ANYTHING BUT ENEMIES

11. morning antics

"Ow."

In my early-morning daze, I don't process the fact my elbow's rammed into Ruby's face until she starts whining about it.

"What the hell was that for?"

As realization dawns, a chorus of sorrys erupts from my mouth, pushing me up into a sitting position so I can check on her face. "Are you okay?"

She blinks up at me with bleary eyes, massaging the bridge of her nose. "Ah, jeez, just--what time is it?"

I flip to my side on the carpet, scrambling for my phone before turning the screen toward my face. "It's 7:40."

We both freeze.

"Shit, it's 7:40!"

The two of us stumble to our feet almost comically, Ruby accidently hitting her elbow on the table and me tripping over a leg and face-planting back onto the floor.

"What's going on?" A groggy voice murmurs from a couple feet away, and I look over to see Anaya rubbing her eyes.

"It's 7:40," I hiss back before struggling, once again, to stand.

The room is absolute chaos, trash strewn all over the floor, empty glass bottles cluttering the table, random articles of clothing draped over beds and the mini fridge.

Reece is passed out on the couch with Julia spread out like a starfish on the floor before him while Marty sleeps comfortably in Anaya's bed like the prissy princess he is.

"Damn," I hear Ruby mutter under her breath.

I internally agree with her.

It takes approximately five minutes to get everyone up and into the elevator and ten seconds for Marty and Reece to get out a floor ahead of Ruby and me.

One minute after that, Ruby's rooting through her bag for the key card, tongue poking out the side of her mouth in concentration while I'm tapping my foot impatiently.

Then, as if the universe is trying to make a point or something, the door across the hall from our unit swings open to reveal the Devil Incarnate.

He's standing in the frame, ballpoint pen caught between his teeth, signature turtleneck pulled all the way up to his chin, and brow arching as his eyes land on my face then my pajamas. The notebook's in his hand again, fingers drumming onto hardback as he approaches, lips twisting in what I would usually read as annoyance. Now, my best guess for the expression is curiosity.

Miraculously, he doesn't say anything as he passes, instead shifting his gaze just to the side of my head. He doesn't even bother to nod as Ruby mutters a half-hearted good morning to the side of his face.

Asshole.

My eyes are still boring into the back of the menace when Ruby holds out the keycard with a grin, having recovered from the brief wash of coldness. "Found it!"

I wait until she's inside our unit before turning to call Doggy's name down the hallway.

Dane spins, brows slashing down from curious to pissed now that Ruby's vacated the premises. "What is it this time!"

Pulling a hand from behind my back, I mime surprise as my middle finger pops up, satisfaction seeping in at the way his jaw ticks, lips part to speak, before letting the door slam shut behind me.

"Was that really necessary?" My roommate asks from the middle of our room, tugging a dress from her suitcase before breezing past me into the bathroom.