Midnight Secrets

The girls-night-in was exactly what I needed. Ridiculous romcoms, drinking wine, and gossiping were the antidote to a long day of work and an even longer week. Things started to get a little crazy when Sam’s roommate, Chelsea, made us some mixed drinks—giving them each kinky names—and we began playing drinking games. Not the ones that involved ping pong balls, cups, or anything that involved dexterity. The thunder song drinking game kicked my ass and had me drinking water for the time being since I’d rather not have an insane hangover.

“Alright ladies, here’s doggy style,” Chelsea announced, carrying a tray of bright green drinks. I took a sip just to see how it tasted and was surprised by the coconut flavor. Once I had my fill, I offered my drink to Addie.

“So, Sel has Shirtless guy. Addie had a hot fling this summer—”

“It was a one-time thing that will never happen again,” Addie said with a sigh, cutting off Jamie.

She’d been light on the details when she mentioned it when we moved into our dorm. No matter how much Sel and I pushed for more details, she refused to tell us anything. All we knew was that they hooked up when she was out of town.

“Is there anyone special for you?” Jamie asked me, not put off by Addie’s interruption.

“Not unless you count the creep in my mythology class that’s made a pass at me,” I grumbled.

“Don’t forget about Cassius throwing you over his shoulder and carrying you home from the party,” Sel said, winking at me when I shot her an annoyed look and chugged the rest of her drink.

“Wait a second. When you say Cassius, do you mean Cassius Ward?” Chelsea asked, taking a seat on the chair across from where I sat on the sofa and placing her drink on one of the colorful coasters on the coffee table.

My forehead scrunched up as my eyebrows drew together. “Yes… Why?”

“You know him?” Addie asked, leaning forward, now invested in what she had to say.

Chelsea tilted her hand side to side. “I only met him the one time.”

A bubble of anticipation and anxiety formed in my stomach. I wanted to know what she had to say, but at the same time, I was afraid to find out. With how she lacked any annoyance or disgust, the former was winning.

“Wait,” Lisa, Sam’s other roommate, said. “Is he the one that…”—Lisa made a couple of hand gestures and tapped her hands together, making me think of sex and made me nervous—“you know?”

Chelsea giggled. “Yup.”

“Don’t leave us hanging, spill,” Jamie said, impatiently waving her hand as all of us eagerly leaned forward.

“Almost two years ago, he was dating this sorority girl, and things weren’t going well for them. So, in a desperate effort to fix things, his girlfriend decided it was best to surprise him with a threesome to spice things up in the bedroom and invited me.”

“You had a threesome with him?” Sel practically shrieked, all but bouncing on the sofa next to me. “How was he?”

My heart felt like it was about to pound out of my damn chest. I knew it was stupid, but hearing about his past girlfriend and a possible threesome with my friend didn’t sit well with me. I knew I was being stupid since he wasn’t mine, and I should be hating him. It shouldn’t bother me what he did or didn’t do in any aspect of his life. He shouldn’t be affecting me in this way.

Chelsea gave a rueful grin. “Unfortunately, no. He was not into the idea and ended up breaking up with her soon after. It’s a shame. It would’ve made a great story.” She shook her head as she took a long drink.

The clamp holding my chest eased, and I felt stupid for my reaction to this whole thing.

“Maybe it’s just me, but I can’t see things ever growing stale in the bedroom with a guy like that,” Lisa said as she pulled her knees to het chest.

“Eh. It’s hard to tell how someone is until you sleep with them. I should know. Before Eric, I hooked up with this one gorgeous guy. He looked like a Greek god. Remember?” Melissa looked around at a few of us but didn’t wait for our answer. “The only problem was that he couldn’t find my clit to save his life and refused to take my advice. He was one of those fishermen don’t ask the fish how to catch them type of man.”

We all let out collective groans and swears, having dealt with men like that in one form or another.

“Wait, isn’t he the one that hid out in the bathroom when the bill came, forcing you to have to pay for his meal too?” I asked, remembering the insanely good-looking guy she briefly dated a month or so before she met Eric in the spring of freshman year.

Melissa scoffed before she took a bite of the now-cold pizza. “Mhm.”

“I would’ve been fucked if that happened to me. Unless we talk about it ahead of time, I never bring money on dates,” Jamie said with a shrug. Sometimes, she would only go on dates simply for a free meal.

As the conversation shifted from dating etiquettes to worst first date locations, my phone dinged with a text message. A groan slipped free when I saw who it was from. Jared.

’I miss you.’

It had been nearly a month since I broke it off with him, and that was how he wanted to start this conversation? Fuck that.

There was nothing for me to say to someone who didn’t respect me enough not to cheat on me with one of my friends from back home. That was the biggest of all deal breakers for both of them.

I shoved him and my so-called friend from my mind when my phone dinged again. ’Come on baby. Don’t be like that, it was one little mistake.’ Not only did my eyes nearly roll back into my head from how hard I was rolling them, but I scoffed as well. Despite everyone else’s loud conversations, my scoff got their attention and had their curiosity piqued.

“Jared texted me.” My nose wrinkled at even mentioning his name.

Everyone else also made faces as they cussed him out. A half-smile tugged on my lips at how supportive my friends were. They even began shit talking him, bringing up all the obnoxious stuff he did. Sometimes, this was a dangerous thing to do with a friend’s ex, especially if they were the type to give in and take them back. But in this case and how I was, they knew they could shit-talk with impunity.

“That Motherfucker was the loudest chewer in the world. You could hear him chewing from across the fucking room when he ate,” Sel said, scrunching up her nose at the memory, and honestly, I couldn’t disagree.

When another message lit up my phone, I didn’t bother checking it. Looking at it would only ruin my night, and I refused to let him ruin anything else for me. “Block him, please. I should’ve done this as soon as I dumped him.” I chose Addie since she was less likely to message him back, cussing him out.

Addie scoffed under her breath and rolled her eyes as she read the message. A small part of me was tempted to ask what it said, but I held onto my resolve, knowing it would only serve to piss me off further.

Melissa had left the room sometime during our shit-talking session and returned carrying a tub that had her grunting. “I think we could use a much-needed break from thinking about assholes and make crafts.”

Peering into the tub, I found several small wooden squares, paint, paintbrushes, and other crafting supplies. “Fuck it. Why not? I call the silver paint first,” I said, pulling my long hair back into a bun.