dopamine | courtney miller

Chapter Three

I had just gotten to Courtney's with her. "Am I the first person here?" I asked her. "Yeah, nobody else has shown up yet." She said, and I nodded. "You want anything to drink or something?" She asked and I shook my head. "I'm good," I responded. "C'mon, I'll show you around," Courtney told me and I followed her.

We were in her living room area, sitting on the couch and watching TV. My arm was wrapped around her shoulder and, luckily, she didn't move away and laid her head on me. We were only like that for a few minutes before there was knock at the door. She ducked out from under my arm to answer it. I folded my hands together and put them in my lap awkwardly.

"Hi, Liv!" I heard Courtney said. I paused the show and turned back to face the door. "Hey, Olivia!" I greeted her, with a smile. "Dang, I swore I'd be the first one here," Olivia said and the three of us laughed. "Everybody else is on their way too," Courtney told her and she nodded. The two of them joined me back on the couch and both of them sat on either side of me as I was sat in the middle.

About ten minutes later, Courtney moved her hand closer to mine and hesitantly set her hand on top of mine. I glanced at her to see she was just looking at our hands. We stayed like that for another ten minutes before there was another knock. Courtney went to get up but Boze just walked inside, followed by Mari and Sarah.

We had all been hanging out and talking for about twenty minutes before my phone dinged. I checked. "Holy fuck," I muttered to myself. "What's up, girl?" Boze asked, having heard me. "I'll tell you later," I told her. In the time I've been here, I got super close with Boze and Mari. Courtney too but I didn't tell her everything like I did Mari and Boze. Courtney hung out with Shayne constantly, and I felt like she would tell him shit if she thought it was best for me.

"Mari too?" Boze asked and I nodded, going back to my phone. Cora had texted me. Cora's my ex-girlfriend. We dated for four and a half years before her job took her to England, and according to her text, She's back in town and wants to "hang out". What the fuck do I say to that? Obviously, I asked how long she was in town for. "Currently? Permanently. When are you free?" was her response.

"Oh, motherfucker!" I groaned, running a hand through my hair. "Woah, Stel, you okay?" Courtney and Mari asked at the same time. "Yeah. Mari, Boze, Can we talk in the kitchen please?" I said, getting up and walking as the two followed. "Girl, spill," Boze told me, seriously. "Yeah, what's wrong?" Mari added.

"What's wrong is my ex-girlfriend is texting me she's in town and wants to hang out! I moved on, man!" I exclaimed. "You dropped her ass for a reason, right?" Boze asked. "Because she moved to Europe! I think she believes we're still like, in love or some shit because we ended on good terms!" I told them. "When did you two break up?" Mari asked. "Like six months ago! I thought I'd have a least a year before I had to deal with this!" I sighed.

"Personal experience with girls wanting back together, I'd say tell her flat out you're not down," Courtney said, sitting up on the counter. "Fuck! Hey, Court." I turned around to her. "You can tell me stuff, you know." She said. I sighed. "It's not like that, Court- I-"I started before I got cut off. "She's definitely right though," Boze said. "You gotta tell Cora, that's her name right?" Mari said and I nodded. "You have to tell Cora that you don't want to get back together if you're not," Mari added.

"I'm not into her right now. But, I'm single and if she looked like she did while we were dating, I'd be interested in hanging out if you know what I mean." I said with a chuckle, causing Boze to laugh a little too. "Really, though, I get it, I'll tell her," I said with a nod. "So, we're good now? Situation handled?" Boze asked. I nodded.

In the morning, I woke up to quiet, other than what I assumed was Courtney's shower. I looked around to see everyone but Courtney still asleep around the living room. The TV had Netflix's "Are you still watching?" upon it. I got up and went into the kitchen, and made myself a cup of coffee.

I'd been at Courtney's a fair amount and at this point, I was also close enough with her to feel comfortable making coffee at her house. "Oh, Morning, Stel!" Courtney said. "Hey, Courtney," I said, trying not to focus on the fact she was in a towel. "Can we talk once I get dressed?" She asked and I nodded. Awesome.

She went back to her room and as I finished my coffee, she walked out. She sat up on the counter. "So." She said. "So, what did you want to talk about?" I asked despite knowing she wanted to talk about us. "Our relationship," Courtney said and I sighed. "This is awkward so I'm gonna cut to the chase. I really like you, I do, Court. But, we can't be together. If you are into me that is." I told her.

"What? Why not?" She asked me. "Because both Defy and Shayne have told me I'm not allowed to date you," I said and she looked confused. "Defy had said that I'm not allowed to be in a relationship with anyone else working at Smosh or Defy in general. And Shayne said, and I quote, 'I don't want you dating my friends. ANY of them." I said, doing my shitty Shayne impression. "Like, you're the only one of Shayne's friends. I'm at all romantically interested in," I told her.