know that I fool around with other girls? And, hey, she’s got a boyfriend in Germany, by the way. Did you know that? His name is Florian—I’m not making this up. She can’t shut up about him.”

I pushed him back, because he was suddenly very close to my face. “That’s super interesting, and obviously very relevant to my life, but can you get the hell out of here now? Please?”

“I thought we had a good time over spring break,” he said, sounding offended.

I groaned. “Yeah, it was fine. But it’s not like we actually like each other, so who cares?”

He took a minute to answer. “Yeah, well, I do like you, okay?” he said eventually, sounding annoyed about it.

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