With a dry laugh, I shrug out of his hold. “I gotta get home, Levi. It was good to see you. I’ll talk to you later.”
Turning on my heel, my eyes search for the black Toyota the app promised is waiting for me.
“Come on, Charlie. This is my last night home. I wanted to hang out with you.”
“Really?” I scoff. “Coulda fooled me.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means you brought a hookup, Levi. If you wanted to hang out with me so badly, then why’d you have to invite Mandy?”
“I….” He runs his hands over his face before releasing a deep breath. “I didn’t know that bothered you.”
“Are you serious right now? Of course, that would bother me. Like you said, this is your last night. Can you really blame me for not wanting to feel like the third wheel?”
“But….”
I know what he’s thinking. And it only pisses me off more. Instead of waiting for him to find a gentle way of saying it, I call him out point-blank.
“Yeah. I know. It’s not exactly out of the ordinary that I play the third wheel with you and whoever’s planning on blowing you that night. I know that I shouldn’t be mad and that even though you technically asked me if I was cool with it before picking her up and I should’ve definitely said something before now, I’m still pissed. But it’s fine, okay? I’ll get over it. Just like I always do. And I’ll be waiting at your beck and call as soon as you’re finished getting your jollies off just like the guy in the theater. I’m going home. And I’m going to bed. Goodnight, Levi.”
I take a step away, searching for the damn Uber, but Levi follows me. I’m probably causing a scene. Hell, I can feel multiple sets of eyes on me right now as Levi and I fight it out on the corner of the street. But for once in my life, I don’t really care anymore. I just want to get out of here.
“Come on, Charlie. I didn’t mean it like that,” Levi says. “I didn’t know it bothered you so much. I’ll take Mandy home. It’s not that big of a deal.”
“It is a big deal,” I argue, growing more frustrated. “It’s a big deal because even if you take her home right now, the night is still ruined.”
“It doesn’t have to be—”
“Yes, it does. I’m pissed, and it doesn’t matter how much Ben & Jerry’s I consume for the night. I’ll still be pissed until—”
“Until you get some sleep.”
I sort of hate him a little for how well he knows me.
If I’m beyond frustrated, the only solution is to let me sleep it off. It’s like a reset button, and boy am I needing one right now.
I’m like a damn statue as he takes a hesitant step closer and throws his arms around me, pulling me into a hug. I refuse to melt or bask in his attention while he rubs his hand along my back.
“I’m sorry, Charlie. Seriously. I was an ass. I guess that sometimes I forget you’re a girl, and not just my wingman, ya know? Go to bed. I’ll talk with you later.” Releasing me, he steps back and motions to a black Toyota. “Just a hunch, but that guy’s been staring at us pretty hard. So, either he gets off on watching people fight, or he’s your ride.”
I’m so stunned from his offhanded comment about me being a dude that it takes me a second to get my muscles to operate from my frozen position.
Rocking back on my heels, I cross my arms. “What did you just say?”
“Uhh…that I think that car is your ride?”
“Before that,” I bite out.
He quirks his brow. “That I was an ass?”
“No. The part about you forgetting I’m a girl, and that you look at me like a wingman? That part.”
“What about it?”
The outrage that consumes me is palpable, and it takes everything inside of me not to call him a giant bastard who deserves to be neutered with a dull spoon.
Fisting my hands at my sides, I mutter, “Bye, Levi. Have fun next semester.”