Sapphire

"You better watch it, you little bitch."

I roll my eyes, finding it a little hard to remain unbothered. Julissa thinks she has power over me. Which, quite frankly, she does. But I'm not gonna let her see that.

"Why don't you just give up?" I ask, a bit aggravated that she ruined my plan of going to the beach. Every time I plan on it, something goes on to prevent me from going. "He's my man now, big bitch."

I mentally slap myself. Is that really the best I can do? How embarrassing. A five year old can come up with a better comeback.

Probably thinking the same, she laughs humorlessly as she shoves me against the lockers. Wincing, I look around to see if anyone at all is still around, but I'm left with no luck.

"Where's your so-called man to protect you, huh? You know, when we were dating, he asked me to stay away from you. Right then and there, I knew something was fishy. You were just waiting for the right moment to get at him, weren't you?" She gets closer to my face with each and every word. "You thirsty, home-wrecking, fucking whore."

One of us is everything she just mentioned, and it's not me.

"Would you like a mint?" I completely change the subject by asking. "I have some in my bag. Please take some if you're gonna be all up in my personal space."

She glares daggers at me, and in that moment, I realize the saying 'if looks could kill' is a real thing, because I'm sure I'd be six feet under by now.

"Listen here, stupid bitch." She starts, shoving a stiletto nail into my chest. "Stay away from what's supposed to be mine, and I won't make your life miserable. Do I make myself clear?"

Instead of answering, I dig into my bag and force my pack of mints into her palm. Closing her fingers around it, I offer a sweet smile before gently pushing her away from me to regain my personal space.

"Keep it. It's for a good cause."

Closing the gap between us again, she pulls back her hand and in a split second, the sound of a 'slap' echoes in the empty corridor. Cupping my burning cheek, I look up through my curtain of hair to see her glowering at me.

"Don't fucking test me." She snarls. "I'm warning you."

With that, she spins on her heel and storms away.

Stunned, I let out a shaky breath and straighten up.

Note to self; don't be one of the last ones to leave school.

* * * *

When I get home, I make sure to lock the door behind me before heading towards my room. As I reach my door, Ian steps out of the bathroom, a blue towel around his hips. He has another towel in his hand, using it to dry his hair.

When he sees me, he nods his head at me in greeting and I wave lamely, my eyes subconsciously trailing down his wet chest. They stop right above the towel before my eyes snap back to his face.

Fuck.

He's smirking.

Feeling my face warm up, I quickly stumble into my room and slam the door. Resting my back against it, I hear Ian laugh to himself before the sound of his own door closes.

First, I embarrass myself with lame comebacks, and now I openly check out my housemate? I really need to get it together.

My phone vibrates in my pocket and I quickly pull it out to check the text.

Ian: 1 Attachment.

Confused, I tap on it and my face immediately heats up when I see that it's a mirror pic. He's holding the flap of the towel as if insinuating that he's gonna take it off, a prideful smirk taking over his features. I'd be lying if I said he didn't look hot, but this is a random picture to receive out of the blue.

The typing bubble appears and I quickly get out of the chat.

Ding.

I let a few minutes pass before opening it.

I figured I'd send a pic, since they last longer 😏

Blushing, I rush to type a response.

Put some clothes on.

Do you really want me to?

I roll my eyes, an amused smile gracing my features. It's nice to see him slowly move on. Although, he can tone it down on the cockiness a little.

I watch as the typing bubble appears again, not bothering to leave the chat as he sends his second text in a row.

Wanna go out for dinner?

Right now?

Yeah

Sure, I'm starving.

Two pictures pop up a few minutes later with another text under them.

Two buttons undone or just one?

I chuckle, shaking my head at my phone, a silly grin plastered on my face.

Button up all of them

Wtf I'm no nun

I laugh loudly, looking up when he knocks at my door. Still grinning, I shout, "Come in!"

He does so, a matching grin tugging his lips upward as he looks at me sitting on the bed. His shirt is buttoned up all the way, and I stifle a laugh with a hand.

"Yeah, that looks awful." I say bluntly. "One button undone is better."

He narrows his eyes at me, feigning offense. "You sure know how to wound someone's ego."

"Shut up." I stand up to go into the closet to pick out an outfit. "You know you look handsome."

"Doesn't hurt to be reminded, though." He chuckles, laying down on my bed.

"Do I wear something casual or formal?"

He looks down at his outfit, as if trying to figure out his answer that way. Shrugging, he meets my gaze. "We're just gonna go to a local Mexican restaurant. I've been craving a burrito. You would look pretty in a garbage bag, so anything you want, really."

Flattered, I smile wide and roll my eyes. "Stop it, you might boost my ego to meet your level. And trust me, I don't want to be that entitled. Confidence is sexy, cockiness is crossing the line."

He crosses his arms behind his head to prop himself up. "Stop making it about me. I just complimented you, and you had to throw my own ego back at my face. Besides, I'm not even cocky. I just feel comfortable around you."

"Alright, sorry." I laugh. "Let me get dressed."

Flicking on the light inside the closet, I close the door and change into a plain black off-the-shoulder crop top and high-waisted jeans. Since the jeans are slightly loose around my waist, I put on a black belt with gold detailing.

Stepping back out, I watch as Ian plays games on his phone, still laying on his back. As if sensing that I, quite literally, came out of the closet, he sets his phone down to look over at me. I smile at him as I layer two gold necklaces around my neck, clasping them in front of me before rotating the clasp to the back of my neck.

"Okay, I'm ready." I announce, stepping into my black ankle boots.

He stands up to walk past me and out of my room, going back into his own room to get his jacket. "I see that you're not wearing one, so I'll take mine just in case you get cold."

I just smile in response.

He's too sweet for his own good.

* * * *

"Don't judge the looks of this place." Ian quickly says as he holds the door open for me. "The food here is delicious. Honestly, one of the best places I've eaten at."

"I believe you," I reply subsequently, following after him to the line of three people. "Usually the places that look a little rundown, have the best tasting food."

"Truly." He says, resting a hand at the small of my back as he guides me forward once the line moves.

I look out of the side window to look at the cars in drive-through. Then, my gaze goes further to see the cars drive on the road. Before I know it, it's our turn to order and Ian's hand squeezes my side gently to knock me out of my trance.

Shifting my attention over to the girl behind the counter, I return her welcoming smile before looking up at the menu above her head. Quickly spotting what I want, I look straight at the girl.

"I'll have some carne asada fries, please."

She smiles, typing it in on the screen. "Alright, one order of carne asada fries. And for you?" She turns her attention to Ian.

"I'll just have a carne asada burrito with everything."

She types it in. "Anything to drink?"

"I'll have an horchata." I quickly say.

Ian is next to make his choice, "I'll have a jamaica."

"Perfect." She nods. "Your total will be eighteen dollars with sixty-two cents."

Just as I reach for my debit card resting safely in the back of my phone case, Ian's hand stops me as he hands her his own debit card. "I invited you out, I'll pay." He declares.

"Well, thank you." I smile. "But next time if we go out, I'll pay."

He wears a smug smile. "Okay, next time we do go out, you'll pay." He swiftly corrects me.

"Here's your card and your receipt." The girl catches our attention again as she stretches out her hand with his card and receipt. "Your order number is at the bottom of your receipt, so when they call it out, come on up to grab your food."

We both nod, spinning on our heel to walk to a nearby table. Ian checks the number, sliding into the booth while I take a seat across from him. "We have number thirty-two."

A few moments pass and I shift my attention from the window to look over at Ian. It catches me off guard to see that he's staring at me. With a raised brow, I let out an awkward laugh. "Is there something on my face?" I feel around as I ask.

He shakes his head, smiling slightly as he turns towards the window. "No, there's nothing on your face." He replies quietly, a voice almost too soft for me to hear. Especially over the faint music playing in the restaurant. "You're just beautiful." He says a bit louder, shifting his gaze back towards me. "Your ex is lucky, if you still love him."

I prop my elbow on the table and cup my cheek, my eyes trained on him. "And Julissa was lucky to have you, but she fucked it up. I'm just happy you're doing better."

"Yeah," he turns back towards the window. "I guess I was already falling out of love with her during the relationship. I heard the rumors about her long before I rented the room to you, and the fact that she was a toxic girlfriend didn't help. I still chose to stay with her, though. But when you moved in, it's like something suddenly changed. Is that weird?"

"A little." I admit, standing to grab our food when our number gets called out. Sitting back down, I set the tray in the middle of the table and we each grab our own choice of food.

We eat in silence for the most part, making small talk and saying little jokes in between bites. Honestly, spending time with him like this seems natural, as if we've known each other for years. I quite like it.

Thirty minutes pass and I slouch in my seat, loosening my belt as I finish the last of my fries. Ian groans softly as he stuffs the last of his burrito into his mouth. I watch in amusement as he struggles to chew, looking like he's gonna be sick.

"If you're full, why force yourself to finish?" I chuckle.

He swallows before answering, slouching in his own seat. "Too good to waste."

I just laugh in response. "You're right."

"What are you doing for your birthday?" He suddenly asks, wiping his mouth with a napkin. "I remember you saying it was this weekend."

I shrug, sipping at my horchata as I glance quickly at my phone, checking if I have any notifications.

I don't.

Shocker.

Setting my phone back down on the table, I meet his gaze. "I'm not sure yet. I'm still waiting on my dad to call to see if he's gonna come or not."

"I see." He throws the napkin on the tray, the rest of his trash following. "Are you done?" He asks as he motions to my empty plate.

"No, I was actually thinking about eating the plate next."

Shaking his head with a smile, he throws everything onto the tray before standing to throw it into the trash, placing the tray on top with the rest. He motions with a hand for me to follow him out and I rush after him with my drink in hand, the straw settled between my lips.

The cold air bites at my skin and Ian doesn't waste any time in wrapping his jacket around me. I smile in appreciation, following him back towards his car. I bob a curtsy to him playfully when he opens the car door for me, and he bows his head as he formally offers his hand to me.

Laughing softly, I place my hand in his as I slide into the passenger side.

If laughter is the best medicine, then I'm the healthiest person alive when I'm with Ian. All we seem to do is laugh.

"Where to, miss?" He says once he settles into the driver's side.

I stifle a laugh, placing a hand on his shoulder. "To the stars."

"Well, if you want to reenact Titanic, I'm down. Except, not when Jack dies."

I arch a quizzical brow. "Are you implying that you want to have sex with me?"

"If anything, you are, because you're the one that quoted Rose's line before they fog up the car windows." He wiggles his eyebrows suggestively and I smack his arm.

"As if." I scoff, a permanent smile etched onto my face. "Besides, I only said that because you quoted Jack's line first."

He chuckles in response, turning the engine over and driving out of the parking lot. "Looks like back home we go, then."

"Yes, sir."