Good Grades & Mystery Games (North University Series Book 2)

“I’m still mad at you,” she says. It still makes me laugh how she can say that with a straight face while climbing into my lap, wearing the shirt she stole from my closet and nothing else.

“Oh, come on, Scar. It was one episode. I can watch it again if you want me to,” I groan, pulling her into me. We’ve been rewatching Modern Family and even though we’ve both seen it a million times, she plotted to kill me if I watched an episode without her. I didn’t mean to do it, but it came on and it was a good fucking episode. “You can’t stay mad at me forever.”

“I can and I will.”

“Even if I kiss you?” I say, trailing my hands underneath my — her — shirt.

“Even if you kiss me, Ev,” she replies. She’s gotten better at the whole ‘your proximity does nothing to me’ over the last few weeks. At the beginning, every touch was so sensitive, but as she’s got used to it, she’s also better at hiding how much I affect her and how much she loses control.

“You’re still calling me ‘Ev.’ That’s a good sign,” I say, looking at the positives.

“That’s because your name has too many syllables,” she says proudly, holding up her head high. We’ve had this argument before and she somehow managed to win.

“It has two,” I challenge.

“Yeah. Two too many,” she says as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world. I laugh at her as she continues to rub my shoulders gently.

“Scarlett, tesoro, you’re ridiculous,” I say.

“But you love ridiculous, don’t you, Branson? You wouldn’t be able to live without my ridiculousness. What’s ridiculous is how you think I’m ridiculous,” she rambles, sounding, well…ridiculous.

“Say ‘ridiculous’ one more time and your ass is going to be red and raw,” I warn.

“Don’t threaten me with a good time, Ev,” she retorts, leaning into me as she whispers, “That.” She kisses my neck. “Would be.” She kisses my jaw until she gets to my ear as she rasps, “Ridiculous.”

I’m about to go in to kiss her, finally tasting what she’s been edging me on for since I got to her apartment, but her room door bursts open.

It’s been harder than ever to get a moment of privacy in this apartment, but we still try every time. Kennedy and Wren don’t seem to mind the whole ‘walking in on your best friend while he sucks off her boyfriend’ and it’s slightly concerning.

Scarlett snaps her head to the door where Kennedy walked through. She’s covering her eyes with one hand, her other arm searching aimlessly for Scarlett’s closet.

“Jesus, Ken, what are you doing?” she asks.

“My eyes are closed,” Kennedy squeals. “I’m just looking for the battery for my camera.”

“Why would it be in my closet?” Scarlett asks.

“I dunno,” she says, “A lot of stuff ends up in here.”

“That’s true,” I say, kissing my girl on the neck, but she climbs off me, walking over to her friend. My button down is long enough to cover her ass, but if she’s not careful she’s going to flash someone. Me, hopefully.

“What’s going on, Ken?” Scarlett asks. Kennedy turns to her, her eyes still squeezed shut. “I’m decent.” She looks back to me, giving me a once-over. “He’s decent. Just open your eyes.”

She peaks behind her fingers first, not fully trusting us. When she sees it’s safe, she drops her hand with a sigh, looking Scarlett in the eye as she says, “I’m going home.”

“What do you mean, home? This is your home,” Scarlett says, confused.

“I mean home home,” she replies. I don’t know if I’m supposed to be here for this, so I get up off the bed. As I do, Scarlett turns around, sending me a death stare and I sit back down. Okay.

“South Carolina home?” Scarlett asks.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Only for the summer. I’ll still be finishing fourth year, but then depending on how I feel… I might go back for good.”

This doesn’t sound good for any of us.

Without Kennedy, Wren and Scarlett would fall apart, which also means by proxy, Miles and I would fall apart. She’s the literal glue to the group. She’s funny without even trying and she is loud and chaotic, always trying to pull Wren and Scarlett out of their comfort zones. She’s been mine and Scarlett’s biggest cheerleader since the first day I met her. Even I would miss her rudely barging in on us.

“Ken, talk to me.”

She sighs, running her hands down her overalls. “Something hasn’t been feeling right. It hasn’t felt right for a long time. I just think spending the summer with my mom and Mia is the best option right now.”

Scarlett shakes her head. “But that’s where-”

“I know. That’s why I also need to go back. He’s gone. He can’t ruin home for me anymore,” she says. I don’t know who he is, but he sounds like bad news. She pulls Scarlett into a hug, holding her tight while she stands there motionless. “I’ll call you when I get down there.”

“Okay,” she muffles. When she pulls out the hug she says, “Stay safe.”

“I will. Bye, Evan. Be good for Scar this summer or she’ll leave you in Italy on your own.”

Since the second school let out, we’ve been planning trips around Europe for the summer. Scar’s content on not staying in Salt Lake all summer, which means we’re not going to be here much as of next week. I can’t wait for her to show me places where her family is from in Italy, and I can pretend I’ve never seen them before. It’s going to be my new favourite game.

“I’ll be on my best behaviour. Scout’s honour,” I say, beaming, holding up three fingers. She doesn’t buy it because she points at me as she starts to walk backwards towards the door.

“Yes, so that that means no fucking in bathrooms while your friends are next door,” she warns. I could have sworn no one heard us after my band performance, but apparently not. “Walls are thin.”

“Ken, for the millionth time, we weren’t-” I say.

She waves a hand, dismissing me as she slips through the door, shouting, “Have fun. And use protection!”

As Scarlett walks back to me, she’s frowning. I reach out to grab her hand, pulling her into me so she falls into my lap again, her arms weakly linked around my shoulders.

“She’s going to be fine; you know?” I say to her, knowing she needs the encouragement.

She sighs, looking back to the door where loud sounds of what Scar calls ‘Kennedy Noises’ sound outside. “I know, but she’s my soulmate. There’s a lot she’s going back to.”

“She can handle it, Scar. You just worry about yourself for now, okay?” I say, pulling her for a kiss. She dodges me just before they connect, climbing off my lap and falling back onto the bed. “What are you doing?”

“I’m still mad at you, remember?”

THE END.