She’d been back in her room for ten minutes when Jules knocked, called out that she’d love to have a chat. Lena lay frozen, silent. The knocking stopped, restarted. Stopped for longer, started again. The knocking provoked the same physical response as her phone’s buzzing: a hard jolt in the chest signalling the start of a few minutes of tight breathing. She couldn’t bring herself to turn the phone off in case Nic tried her again.

There was no alcohol in her room, no way she’d be leaving it to get some even if she did have money for it, which she didn’t. There was one reliable way for her to calm down, something she’d stumbled upon at twelve or so and honed to perfection since. A series of simple but rapid moves that would take her from agitated to blissed out in under five minutes, every time. She barely thought of it as sexual; it was a physical manipulation to release a naturally occurring relaxant. Self-soothing with three fingers and the heel of her hand.

She stashed her phone under the pillow, slipped off her pants and snuggled deep under the covers. It was harder than usual to get into it—her mind kept straining towards the door and the phone—but within a few minutes her muscle memory took over and everything was building just as it should. The usual images flicked through her head on cue—a pop singer whose music she hated but whose pillowy lips made her hot; a movie star dead before she was born; a teacher from tenth grade; a primary school friend’s dad—each of them taking his turn at working the hand between her legs until she was seconds away and then a sound escaped her throat and—

fuckin sexy cum sounds

needs a gag on her noisy bitch

sounds like my cat coughing up a hairball

Who knew a building orgasm could just stop like that? No retreat, or ebbing away. Just killed dead on the spot by the sound of your own pleasure.

A noise in the hallway but not knocking. A sheet of paper skittered under the door. Blue scrawl:

Lena,

I am concerned for your welfare as you are not responding to knocks or phone calls. Under the housing rules I am permitted to let myself into your room if I have welfare concerns. I’d rather you simply let me know you’re okay. I’ll wait ten minutes to hear from you and then I’ll have to come in and check. You’re not in trouble! This is about making sure you’re okay. Jules

She picked up her phone to call the stupid interfering arse, was interrupted by a text from Josh.

Please give me a chance to make things right. Please

Someone breathing right outside her door, she was sure of it.

Fine, she typed. Meet me somewhere near uni with no uni people