Page 9 of Rent: Paid in Full
“Yes.”
And that’s the God’s honest truth.
“Worse than the one who chewed flaxseed crackers incessantly and picked them out of his teeth with his pen?”
Um, it’s called misophonia, Bev, and don’t pretend I haven’t explained that to you before.
“Yeah, way worse.”
She knits her fingers together and rests her chin on them expectantly.
I flounder. It isn’t like me at all. Usually, I come into my own during situations that require self advocation, but right now, I can’t think of a single thing to say other than, “He’s a dick, Bev. A dick who walks around naked all the time. A dick with pale pink nipples. Nipples that match the color of his lips almost exactly. Nipples that have been erect every single time he’s taken his shirt off, by the way. And I’m not entirely sure yet, but I think he might have a fetish for taking the damn thing off. A dick whose hair stays where he puts it for no good goddamn reason. A dick with a long, thick… A dick with a dick I can’t stop thinking about. A dick so goddamn long and thick that even when it’s soft, I’ve only had one single solitary thought since the second I saw it.”
Obviously, I can’t say any of this to Bev, but it’s true. I can’t help it. It’s not like I’m trying to be like this. It’s not even that I’m straight or bi or upset about either one of those options.
It’s that I’m curious.
Is Miller MacAvoy a grower or a shower?
And if he’s not a shower, then God’s a sadist.
Bev takes my silence as an acknowledgment of defeat, waving a slightly crooked forefinger at me. “I hooked you up with that placement, Haraway. And you know it.”
Bev prints off several pages and has Emily sign and return two of them. Her thick stack of Pandora bracelets clinks as I get ready to take my leave, and she gives me a self-satisfied little grin and then turns her attention to Emily. I realize too late she’s not done with me yet.
“Why don’t you ask Ryan here to help you move, honey? His first lecture isn’t till noon, and you’re moving into his building. He’d love to help.”
“Really?” Emily is all shades of relieved, her face pinkening and cracking into a massive smile. “Oh,thank you.”
Bev smiles, looking unbearably pleased with herself, winking and mouthing, “You’re welcome,” when I look back to give her a death stare.
4
Miller
Ryan opens the door,glares at me, and then drops his bag beside his desk.
Not going to lie. I was a little bummed when I found out I was getting a roommate. Who wouldn’t be? I’ve never had to share my space with someone else for more than a few days at a time, and I thought it would cramp my style.
Especially when it came to getting laid.
Which I like doing.
A lot.
So yeah, I was bleak, but I cheered right up when I met him. Right up. All the way up. He had bags hanging off both shoulders and a huge box of books in his hands. He kicked the door open and held it ajar with his foot as he struggled to make his way in. I was looking at him, right in his eyes, when he saw me for the first time. His face was a picture. I don’t think anyone’s ever looked at me like that before. Disgust. Pure and unfiltered. Straight-up contempt without any attempt to hide it.
I was weirdly into it.
I’m weirdly into him too. He’s grumpy as hell and awkward as fuck, but he’s something to look at. Something unusual. He’s tall, not quite as tall as me, but close to six feet, I’d say, and he’s dark. Dark chocolate hair that spends most of its time falling into his face and being batted angrily out of the way, and rich olive skin. Brown eyes with crazy flecks of yellow and green near the pupils. Eyes that seem permanently narrowed when I’m around, teetering dangerously on the brink of being rolled every time I open my mouth.
“Where’ve you been?” I ask.
He lowers his chin and blinks hard as if that’s an incredibly rude question.
He’s not what you’d call classically handsome. He has thiswild animal that’s been caged and is angry about itlook about him. There’s something asymmetrical about his features and his nose is big. It has a high bridge and it’s hooked. Is he imperfect? Hell yes. But throw all that together the way it got thrown together when this guy was made, anddamn. It makes it hard to look away. I can’t tell if I want to reach out and soothe him or if I’m scared to turn my back on him in case he drops fangs.
“Student Services.”