Olivia flopped over, pressing her arm to her forehead. A headache drummed inside her brain, dubiously reminding her of the night before: the tailgating party turned into a postgame party turned into, well, she didn't actually remember.
Fuck
. Normally she was such a responsible girl, the sort to stay in and study an extra hour instead of partying the night before a test.
A breeze hissed through the room and she shivered. Then she sat up, wide awake, her skin forming goosebumps. She was naked in a strange bed, with no sign of its owner. She bit her lip and pawed through the covers frantically. No sign of a condom, either. She flung the blankets aside and scampered across the room, clutching her tits against her chest and clenching her teeth. The garbage can turned up nothing reassuring.
"Oh god," Olivia said, dropping her face into her hands and trying desperately to slow her heart rate. Finally, she dared peek through her fingers at the dorm room as she edged away from the window. It was sparsely decorated - definitely a typical college dorm room, with a few heavy metal band posters and a coat rack with a couple of dark, heavy coats. Above the door was a small wooden sign with faded painted elephants around the borderโsomething from a child's room. When she squinted, Olivia could read what it said: Jerri's Room.
Jerri. She cast about in her memory, trying to remember which pimply-faced freshman the name might belong to, but no one came to mind. And anyway, it didn't matter. She wanted to be up, dressed, and out before her one-night stand returned and awkward words had to be exchanged.
She was just standing up and pulling her too-big Bulls tee over her head when the door opened and in walked a short girl with close-cropped hair, sun-darkened skin, and an irresistible smile. Her green eyes alit on Olivia's face and brightened.
Olivia's hand flew to her mouth. "Oh my god! I
swear
I am not here to steal your boyfriend." She cast about for her pants, but could only find her panties, which she failed to pull over her foot in her haste.
The girl's smile wobbled, but did not fade, as she watched Olivia bounce on one leg around the room. She set the brown bag she was carrying down on the desk. "My boyfriend? Olivia, what are you talking about?"
"How do you know myโ" But it all fell into place. "Jerri," she breathed, and she could see the
I
above the door burning fiercely with revelation. "You're Jerri."
Now the girl's smile did disappear. "You don't remember me?"
"I don't remember much of anything." Olivia dropped her voice, ashamed, and her other leg flopped down to prop her up. Her cheeks were hot as she took another good look at Jerri, at her hard little body and open, honest face. If she squinted hard enough, Olivia could see why she would have thought she was hooking up with a boy, if she was drunk off her ass. Either that, orโbut she pushed that thought aside.
Jerri blinked, then sat down on the bed, staring at her hands in her lap. "Oh. I'm sorry, Olivia. I thought you meant it." She looked up from under her dark lashes, daring a tiny twitch at the corner of her mouth that formed a lump in Olivia's throat. "You don't...you don't hate me for it, do you?"