"Ugh finals kicked my ass into next year, I swear," Cher said, resting her head in her arms as she sat at the breakfast bar.
I laughed, knowing she was right—I felt like I could barely even string together two words.
My brain felt like complete mush, and it was odd to not have anything to do for once.
Luckily, we are officially on winter break—which means I finally get to see my mom for Christmas.
"At least we're on break now," I said, taking the last sip of tea from my mug as I pushed my glasses up on my nose.
Cher only shook her head, "Not until we have to come back in a week," she said, groaning as she laid up from her arms.
I furrowed my brows, but then almost immediately recalled what she was talking about, "End of the semester formal," I said, nodding to myself as I sat the empty mug in the sink.
Cher laid up from her arms, "At least I won't have to endure my parents for long," she said, shrugging to herself.
I laughed, knowing how uptight her parents were. "Yeah... I'll be avoiding your house at all costs."
Cher frowned, "But you can't! Remember we planned a sleepover? To do all the Christmas festivities in one night?" she asked.
I pursed my lips into a smile, shaking my head at her slightly, "Sadly, I do remember."
Cher walked over to me, "You have to be there, Lo. It won't be any fun without you. Pleaaas—"
But a few knocks at the door easily cut her begging short, causing me to sit my mug down and walk toward the door and open it.
"What's up, Sloany!" Jaden said, walking into the house as Jalen walked in behind him, ruffling my hair slightly.
Davis laughed as he walked in, fixing a few strands of my hair before walking in toward Cher.
I smiled, seeing Chicago there dressed in navy blue sweats and tan Cloud Yeezy's.
"Hi," I said, practically grinning as she walked into the apartment.
Chicago slid her arms around my waist, pulling me into a warm hug, "Hi angel," she murmured as I slid my arms around her neck.
Jalen groaned, "Guys it's literally been four hours, and you both are acting like it's been days."
Cher laughed, waving Jalen off, "Let them be."
Chicago pulled back slightly, "Yeah, let us be," she said, smiling slightly as we both walked into the kitchen.
Jaden took a chip from the blue Doritos bag in Davis's hand—where did he even get those?
"I wish you could come with us this week, Chi," Jaden said, chewing on the chips.
I frowned, remembering that we were really leaving for the Hampton's today. I swear if my Mom wasn't coming into town, I would love to go to home with Chicago.
I feel sad even thinking about not being there with her—and the amazing food that I knew her parents would be cooking.
Davis smacked Jaden's hand away when he tried to reach for more chips, "Not too much dude," Davis said, reaching back into the bag.
Chicago leaned into me as her arm rested around my waist, "It's only a week," she reminded us, but it still didn't manage to make me feel better.
We had only just hit a month of feeling things out, and I felt clingier than ever. It made me wonder how much that would grow after we have sex.
