4. Rumours.
1306 Words
The news hit me like a gust of icy wind on a blistering day. "Rumors have spread that you and Jacob have broken up and all the girls are going after him now. Coupled with the fact that he's rich and handsome, you also increased his social capital, I tell you." Sarah's words hung in the air, heavy with implications. I dropped my bag onto the chair, the weight of it suddenly unbearable.
"Well, that's their f*****g business. I don't care."
"You sure?" Sarah teased.
"Like they've not always been after him," I muttered, my voice a mixture of resignation and irritation as I hurried towards my bathroom. School bathrooms were never my preferred option for anything beyond absolute necessity, and I've only used it once. I know bearing pee is bad but I just like peeing at home.
Emerging from the confines of the bathroom, I found Sarah already bustling about in the kitchen, her energy a stark contrast to my own sour mood.
"They can all have him for all I care."
"I want to make Mac and cheese, will you eat?" she asked, her voice bringing some normalcy to me in the midst of the swirling chaos of my life right now.
"Yeah, sure. What do you think?" I replied, attempting to inject some levity into the heavy atmosphere so she doesn't notice that her words had drowned my already exhausted mind.
"I see you cleaned," Sarah observed, her eyes scanning the room with a knowing gleam.
"I always clean," I responded, a faint smile tugging at the corners of my lips.
"And I always cook," Sarah quipped, her tone light and teasing as she moved about the kitchen with practiced ease.
"That's why we're the best flatmates ever," I said, blowing her a kiss. I sank onto the couch, the soft cushions a welcome respite from the nasty emotions swirling within me.
I turned on the television, hoping to lose myself in the mindless distraction of a show on Netflix. But before I could even settle into the cushions, Sarah appeared at my side. "How does she do that all the time without me noticing?" I mused, genuinely curious.
"Stop doing that!" I exclaimed.
"Sorry," Sarah laughed.
"So can I go after Jacob too?" The remote slipped from my grasp, clattering against the coffee table as Sarah's words pierced the air like a dart hitting its mark.
I turned to her, my eyes wide with disbelief. "What?" The word escaped my lips in a hushed tone, tinged with a mixture of shock and incredulity. "Why would you even ask that?"
A small smirk played at the corners of her lips as she leaned back against the couch cushions. "You said you don't want him again, didn't you? I'm just getting you to admit that you still like him."
"I don't," I protested, the words feeling hollow even to my own ears. "But that doesn't mean you should go after him. I don't want to see my friend with my ex. That's just... weird."
Sarah waved off my concerns with a casual flick of her wrist. "Relax, I was just kidding. But I think you should listen to him."
My frustration bubbled to the surface, fueled by months of unanswered questions and unspoken doubts. "Why? He's always ghosting me. All the time. He comes and acts sweet, then ghosts for days. I can't take it anymore!"
Her voice softened, laced with a hint of sympathy. "I'm sure there's a good reason. He really likes you."
I scoffed, the bitterness of months of dealing with this s**t staining my words. "Oh, please. I know he's cheating, and soon he will be exposed." I hissed, my gaze returning to the flickering images on the screen. "Anyway, enough of Jacob. I need to go take my bath so I can be ready to chat with my Prince Charming tonight."
"I can't believe you prefer an AI man on some weird dating site to a real man like Jacob," Sarah remarked, her tone tinged with a mixture of amusement and disbelief.
I shrugged, the weight of my decision heavy on my shoulders. "Oh well, at least he hasn't ghosted me yet like Jacob, who has left me feeling nothing but traumatized."
Sarah offered me a sympathetic smile before retreating back to the comforting hum of the kitchen, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
"Your choice," she shouted.
"Yeah," I murmured, "Girl, come watch this show with me."
After indulging in the mindless distraction of the television, I retreated to the solitude of my room, the weight of the day pressing down on me like a lead blanket. I slipped into my cute nude nightie, the soft fabric a comforting embrace against my skin, and curled up in bed, the glow of my phone casting shadows across the room.
With trembling fingers, I opened the app, anticipation and exhaustion warring within me. But before I could even begin to type out a message to Lucien, a wave of tiredness washed over me.
Lucien: Hi, Lovely one. I see you are online.
Lucien: Hi crazy one. Looks like someone missed me.
Lucien: sends a laughing emoji. I missed you.
Me: Same here.
Me: I had a very hectic day at school I want to go to bed now.
Lucien: So soon?
Mc: You know, I was about to go to bed when you texted.
Lucien: So I am keeping you awake?
Mc: Pretty much.
Lucien: But I don't want you to go yet.
Mc: You know how to make me stay.
Lucien: What turns you on in a man?
Mc: Whoa.
Mc: That's a complicated question.
Lucien: How?
Me: I have never really thought about it.
It came out of nowhere, I guess.
LLucien: It's not something that requires you to think.
Mc: What does it require, huh?
Lucien: Just feel.
Mc: I think I'm turned on mostly by a man's attitude towards me.
Mc: Nothing is sexier than a man who knows how to treat his woman.
Lucien: I like that.
Mc: Huh, like what?
Lucien: How you think?
Lucien: So what else turns you on?
Mc: A man like you.
Mc: I can't think of something else now.
Mc: I'm going to focus on your first answer cause it's sexy.
The anticipation bubbled within me like champagne, ready to burst from its bottle. With a giddy energy coursing through my veins, I sat up on my bed. Nobody had ever ignited this level of enthusiasm in me, especially not when it came to texting.
I couldn't help but bite my lip. In that instant, all thoughts of the outside world melted away, leaving only the promise of what lay ahead.
Lucien: What makes a man like me turn you on?
Mc: I was only kidding.
Lucien: I don't believe you were.
Mc: Really? Why don't you?
Lucien: You are indeed as smart as you say.
Mc: lol. You caught up quickly so I guess not.
Mc: Anyway, to answer your question, there's just something about you that does it for me. Maybe because it's new. Refreshing. Nothing else.
Lucien: Maybe you should think harder.
Mc: You said I should feel not think right?
Lucien: You have me there.
Lucien: So I turn you on?
Mc: Now that's a direct question.
Lucien: I'm not one to beat around the bush.
Lucien: We only live once after all.
Mc: True.
Lucien: You have no idea the hold your lips have on me.
Lucien: And that picture you sent.
Lucien: I want more pictures.
Mc: You have to beg for it. You will have more when you earn it.
Lucien: Then I shall earn it.
Mc: We will see about that.
Lucien: So how do I do the begging, baby girl? With my lips, tongue, fingers Or on my knees?
- Writer
