two months later

evie

“Are you here?”

“Yeah, but where the hell are you? I’ve been knocking on your door for fifteen minutes like a jackass,” he admits across the line. “You said you were gonna be in your room.”

“I was, baby, but my thing went longer than I thought,” I explain, pushing through the double doors of my dorms and taking the steps as quickly as I can.

“What thing?”

“I had my practice run,” I remind him as I come to a stop in the middle of the steps, making a face at my phone before I continue my trek to the second floor. “I told you that this morning before you left.”

“Hey, I just drove two hours to see your mean little ass,” he says across the line, pulling my eyes to the top step where he’s watching me with a smirk. “Don’t make that face at me.”

“Dork,” I chuckle into the phone before sliding it into my back pocket and closing the distance, launching myself at him when I hit the top step. “Sorry I’m late,” I say as I press my lips firmly to his, pulling away with narrowed eyes. “What the fuck is this?”

“What the fuck is what?”

“What happened to your face?”

“I shaved…” he says, the last word drawn out slightly.

“Well, I can see that,” I huff, climbing down from him. “Why the hell would you shave? And today of all days?”

“I don’t know. I just fuckin’ felt like it,” he shrugs. “What’s wrong? You don’t like it?”

“I hate it,” I admit, making his eyes widen once more. “What if all our good mojo was in your beard and you shaved it all off.”

“Babe, I barely even trimmed the shit,” he says as his palm rubs over the thick stubble, chuckling at my eye roll. “You can barely tell a difference.”

“Yeah, we’ll see about that,” I wink up at him, putting a suggestive smirk on his lips as I push through my door and pull him inside, locking the door behind us as I strip down to my underwear. “Where’s all your stuff?”

“I’ve got a bag in the car,” he replies, following me into the bathroom, leaning against the frame of the door. I take a quick hit off my pipe and turn the hot water on in my shower before I turn to find him watching. “I’ll go grab it in a minute.”

“Yeah, I think it can wait,” I agree, stepping forward and tugging on his chin. “Come on,” I smirk as his hands slide into my panties, gripping my ass. “Let’s take you for a test drive.”

“I thought you said you hated it, you little monster,” he teases my lips with his teeth as he pushes the lace down my legs. “Y’know, you’re really starting to live up to that nickname. Next thing I know, you’ll be roughin’ me up and callin’ me names.”

“I thought you liked that,” I husk, making him laugh.

“I do,” he admits, lifting me onto the sink as the bathroom begins to fill with steam. “Alright, baby,” he sinks to his knees. “Let’s go for a ride.”

dash

“What time do we have to leave?” I ask an hour later as we sit on the floor of her shower, our damp legs hanging over the side.

“Pretty soon. I have to be there by six,” she says quietly as she leans her head on my shoulder.

Save for the sound of her breathing, she goes uncharacteristically silent beside me, pulling my eyes to hers.

“You okay?”

“Mhmm,” she nods.

“You lyin’ to me?”

“Only halfway,” she nods again, this time releasing a long, low breath. “Maybe three-quarters.”

“Hey,” I tug her hair gently, angling her eyes to mine. “Talk to me. What are you thinking about?”

“Tonight,” she admits quietly. “My professor posted the last updated list of gallery reps attending this morning. It’s freaking me out.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” she nods. “There are some insane names on that list.”

“And you’re about to blow them all out of the water. You know that, right?”

“No,” she shakes her head, her lips turning into a soft smile. “But thank you for saying it.”

“Anything for you, brat,” I pull her close with the arm I’m resting over her shoulders. “Love you.”

“Love you, too,” she replies, nuzzling into my neck for a moment before her phone begins to vibrate and she shifts beside me and lifts herself from the tub. “It must be five,” she says, chewing on her lip nervously. “I have to get ready now.”

“Okay,” I say, standing and reaching for a towel to dry off, glancing over when I hear her blow out a nervous breath. “You good?”

“I’ll be fine,” she says as she leans against the sink on her hands. “I mean, I kinda wanna cry and puke and scream. Otherwise, I feel great.”

“Try to breathe, baby,” I kiss her temple. “Take it one step at a time, okay? Just get dressed.”

“Yeah, okay,” she nods, moving toward her closet. “Just get dressed. I can do that,” she whispers to herself. “That’s not so bad.”

She quickly puts a black bra and panty set on before moving toward her closet while I bend to retrieve my clothes from where we threw them onto her bathroom floor. I can hear her mumbling, quietly reassuring herself as she pulls a garment bag from the hook and places it on the bed before moving toward her dresser.

“Babe?”

“Hmm?”

“You okay?”

“Yeah,” she nods quickly. “Yep, just getting dressed,” she whispers again. “For the biggest day of my life.”

“Breathe. You’re gonna be fine.”

“Yeah,” she nods, clearing her throat before coming to a stop in the middle of the room, covering her face with her hands. “Just get dressed, Evie.”

“Hey,” I say, pulling her hands away from her face and gripping her shoulders. “Calm the hell down, baby. You’ve got this, okay?”

“I’m trying.”

“Deep breath in,” I say, watching her follow my lead. “Deep breath out,” I continue, repeating myself twice until I feel the shake in her shoulders begin to ease. “Good girl,” I whisper. “Better?”

“Yeah, I think I’m o-” she starts, her eyes suddenly going wide as she shoves me passed me and bolts toward the bathroom.

I’ve never seen her this nervous about anything. Truth be told, she’s so nervous she’s making me nervous, but I know how much this means to her. I give her a minute to herself, waiting for the sound of water running in the sink before tapping on the door and pushing it open.

“I’m sorry,” she shakes her head, her cheeks flush as she scrubs her teeth with her toothbrush and rinses, facing me in the mirror.

“Hush,” I say, tucking her hair behind her ear when she turns to me. “Just try to relax. I know tonight’s a big deal, but no matter what happens, you’re gonna be fine.”

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” I say, returning her soft smile. “I have to go downstairs and get my stuff. You alright?”

“Yeah,” she nods. “I actually think it helped. I feel a little better.”

“Good,” I kiss her forehead. “I’ll be right back.”

“Okay,” she whispers, releasing me for a moment before gripping my shirt and pulling my eyes back to hers. “Dash?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you for coming,” she says, hugging me a little tighter than usual.

“Of course,” I kiss her hair. “Wouldn’t miss it.”

“I know I give you hell, but it means a lot to me that you’re here,” she hugs me tighter than usual, tucking her lips into my neck. “I’ve never had a guy stick around for very long.”

I pull away to face her, stroking her cheek gently as I search her eyes, the temptation of her minty lips too much to resist as I bend to taste them.

“I’ve never had a girl who made me want to.”