* * *
When I wake up the next morning, I open my eyes to see Zephyr’s beautiful, sleeping face.
Zephyr is in my bed.
I brought a boy back to my dorm.
I broughtZephyrback to my dorm.
How the hell did we sleep in this teeny tiny bed together?
Zephyr is a tower of man and even with my body tucked up into his, I’m shocked that we are fitting in this small little space.
This is so unreal to me.
Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would make out with Zephyr the first week of college. My brain can’t evencomputethat Isleptwith him last night. If I had known any of this would happen, I would have tried to get to college a whole lot sooner.
Zephyr bat his eyes open. “It’s bright in here.”
“We need blackout blinds,” I say.
Zephyr grabs the comforter and throws it over our heads. “That’s better.”
He pulls me in close to him.
“Come here,” he whispers.
I tuck my body into him even closer, completely confused about what any of this means.
Are we going to keep pretending this is normal?
When are we going to talk about this?
Part of me wants to talk about it right this very minute. To rip the bandage. To get it over with.
But most of me wants him to just keep holding me.
So, I let him hold me.
I let the rise and fall of his chest against my body lull me back to sleep.
And for now, this is enough.
This is more than enough.
This is everything.
Chapter Seven
Zephyr
I wake up for the second time this morning in Priya’s bed and realize that I am going to be late for practice if I don’t leave right now.
I lean over and kiss Priya.
Right on the lips.
As if this is just going to be our new normal.