Page 44 of So This Is War
Silas:Clever.
Halsey:I think I need to leave this group chat.
Levi:You’re slowly becoming my favorite with every passing day, OC.
Eli:You must have low standards, then.
OC:Ouch, quite the burn, but it doesn’t quite compare to the burn you feel in your loins over wanting to make Coach Wood squeal.
Silas:Oh shit.
Halsey:Okay, that was good.
Pacey:I snorted on Winnie. She’s not happy.
Levi:Appreciate the use of loins.
Chapter Five
WYLIE
“Do you think he’ll be mad that I’m here?” Sandie asks as she takes in my new dwelling.
“No,” I say. “I have my own entrance. It’s not like I traipsed you around his apartment. I can have people over to my closet.”
“You know, I think your walk-in closet at your dad’s house is bigger than this.”
“Oh, it one hundred percent is, but that just means I need to make this space cozy.” I set down my bags of decor.
After Levi and I parted ways, I picked up some cleaning supplies with bleach—despite not liking to use bleach products, but given the circumstances—and I scrubbed the floor of my bedroom, in particular where the mouse was massacred.
I then went around all the baseboards, furniture, bathroom, and every single crevice and scrubbed them with a bristle brush until I was fully satisfied with the cleanliness. I followed this up with painting the only wall that doesn’t have exposed bricka very dark gray, almost black. Some people might scoff at the idea of painting a small space a dark color, but for me, a dark aesthetic creates true comfort. It’s why I love Levi’s apartment so much.
I tried not to drool too much over the hardwood floors, or the perfectly placed furniture, or his bedroom . . .
Oh my God, his bedroom.
Sin happens in there. The moment I walked in, I felt it—despite the awkward length of time he allowed a vibrator with a clit sucker to cling to his toe.
“I know we didn’t really address it, but . . . the mouse,” Sandie says.
I hold up my hand. “Trust me when I say I looked in every crevice and searched high and low for any opening that rodents could climb through. We are safe here.”
“And from the powerful bleach smell in here, I can tell you cleaned.”
I nod. “My hands feel raw.”
“At least you can rest easy tonight, and we don’t have to worry about stepping on anything.”
I shake my head and chuckle, still remembering the look of horror on Levi’s face when he realized what had happened. “No, we’re good.” I take a seat on the mattress that Sandie helped me bring up the stairs and say, “But before we get started, I need to get something off my chest.”
Looking confused, Sandie sits beside me. “Okay, what’s going on? Did something happen?”
Did something happen? Of course something happened.
Minus the mouse and the vibrator and the weird tasks Levi asked me to take care of, I could not stop feeling this heavy, electric draw toward him.
Like my body was being pulled in by some cosmic force, and if I don’t talk about it, I think I might scream.
