Chapter 11

11

NIKO

The past week has flown by so quickly, Saturday easily creeping up on us. King, Mateo, and I made plans to hang out at our dorm room and have a roommates night. Mateo and I used to do this a ton with our roommate last year, but we haven't done one yet this year, so we roped King in, and I'm surprised he said yes. I'm kind of excited to hang out with him.

King and I have been getting along a lot easier now that I've apologized, and we had our talk the other day in the library. We've been friendly and had our tutoring sessions, but this will be the first time we're spending time together as friends. Mateo has been smug the whole week, saying it was because of him that we're finally getting along.

I shuffle into the common area, King and Mateo already waiting for me. "Alright," rubbing my hands together, I smile at each of them gleefully, "before we do this, we need some drinks. Let's head over to Brainz Liquor."

"What's that?" King asks, his brow furrowed as he looks back and forth between Mateo and I.

"It's the liquor store down past the Lin River Bridge. It's our favorite one to go because they don't I.D., and that was the only way we can get booze. Unless we go to a party."

"Okay, let's go."

We leave the dorms, deciding to walk down to Brainz Liquor since it’s a warm night out.

King kicks a rock on the path before turning around and walking backward facing us. "There's so many places around here I still haven't been to. I get surprised all the time when I walk into somewhere new. Creelin is so unique compared to where I lived before; I never tire of finding new spots to hang out."

"I forget you're not from here," Mateo cuts in, and I nod my head in agreement.

"Yeah, where I come from, it's a small town in Washington. Everyone knows everyone; there are no secrets. And honestly, it's quite boring. Getting away from there was one of the best decisions I’ve made. It was starting to feel suffocating, and there was no way I could play baseball there, and that's always been my dream."

"Why baseball?" I ask, looking up into his eyes.

"It was a sport I played with my dad. He played it growing up and passed on his love of it to me. He never played past high school, and I was lucky enough to make it to where I am now."

Seems we have some things in common. Except King decided to embrace his father's love of baseball whereas I turned away from it. We make it to the store in no time at all, and I love seeing how King's eyes widen when he takes in the store in front of him.

"Does... does this place smell like bubblegum?" He turns around, lifting his nose into the air and breathing deeply. "Holy shit! It does."

He laughs, his eyes crinkling at the corners, and I can't help but stare. A flutter appears in my stomach, and I rub at it, wondering where the hell that came from. King and Mateo walk down the first aisle, so I head down the second one to see what is available.

Lifting up one bottle, I sneeze, followed by Lox and Bo, and I quickly put the bottle back down. Damn, this place is dustier than I remember. Noticing the rum is farther down, I head toward it, trying to find the best rum that's also cheap. I take in every bottle, not quite finding the right one. There’s one in front of me that’s topped with fake blood, another one has a Genie on the worn-out label, but none are the one I’m looking for.

Heat hits my back and I freeze, my breathing coming out labored when an arm stretches past me and touches the Genie label on the shelf. "Hmm... I think this one would be good. Genie Gin." King's voice forces a tremble through my body.

Turning my head, I lock eyes with him, a smile filling my face. "That's a strong one. Gin. Are you sure you want to drink it?" I murmur, my eyes locked on his. They’re a gorgeous light golden brown with a hint of gold in the middle. I slowly turn my body around, his arms instantly coming out and landing on the shelf, keeping me in place. His muscles flex, and I can't stop myself from looking. I wonder what it would be like to be wrapped up in those strong arms.

"Hell yeah, we need the strong drinks. No wine coolers for us."

"Aw man, no wine coolers," I pout, staring into his eyes.

Mateo's voice cuts in as he comes down the aisle. King drops his arms quickly, and I instantly feel the loss of his heat. He swivels around and faces Mateo, laughing loudly. Following his line of sight, I snort when I take in Mateo holding a case of wine coolers.

"But wine coolers taste so good," Mateo whines, the bottles banging against the side of his leg when he drops his arm.

"I mean, you can definitely get them, but they're not as fun to drink." King shrugs.

King walks over to the cooler, and Mateo wiggles the wine coolers at me. "You know you want them."

"Oh, I do. You better buy them." We both laugh loudly, King turning around to see what's so funny. Neither of us says anything, our laughter getting louder.

"Do you like wine coolers, too?" he asks, sidling up next to me as we make our way down the next aisle.

"Sometimes. Have you ever tried them?"

"No, I'm not a big juice person, and it seems like it's an adult juice box."

"But that's what makes it so tasty." I move in closer to him, loving when his eyes widen and he freezes. "You'll have to try it. I guarantee you'll like it."

Mateo walks down the aisle and I back away from King. I'm not sure what game we're playing.

"You both ready?"

"Yes," we say simultaneously. King chuckles, and I roll my eyes as I push past him.

Stepping up to the counter, I smile when I see it's Savannah working behind the register. She’s sitting and playing on her phone. She looks the same as always, with her brown hair piled on her head and her wire rimmed glasses on her face.

"Hey," I tell her, placing my bottle on the counter.

"Niko!" she exclaims, running around the counter and giving me a hug. "How have you been?"

"Really good. You?"

"Same." She walks away and squeals when she sees Mateo. "And Mateo! Of course you're here, too! It's so good to see both of you. Oh, hello," she whispers, her wings spreading wide with a flutter.

Twisting my head, I see she's staring at King. And I can't blame her, but could she make it any more obvious.

"Hey, I'm King."

"Savannah."

"Nice to meet you." He moves around her and sets his drinks on the counter. "Cool wings. Those are badass."

"Thanks," she chirps, making her way back behind the register. She scans each of our drinks, and we pay her and say our thanks before making our way out of the store.

"Is it offensive to ask what monster Savannah is?"

"She's a Harpy," Mateo tells him while pulling out his phone. "And she's cool as hell. I’ve known her since before she worked at the liquor store."

We head back over Lin River Bridge, hiking back up to Creelin U. It's not long before we're back in our dorm room and sitting in the common area. King pours each of us a shot and we take it one by one, wincing as it burns our throats.

"There is no way this is better than a wine cooler," Mateo coughs, rubbing at his chest. Whenever we go out, I've never seen Mateo drink anything that wasn't fruity, so I'm surprised he even took the shot.

"You okay? You can always go get a wine cooler if you rather have that." I don't want him to feel as though he has to take shots just because King and I are.

"No, no, I like it." He grimaces, glancing down into the shot glass. "But uh, maybe my limit is one for now."

King pours us another shot, which we both take, the second one going down easier than the first.

"So, I know you both hate baseball, but since we're roommates, would you guys come to our scrimmage?" King avoids making eye contact with me, twirling the shot glass around with his hand.

"Of course," Mateo says eagerly. “I'm always a fan of watching the baseball games.”

"You just want to look at their asses." I snicker, knowing full well that’s the only reason I’d ever be there.

"Well, duh. Is there any other reason to go?"

"As much as I know you would love to watch my ass, I would love for you both to come watch me play," King says, laughing softly at Mateo.

"Yeah, we can do that," I reply, immediately not knowing why I agreed to go. I dislike baseball, but for some reason I’m not hating the idea of watching King play the game.

Mateo whips his head around so fast I'm surprised he doesn't get whiplash. "Did you agree to go to a baseball game?"

"Yeah, so." I shrug, unsure of why he's making such a big deal of this.

"But you hate baseball," he sputters, staring at me. His eyes dart to King, then make their way back to me. "Ah, I see." Nodding his head, he smiles at me. "We would love to go to your game."

"Thanks, guys." King stands up. "Be right back."

King disappears down the hallway and Mateo hits me on the shoulder. "Ow, what the fuck?"

"You are so fucked."

"What?" I ask, rubbing my shoulder. Damn, that really hurt.

"Nothing. Oh, nothing at all." He smirks at me, his eyes darting between me and the space King just disappeared into. I might be a little bit too obvious with my attraction to King if Mateo is starting to notice.

King walks back into the room holding up a game station. "Anyone want to play?"

"Hell, yeah!" Mateo yells, jumping up and grabbing the system from him. "What kind of games do you have?"

We spend the rest of the night playing different video games, switching between taking shots and drinking some wine coolers. My eyes stayed trained on King far more than necessary. I watch as his thick arms flex every time he presses buttons on the controller, and how each time he smiles; it lights up something inside of me I didn’t know was there. But as long as no one notices, then it's like it didn't happen? Right?