Series: Like Us Series by Krista Ritchie
Total pages in book: 241
Estimated words: 236417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1182(@200wpm)___ 946(@250wpm)___ 788(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 236417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1182(@200wpm)___ 946(@250wpm)___ 788(@300wpm)
“Well, I don’t like her,” Frog mumbled. “It sucks that Joana is Quinn’s sister because she’s amazing, and I’d rather run into her a million times over than that…” She growled out and slurped her iced coffee, stopping herself from calling Nessa a bitch.
This sunny Wednesday, she has no iced coffee. Just the lip gloss and a stylish fanny pack and a grumpy look on her face.
“Is Nessa over your apartment a lot?” I wonder.
“Yes,” Frog says at the same time Gabe says, “Not really.”
Frog balks. “Not really? Gabe, she keeps her shampoo and conditioner in the bathroom. Last week, I found her extra razor supply under the sink.”
“Which shampoo is hers?”
“The one in French that costs over a hundred bucks,” Frog says in disbelief that he hasn’t noticed. “Also the same one that I was told do not touch by Her Royal Highness.”
“Sharing is caring,” I sing-song.
“Exactly,” Frog says. “Like, I don’t care she has high-end shampoo taste, but don’t put it in my shower and tell me I can’t even smell the thing.” She slumps down in her seat and glances my way. “I did take a whiff.”
I smile. “What’d it smell like?”
“Rose petals and happiness.” She sighs heavily. “No wonder Quinn’s obsessed with her. It has to be her shampoo.” She says it like she can’t find any other rational reason he’d be dating Nessa. If her redeeming qualities begin and end at her shampoo taste, then I wonder why Quinn would stay with her for this long too. Donnelly says they’ve been together for a year now.
We chitchat some more about Quinn, talking like friends. These car rides to and from college are some of my favorites. I imagine this is the easygoing friendship Frog might’ve had with me before I lost my memories.
Unlike the friendships I can barely piece together, I find comfort in this one I’m rebuilding with her.
“Are you still seeing Scooter?” I ask her.
Gabe goes rigid.
“Sometimes we meet up for coffee to talk,” she emphasizes to Gabe.
I’m not a thorn to Frog like her two roommates. Donnelly told me he’s trying not to hound her about Scooter too. We’re both afraid pushing Frog away will just push her into a flapping red flag, but the alternative isn’t any better since she’s still communicating with him.
“I said nothing,” Gabe defends.
“I know what you’re thinking.” Frog sighs. “We’re not dating, okay. That date was awful. I recognize that and accept it, but he’s still my friend.”
Scooter was super touchy-feely with Frog, especially when she slipped into a drunker state. She could barely stand, and he was territorial, not letting Donnelly or me or Joana help her. At one point Joana threatened to knock him out, but Donnelly was masterful in the art of deflection. He got Scooter to let her go by doing shots with him and Tricky Dicky. Then I scooped an arm under Frog and guided her to the girl’s bathroom.
Frog continues, “He was just looking out for me that night. His intentions were in the right place, and he apologized for being rude to Donnelly—and you know, I don’t have to keep explaining this to you or to Quinn. It’s exhausting.” She rotates to me. “Quinn loathes him now. He won’t even let him in the apartment.”
“He smells,” Gabe defends his roommate with two words.
Frog glares. “That’s his cologne.”
“Cheddar cheese isn’t a cologne.”
Frog groans, then turns to me. “Do you see what I’m dealing with?”
I do see that her response to my question was just bringing up Quinn again. I sense romantic inklings. If Quinn were single and asked Frog out, I wonder if she’d dump Scooter to the curb in a heartbeat.
“You have very protective roommates,” I tell her. “It’s not such a bad thing.”
Frog thinks this over. “Yeah, that’s true.” She adjusts the mic clipped to her Penn Cheer tee. “Thanks for being there…I know I’ve said it like seven times now, but I mean it.” She slips me a smile before surveying the road again. “Especially since I can’t remember a lot of it.”
She blacked out. That’s the scary part, and as someone who also can’t recall events, it’s a frightening situation. I don’t even know if I have similar black-out wasted experiences. Maybe I do. Maybe when I was nineteen like Frog, I found myself in the same place.
And I’d hope that people I trusted were there to keep an eye on me.
“It’s what friends do,” I say simply.
“Good friends,” Gabe mumbles under his breath.
Frog snaps him an irritated look.
“You hear that?” Gabe pretends like he said nothing.
I almost laugh.
“The sound of my sense of humor decaying—it’s very loud,” Frog mutters and glares out the window.
I wish I had iced coffee to cheer her up. I dig in my backpack for anything helpful, but my spiral binder of Economics notes will only induce boredom.