Djorking

“Drink too much?” Kim teased as she raised her eyebrows. She definitely had too, though not as much as she had. She leaned forward, furrowing her eyebrows together as she prayed that her car would work with no issue today. 

The yellow Beetle was from 2007 and was definitely showing its age from the amount of work it had been through recently. It was probably close to falling apart, but it was her dream car. And her father Sam had gifted it to her on her graduation, which was also the last time she’d heard from him. Apparently he’d fallen off the wagon again.

Inside of her car it smelt like cherry blossoms which matched quite well with her pink seats and steering wheel. Hanging from the mirror was a little stuffed cow, smaller than her palm. She called him Benny. 

“Or not enough,” Nancy sighed as she fussed with her hair, “do you think he’s moved on? I mean, I don’t know. Did he seem interested to you?” She looked nervously, instantly making Kim feel guilty for how she’d acted last night.

She wasn’t a bad friend, she genuinely wasn’t. It was just some dumb crush, it always had been. She was over it now, over him. 

Above everything else, she would never hurt Nancy like that. Ever. There was a code, and she was a ruler follower. Better than anyone that she knew. 

“Hard to tell,” she admitted a moment later, “I mean, I haven’t seen him in years. He seems to have grown up quite a bit.” That part was very true. He was not the boy that had graduated the year before her. 

“Yeah, he has.” Nancy sighed deeply as she leaned back in the seat, thinking to herself. Her expression was thoughtful rather than yearning, the same way that she got when she was stuck. 

And she had been stuck for a while now. 

“Have you heard from Jonathan?” Kim asked innocently, laughing at the look Nancy gave her, “what? It was just a question.” She winced as she nearly went over another curb. While living in Chicago she really didn’t have to worry about driving. Not that it was an excuse. She’d been an awful driver before then too. 

“Jonathan and I are just friends,” Nancy nodded her head quickly, “unless he’s had too much to smoke or I’ve had too much to drink. Then we’re just friends with a little more.” She laughed, flushing. Nancy could be a bit much if she started drinking, which was probably how her and Jonathan kept having little flings. 

“Sounds thrilling.” Kim was glad she didn’t have to worry about that. Her ex was long out of her mind, and she wanted him to stay that way. She didn’t need that toxicity in her life. Again. At this point, she had accepted she was doomed for random hookups and loneliness. 

“Speaking of, your dating pool has certainly gotten smaller.” Nancy pointed out, digging through the middle console until she found a used tube of lip gloss. Kim had no idea how old it was or how long it’d been in there, but Nancy put it on her lips anyways. 

“Way smaller,” Kim laughed, “but I’m not looking for anyone right now.” She clarified quickly, not wanting any more random dates. They never ended well anyway. 

“You never are.” That statement wasn’t wrong. She’d just never had the best examples of relationships growing up, then her first real relationship had been a shit show. 

The trailer community was cute, nicer than she had expected it to be and definitely better than the one she had lived in. There weren’t many people out this morning, but there was no evidence of overgrown grass or anything else that was overrun. 

“This one.” Nancy pointed towards the trailer as Kim slammed on the brakes, wincing before she put the car in reverse and pulled into the free spot. 

She did not need to hit Steve’s nice truck. 

There was a lingering scent of chlorine water and cigarette smoke when they got out of the car. Maybe the occasional hint of pot. Nothing she couldn’t handle however.

 Kim held her fist up, gently knocking on the door. Then they waited. 

“He’s not answering.” She replied as she took a step back, crossing her arms over her chest. 

“Give him a second. He probably didn’t hear it.” Nancy knocked harder this time, repeatedly and obnoxiously. She inhaled sharply, hoping he answered before Nancy started searching for a spare key. 

Kim swayed back and forth awkwardly as Nancy refused to give up, keeping to the same beat. She raised her hand, giving a small greeting to a couple that was leaving from a room nearby. 

The door was flung open a second later, hastily. Nancy nearly toppled forward, her fist almost colliding with his face. 

“Uh, hey, hi,” Steve peered at the two of them in surprise, eyes widening and half of his face red  and flushed from where he’d been sleeping. Slightly sweaty. His hair was messy, sticking up in various directions, “shit. It’s time already?”

“Did you have a hard time waking up?” Nancy teased as she barged right in, walking right past him and beginning to inspect the living room. He grimaced. 

Kim got a good look at him as he leaned against the door. He must sleep warm based on the sweat that had formed on his chest hair, which also baffled her. She’d seen him shirtless a few times from various encounters of them hanging at the pool, but his chest hair had not been this thick nor dark. 

It was clear that he’d thrown his sweats on quickly, the ankle of one pant leg twisted up right on his knee to expose his hairy leg. His pants were dangerously low, exposing the tuft of hair that went lower and-,

Nope. She looked away quickly, face burning in fear that she had gotten caught. She was not trying to look at him in that manner, but it was clear to her at that moment that he hadn’t been sleeping. No, they’d interrupted something else. 

“Uhhh,” he drew out for a long moment, scrunching his face up, “somethin’ like that.” He rubbed at the back of his neck, eyes glazed over as he glanced over his shoulder. 

“Can we come in?” Kim asked instead, even though Nancy was already making herself at home. She didn’t want to be rude. 

“Sure, sure,” he took a step back, “just uh-, my room's kind of a mess.” He explained, looking a little sheepish. She nodded her head, taking the hint to stay out of his room for the time being. 

“I’ll stay out of there, scouts honor.” She held her hands up innocently, walking in and peering around. It looked nice, surprisingly neat. Though there was a trail of clothes that led down the hallway. A stack of notebooks and papers on the coffee table, possibly from coaching. 

“Can you guys uh-,” he pressed his lips together, thinking hard for a moment as he placed his hands on his hips, “I just kind of need to get rid of something and-,”

“Get rid of something?” A girl appeared from the bedroom, wearing a cropped shirt and a tiny pair of panties that hugged her waist snuggly. Kim and Nancy shared a scandalous look. 

“Uh,” he furrowed his features out as his cheeks turned pink, “shit. Sorry this is uh, uh-,” he tapped at his head, laughing nervously for a second too long. 

“Vanessa.” She answered for him, shaking her head and narrowing her eyes. She was pretty. 

“I was getting there, I knew that,” he said quickly, “I was trying to think of who to introduce you to first.” His lips were still pulled into a grin, cheeks pink as Kim furrowed her eyebrows together. He was lying. 

“This your girlfriend?” Vanessa gestured towards Kim, making her eyes widen in horror as her face burned. 

“Roommate.” The three of them answered in unison. Well, they could agree on that. 

“I’m out of here.” Vanessa scoffed, giving him quite the filthy look as she picked up her jeans and socks. Nancy dropped her head, placing her fingers on her forehead and hiding her snort. 

“It was nice having you over.” He gave an awkward wave, features pinched up in dismay. Kim rubbed the back of her head, wincing as the door slammed shut hard enough to make the room shake. 

“Real smooth, Harrington.” Nancy raised her eyebrows, lips pulled into a tiny smile as she shook her head. There was something else there, jealousy maybe. 

“I-,” he pressed his lips together as he rubbed the back of his neck, “got a little distracted. I was supposed to be ready by the time you guys got here. Sorry. Shit.” He was pink all over now, looking more flustered than he had before. 

“Nothing wrong with getting laid, right?” Kim couldn’t help but tease him, a spark racing down her spine as he gave her a little look. His hazel eyes were swimming with amusement, maybe even awe.

Kim walked right past him, pressing her lips together as she hummed underneath her breath and continued to look around the room. She was fairly certain that his eyes were following her, though she couldn’t be positive. Maybe she was imagining it, thinking too hard.

Or maybe this roommate thing was a mistake. 

“He keeps it neat, that’s really good.” Kim concluded as she walked towards Nancy, watching the way her lip was slightly curled up. 

“If you say so. You like it then?” She questioned, blue eyes looking around. 

“So far.” And she meant it too. It was a nice place, bigger than the place she’d been staying at in Chicago. 

“This is your room then. Robin’s old bedroom.” Steve pointed out, rubbing at his nose as he pushed the door open. He leaned there against the doorway as she stepped inside. 

“Oh, it’s a really nice size. The closet is cute too.” He was standing so close that she got a hint of his musk, pretending that it didn’t make her belly flip in all sorts of directions. 

A loud gasp left her lips as a pretty doggy came wandering in, tail wagging in excitement as Kim immediately dropped to her knees and held her arms out. She was greeted with licks all over her face as she began to pet at her grey fur, squealing at how cute she was.

“This is Pepper,” Steve laughed as he reached down to pat her back affectionately, “she’s a good pup.” He told her enthusiastically, laughing as Kim continued to try and swoop her into her arms.

“You’re so cute,” the baby talk rolled off of her tongue easily as she cupped Pepper’s face, pouting her lips out as she looked at her blue eyes and pink nose, “oh my God. I didn’t know you had a dog.”

“Sorry, probably should’ve mentioned that.” He added sheepishly, standing up and crossing his arms over his chest.

“Kim likes animals,” Nancy laughed as she watched them, “she needed to ask you about her cat, so I guess this will be perfect.” She added, raising her eyebrows at Kim.

“Yeah,” she smiled bashfully, “I have a cute little kitty. Her name is Pearl because she can be a little bratty.” She was a sweet girl, she just had an attitude at times. Mostly towards others. 

“She’s straight from hell,” Nancy teased, “but she loves Kim.” She added with a nod of her head.

“How’s she around dogs?” Steve looked worried now as he rubbed the back of his neck. She grinned.

“Surprisingly good with them. I’ve never had an issue before.” She told him truthfully.

“Maybe they need to meet first.” Nancy spoke up, looking all amused over the whole thing. Steve chuckled, shaking his head.

“I think we could make it work.” Kim really hoped so too.

The apartment was really nice and put together. There were no odd spells or loud neighbors as far as she could tell. Steve had done a nice job of making it look nice. It wasn’t pristine, but that was alright. She liked that it was well lived in. 

“So, what do you think?” Steve held his arms out as he looked at her, a little smile on his lips, “otherwise my next step is placing an ad for a roommate, and it’s not as fun to live with a stranger.”

“I think this is great,” she told him truthfully, “if you’ll still have me that is.” She asked, pressing her teeth together and giving him an open mouthed smile.

“Oh yeah, I want ya. Otherwise I’m going to have to ask my dad for a little loan and that always makes things tense.” He added, shaking his head. Kim beamed. 

“It does look great,” Nancy nodded her head, “if I didn’t have to leave so soon, we could have a sleepover.” She teased, bumping against Kim’s shoulder. 

“Well isn’t that a shame,” he teased, “I’m quite fond of sleepovers.” He wiggled his eyebrows, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“Oh, we can tell,” she giggled as she pushed her red hair behind her ears, “do you have them often?” She teased, earning a loud laugh from him.

“Guess you’re going to find out.” 

They lingered for about thirty five minutes, talking back and forth about plans for the summer. Mainly about how nervous Nancy was about starting somewhere new. Kim knew that feeling all too well, but she thought it was worth moving around. Being in a new area. 

“If you send me a text, I can help you move stuff around.” Steve offered as he leaned over the counter, long fingers wrapped around his coffee cup. Kim was the only one who had tripled up on the sugar in hers. 

“I never got your number.” Kim admitted a second later, remembering how they’d passed out long before they got to that point. 

“Oh yeah, you probably need that.” Nancy added sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head as Kim giggled along with her. Steve gave a little scoff, his lips still twisted into a grin as he tugged Kim’s phone from her hands. 

“Really? Harrison Ford? This guy? He’s like seventy.” He furrowed his features up in disbelief, staring at her in mock horror as he turned her phone back towards her. As if she’d gotten who her lock screen was. 

“Eighty three actually.” She giggled, face burning as she tucked her hair behind her ears. He raised his eyebrows, nodding his head as he blinked slowly. She pressed her lips together, unlocking her phone for him. 

“Jesus,” he shook his head, “am I gonna get used to the sound of broken hips?” He teased, giving her a sideway look before he began to type into her contacts. 

“I don’t actually get with guys that old.” She defended herself, feeling like that was quite the assumption. He paused for a moment, peering over her screen to meet her eyes. 

“What kind of guys do you go for?” His question was casual, soft. He shrugged his shoulders, looking genuinely curious. 

“Oh, I don't think you’ll have to worry about you and Kim sharing the same dating pool,” Nancy teased as she shook her head, “I think you can relax.” She poked at him, making him snort in response. 

“I don’t know, you never know,” he recovered quickly, “but yeah, shoot me a text and I’ll help you get everything moved.”

“I don’t have a lot,” Kim admitted, “mostly clothes and shoes. Books. I do have a few books and bookshelves.”

“Hey, I’ve gotten pretty handy recently,” he grinned as he held his hands up, “I can help you there. So, I’ll see you around?” Kim hated the way her heart fluttered at his promise, how his lips curled into a soft smile. 

“See you soon.” 

Taglist: @libbyeaston @corrodeddeadlydoll @cristy-l-blog @lizzieravenxo @diffrent-spokes @spacecadet-dot-net @strangegirl26sff

It was different with you. Hard as he tried to push it aside, to tell himself you were just another girl, someone to mess around with and he’d move on, you were different. It wasn't as simple. Something in him actually made him want to try with you.

The first time you made Gator laugh was on your second date. The first time it wasn’t a smirk or a smug scoff, a desperate attempt to flirt or get into your pants. A real laugh because you were the first girl who called him out on his bullshit. He’d never admit it, but he liked that. You knew anyway. 

The first time Gator realized he loves you is when he came over after patrol with a cut on his lip and a shiner, and you didn’t give him shit for it. You didn’t laugh in his face or make fun of him. You sat quietly at the edge of the bed, quietly wiping off the blood of his lips, his face. He’d been used to mockery; be it from his father or the guys he worked with. It felt odd that he wasn’t hearing it from you. Just soft touches and quiet murmurs that you were glad he was okay, that you scared him half to death. He had laughed it off, said he wasn’t a pussy, that he was strong, a winner, that you didn’t have to worry about him. You still did. He knew. And selfish as it might be, he liked that you cared enough to worry. Not that he’d ever admit it. You knew.

The first time he said it wasn’t anything big; not to him. You were tangled in the sheets after a long night, him pressed up against your back. Already half asleep, his face buried into the pillow, usually how he was after sex. He said it quietly, so much so you thought you’d imagined it. The ‘love you’ wasn’t exactly soft, not said while kissing you or gazing into your eyes like someone else might’ve done. No, that wasn’t really his style. But the confession was yours to keep, and you knew he meant it. And that was enough.

The first time he opened up wasn’t pretty. It was after a huge argument. One you’d thought maybe you both wouldn’t be able to come back from; and that thought scared you. You’d wondered if it scared him too. It was often hard to tell what he was thinking. If he cared as much as you did. The argument didn’t start as one, you’d just made a simple observation: that he didn’t talk much about his childhood.

“What’s there to say? Nothin’ special about it.” he’d said. You’d tried to tell him you wanted to learn anyway, to know more about his past. But he wasn’t hearing it. Suddenly it became about how you pushed at things that weren’t your business, and the next thing you knew, you were arguing. Saying things neither of you meant. Ending with him storming out in anger. Leaving you alone to wonder if he'd ever come back.

He did, the next night. Apologies didn’t come easily to Gator, you'd learned that much from being with him for a while. But he tried, and that's what mattered. Sitting on your back porch under the dark sky, hitting his vape while he actually, finally, opened up to you. Talked about things he never thought he'd revisit, things he didn't want to revisit. Told you about the first time he played football. When he became an all-state quarterback. When his mom left. You listened. Didn't coddle or show pity. Just listened. And he hadn't realized how much he needed that. For someone to listen.

That night, you talked til the sun came up. And things didn’t feel so scary for either of you anymore. That whatever came at you, you’d work it out together. You'd gotten through your first fight. The first of many, ones you'd also get through together.