Faster We Burn

to hers and kissed her drenched lips.
    “I have to tell you something.” I couldn’t fill myself up with her until I got rid of Ric.
    She stared up at me, and the words wouldn’t come.
    “I want you to be my girlfriend,” I finally said, and I felt her relax in my arms.
    “I think I’d like to be your girlfriend.”
    “Just like?”
    “Love. I’d love to be your girlfriend.”
    Fuck, fuck, fuck.
     
    Katie
     
    Lottie knocked on the door when she came back from class. Stryker and I were working on my wall. Apparently he hadn’t used up all his artistic talents on me.
    “Oh, hey.” She cracked open the door with her eyes closed.
    “We’re not naked, Lot,” I said, jumping down off my bed where I’d been helping Stryker fill in the leaves of a vine he’d been drawing along the top of my wall.
    “Oh, I didn’t think you were.” She opened her eyes and set her bag down.
    “Then why were your eyes closed?” Stryker said, swapping markers with me.
    “Just being cautious. What are you doing?”
    “Changing my wall up a bit since I can’t actually paint it.”
    “Cool. How are you doing?” she said, looking at me.
    “I’m…good, actually. Not fine.”
    Lottie smiled and I could tell she’d been worried about me all day.
    “So, I got elected to ask, since I’m your roommate, what’s the deal here?” She pointed at Stryker and me.
    “We are officially together-together,” I said.
    “Boyfriend/girlfriend?”
    Stryker jumped down next to me. “Yes, we are. Right, sweetheart?”
    “Yes, my beloved.”
    He put his arm around me and I leaned into him.
    “You’re not going to talk like that all the time, are you? Because I think I liked you better as fuck buddies if that’s the case.”
    “Look, I’ve suffered through you and Zan, so you can deal,” I said.
    “Fine, fine. Look, I have to text your sister because she’s been up my butt about asking since I told her that you had spent the night together.”
    “She didn’t say anything, did she?” Stryker said, his arm tightening around me, just a little.
    “Say anything about what?”
    He tried to shrug it off. “I don’t know. She’s Trish.”
    “True,” Lottie said, taking out her phone. About three seconds after she sent the text, my phone rang. I would have been shocked if it hadn’t.
    “I should probably take this outside. I have a feeling I’m about to get reamed out and emasculated at the same time,” he said, laughing a little, but I could tell he was tense. He did that jaw-clench thing that made his face even more attractive.
    He closed the door and Lottie seized her moment.
    “Well that was unexpected. I mean, I always sort of knew you’d end up together, but I didn’t know it would be this quick, and…like this. Not that I’m judging you, because I can’t throw stones, especially where relationships are concerned—”
    “Lottie. It’s cool. I swear. Do you remember what a hard time I gave you about Zan? And also that I kept it from you that I slept with him?”
    Her face went red.
    “Yeah. Right. That.”
    “It’s okay. I feel good, and under the circumstances, that’s…good. He loves me.”
    “He said it?”
    “Yeah, he did.”
    “Wow. Just…wow.”
    “Why so shocked?”
    “Well, it’s just that Stryker doesn’t date, seriously, at least according to Trish.” He’d told me some about his dating history, but in this instance, I kind of wanted to be kept in the dark. Besides, it was a bit of a pot and kettle situation.
    “Not that I’m saying you shouldn’t date him.”
    “I know, Lot. It’s okay.” I put my hands on her shoulders to stop any future verbal geysers.
    “Okay.” She let out a deep breath. “Um, so now can I be super happy for you?”
    “Yes, you can.”
    “What’s that?” She pointed to a drawing on my neck that hadn’t quite faded.
    “It’s a long story,” I said.
     
    ***
     
    “How did it go?” I said when Stryker came back from his chat with Trish. He looked like he’d just been told his entire collection of musical instruments had been smashed.
    “Oh, you know Trish. She doesn’t pull any punches.” He tried a smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
    “Is she mad at you?”
    “Just mad that she didn’t know first. I guess when I make declarations of love from now on, I’m supposed to inform her first.” He was still hiding something, but Lottie interrupted.
    “You guys want to go to dinner?”
    “Seeing as how we’ve only eaten ice cream