Nothing Less

Chapter Twenty-One.

Songs for this chapter are:

Assassin- John Mayer

Closer- Chainsmokers ft Halsey

Come Up Short- Kevin Garrett

........

I've discovered that my bed is the perfect size for two bodies. It's the exact size for Nora to have to cuddle up next to me. Her body is warm, as it always is, and she's laying in the crook of my arm, staring up at me with those seductive eyes of hers. The shine in them is downright provocative and happiness looks so damn good on her.

"Hardin and Tessa are awfully loud," she laughs and I do too.

"Oh, this is nothing. Wait until you hear them fight. The people in Jersey will hear them." I've experienced this plenty of times. They don't make walls thick enough to block out those two.

"He's met his match, though. Tessa isn't someone to trample on." Nora says, her voice dripping in admiration.

"Yeah, he has." I say. I don't say how many tears it took to get to that point. I thought I would have to kill them both on a few occasions. They are both stubborn as all be it.

My phone rings from the nightstand and I reach for it. Dakota's name is on the screen, flashing and screaming through my dark bedroom. Nora leans over me and reads the screen.

"Dakota," Nora says the name and my chest aches. I hate this part of dating, or whatever this is that I'm doing. "Answer it."

I shake my head and ignore the call. Nora leans up on her elbow. "Why didn't you answer it?"

Why? Uh, well because it would be freaking weird and awkward to talk to her in front of you? Because she's my ex and it's weird between us, and even weirder between you two?

"Wouldn't that bother you?" I ask her, unsure how to handle this entire situation.

Nora scoots up more to a sitting position. "If there's something going on between you still, then yes. But if you don't have a reason for me not to hear what you're talking about, then no, it wouldn't bother me. Lies bother me. Not truths."

Funny coming from you, I want to say. She doesn't lie, but she's the queen of omitting things and keeping truths to herself.

"I don't think I have anything to hide, really. I just don't want it to be weird. I know you guys were friends-"

Nora snorts. "We were never friends!"

"Well, roommates. That still qualifies as murky water. I don't know what happened between you two that made things turn sour, except me. Was I the only reason?" I ask her.

"Yes."

A yes, that's all I get.

This frustrating woman...

"Why won't you let me meet your sister?" I ask her. If she wants to evade questions about her and Dakota, I will just shine the spotlight on something else.

I look directly at her and she tucks her messy hair behind her ear.

"Is it because I'm a broke college student?"

She jerks, offended. "No. What the hell kind of question is that?" she asks.

A reasonable question Miss, travels the world and has a family of surgeons.

"A fair one," I respond to her angry glare.

"Not fair at all," she retorts.

How do I tell her that I was a grade A stalker and found her sister's Facebook profile? Should I even tell her? Yes, I should because I demand honesty from her. It's only fair, and she's all about being fair. But how important is being fair, really? Sometimes it's better to omit things, right? I mean, if I was wearing an ugly shirt and asked Tessa if it was ugly, should she lie? Yes. Images of me wearing one of those vacation dad shirts, the ones with the flowers on them, pops in my head. Yikes.