Sam scrambled to close the book on her bed as she heard the doorknob turn. Fuck I can't put this back on the shelf, she thought stuffing the book underneath her pillow. I was almost positive I locked the damn door too-
"Hey roomy."
"Ty!" Sam jumped up on her bed, "I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow night."
"Yah, rough night with the girl- er, with Megan."
"Ty..." Sam whispered cautiously looking at him standing in the doorway. "What happened?"
"I just don't...I don't..." his voice trailed off and his head hung to the ground. When he looked back up he had tears in his eyes. "She's cheating on me."
Sam was up from her bed immediately, crossing the room in a few strides. With one arm she grabbed Ty in a tight embrace, while with the other she pushed the door closed behind him. "Hey come inside, no sense in letting the rest of the dorm know about this yet." Tyler allowed himself to be led towards his bed, it was only a few short shuffling steps, but Sam let him cling heavily to her. He almost didn't seem to have the strength to move on his own without her support.
Letting him down slowly to his bed she watched him practically collapse in on himself. His body looked to implode, all the sensations and feelings Sam had seen so many times from his face and body language replaced entirely by sadness and despair. She sat down next to him, her arm around his shoulder, holding him as she knew he would have done for her. "Whenever you're ready I'm here."
"Thanks." Tyler sobbed. She could tell he was struggling to get his emotions in check.
Suddenly she was chilled to the core by a single piercing thought, "Ty...this wasn't because of me, was it?"
Sam felt sick as she said it. Deep down she knew that it must be the reason. She'd been there once, in Megan's position and had felt all the jealousy, all the cold rage, and knew what she would have done in that situation. She flinched as Tyler's face turned up to meet her own.
And through the tears an earsplitting grin greeted her eyes. "Of course not."
"Ty, I'm serious. I'll go...I don't know. Beat the shit out of her I guess." Sam shook her head. "If that little tart was so afraid of me that she hurt you-"
"I told you it wasn't you." Tyler sniffed, his emotions coming back under his control. Sam watched as his hands clenched and unclenched, stretching his fingers to the max and then curling them into a tight fist. His breathing slowed down; his eyes closed as breath entered through his dilated nostrils and out in a constant slow stream from his mouth. She knew he was calming himself down, and that any minute he'd have control again, she just had to wait. "It wasn't your fault Sam. You just happened to be a convenient excuse."
"What?"
Tyler stood up slowly and walked towards his desk, grabbing a tissue and holding it to dab his eyes. After blowing his nose he elaborated, "The night started out fine, dinner, small talk, the usual." He came back and sat down on the bed. "She got up to go to the bathroom before we left and I saw her phone buzz. Without even thinking twice I reached over and answered the text message she'd gotten thinking it was her roommate or something."
Tyler shook his head and took a deep breath before continuing, "The text read, 'hey sexy when you gonna break up with that asshole so I can be the only cock you've sucked tonight.'"
"THAT BITCH!"
Tyler for his part let out a small chuckle, "It gets better believe me. I just assumed it was a wrong number, so I went to respond and tell this fucker off. I opened up her texts, and saw a string of texts from this number, and that she had them under the name Jack. One of them was from earlier today, with a picture of his dick, with the caption, 'Now that you're done talking to that asshole and the slut you were telling me about, this is in the back waiting for you.'"
Sam was shaking with rage, but she kept it at a smolder. She was here for Tyler, but knew there was more to the story and let him continue. "So I set her phone back down, and when she came back told her she got a text. She looked at her phone, I could see her eyes go wide as she asked me if I read it. I lied and told her I hadn't. She winced a little, but I had paid the bill so we left and got in the car. On the way back I asked her how her new manager Jack was doing at the coffee shop. She told me that he was 'fitting in well' and I lost it. I asked her if she was cheating on me. You know what she said?"
Sam knew it was a rhetorical question so she just held his gaze.
"She said, 'Well you can have fuck two girls so why can't I fuck two guys?'" Tyler sighed and tears formed in his eyes again. "She told me that as soon as she knew about you she came to a game to see you and once she saw you she just assumed I was cheating on her. So she thought it was fair for her to sleep around too."
"Tyler I'm sorry-"
"And you know what the best part was?" Tyler yelled almost in hysterics, "She told me if I promised to stop sleeping with you she would forgive me and stop having sex with Jack." Tyler shook his head tears now freely flowing again. "Can you believe that? She would forgive me! Are you fucking kidding?" He steadied himself, and lowered his voice almost to a whisper, "I just left her at her apartment. Kicked her out of the car on the curb and started back here. I was driving past the coffee shop and saw him in the window."
"Tyler you didn't-"
"I stopped the car and got out," he cut her off continuing in his soft voice. "I went inside and saw him at a table taking an order. I walked over and shouted, 'Your little cum slut is waiting at her place. Why don't you take the night off and go plow her right in the ass you fucking prick.' And then I punched him right in the jaw. He went down in a heap, knocked him right out. And I was pretty proud of myself, until I saw that the table he was serving was two cops."
"Ty you're joking."
"Nope, they cuffed me on the spot. Impounded my car which I had left running in the middle of the road, and I spent the night in jail." He sighed before continuing, although his voice now sounded hollow. "I have a meeting tomorrow with the school disciplinary committee, not much they can do to me, but I still have to go since I'm a student here. The police already talked to my parents and the school and most likely I'll be placed on house arrest-"
"So you'll have to leave?"
"You didn't quite let me finish." Tyler put his finger up signaling her to wait. "But they understand that I'm the top of my engineering class and so I've been granted house arrest here at school until they can find out if Jack is going to press charges." Tyler shrugged, "It's the best I could hope for. The cops don't think he will. It's tons of paperwork and legal fees that he probably doesn't want right now since he just took over the place." Finally he sighed, "It was just stupid of me, should've just come back here."
"No, stupid is what she did to you."
"Sam, I know that tone." Tyler put his hand on her arm, "That's the tone you have when that bitch forward from Lostra comes to town for a game. I don't want you to do anything to Megan, just let me deal with it. I've done enough already."
Sam struggled to control her rage, but she did and slowly forced it back down. "I promise I won't do anything to Megan."
"That includes using the book." Tyler nodded towards the pillow. "You really should be more careful with it."
"I promise I won't do anything to Megan." Sam said feigning exasperation, "and not everyone has keys you know to our room."
"The door was unlocked."
"Dammit!" she shouted grinning the whole time. She was taken aback by Tyler as he rested his head against her shoulder and she could feel the tears dripping onto her t-shit.
"You really are a great roommate you know. Even if it was on accident."
Sam just smiled and wrapped him in a hug before slowly easing out of the embrace. She walked to his desk and tossed him the box of tissues. "Take these and clean yourself up. I'm heading down to the dining hall to get some work done before practice tomorrow. Maybe get some food too, you wanna come?"
"I think I'll just hang out here." Tyler sniffed before blowing his nose, "Besides, prison food, while not great, is not actually all that terrible."
Sam and Tyler exchanged smiles and a laugh as Sam began packing up her backpack with some books and notes. When Tyler turned away she hastily snuck the book from underneath her pillow into the bag. Then with a smile, another hug, and a jingling of keys she was out of the door locking it behind her.
***
Jack hated closing. For pretty much the last hour and a half he was open lately not a single customer would show up. He'd often complained to the new district manager that the hours were ridiculous, that no matter how much he wanted to think so people didn't buy coffee at 9:00 PM. But Jack didn't get to make those kinds of rules and so he grumbled as the clock on the wall read 8:45. His frown deepened as he heard the door to the front slam shut, and turned already starting to groan when he stopped.
Walking into the shop was none other than that slut Megan's, thankfully now ex, boyfriend had brought in the other day. He couldn't help but smile as the girl began walking towards the counter. She looked like she had just rolled out of bed, her tank top fit snuggly against her huge breasts while riding up slightly to show the slight hint of abs above her belly button. Below that Jack got a quick glimpse of her long legs and tight butt framed by short shorts that covered barely any of her thighs. His view of her legs was quickly obscured though as she walked towards the counter and slid herself into one of the high bar chairs.
"Can I help you honey?"
The girl looked up at Jack giving him a sly smile. He'd used his best proprietor voice, and could tell this girl appreciated it. She slung her backpack off her back, and set it on the stool next to her, "What time do you close? I'd hate to have you make something if you're just about to close up."
"For you honey I'll stay open as late as you want." Jack smiled laying it on thick.
The girl smiled and a twinkle flashed in her eyes, "no need to do that, I'll just a hazelnut coffee with cream and two sugars."
"Late night?" Jack asked reaching for the pot as the girl pulled a book from her bag and set it on the counter top with a small notebook beside it. He heard her mumble something, but didn't quite catch it.
"Depends," the girl said loud enough for Jack to hear this time just as he turned back around to face her. "I'm trying to decide if this guy I know finds me attractive."
"No offense honey, but you're a fine looking woman."
