ME: Are you an old soul, Ryne?
I peer over at his desk but he doesn’t turn his head. I do see his lips twitch though, and I turn back to my phone.
RYNE: Nah, they just had some hot voices.
Damn it. I laugh out loud again and Mr. Monroe isn’t quite as forgiving as Coach King. He glares at me and I shrink back in my seat.
RYNE: My bad.
ME: You’re not sorry.
RYNE: You’re right. I’m not. I love hearing you laugh.
My traitorous heart skips a beat.
* * *
Speech and psychologyclass are much the same. The same but different. Ryne shares more about himself. I’m confused. Intrigued. Interested. It’s like I have a live stream of Ryne’s thoughts playing out for me. He’s sharing all this randomness and l love it.
At lunch, I’m a few minutes into explaining to Noah the crazy morning I’ve had with the hot chocolate and muffin, the pictures, and all the seemingly random yet not random texts, when Tyler pops over to our table and sits down next to me. We look over at him and he grins. Evie had Noah and I skip the lunch line and come wait at the table for her while she got our stuff. Supposedly. Now, staring at Tyler, I’m not so sure I believe my best friend anymore. Especially when she sits down next to Noah with a small smile and zero food in her hands. I turn to Tyler with an eyebrow raised.
“Can we help you?” There’s a smile in Noah’s voice and a knowing look on his face. Tyler smirks at him and turns back to me.
“Got some stuff for y’all.” He sets a couple of bags on the table. They’re to-go bags from Opal’s. I reach inside and slowly pull the food out. Tyler hands me the last container from the other bag. “Here. This one’s for you.”
The top of the container says Taco Socks and when I open it four perfect-looking tacos are staring at me, just waiting to be eaten. They’re stuffed to the brim, exactly how I like them, with meat, lettuce, cheese, sour cream, and tomatoes. Basically perfection in a to-go container. I whip my phone out just before I dig in.
ME: Thank you
RYNE: For?
I sneak a glance over my shoulder and Ryne’s smiling down at his phone.
ME: Lunch
RYNE: You’re welcome
* * *
On my wayto calculus later, someone jogs up behind me and then settles at my side, keeping pace with me. I do a double-take when I look over.
“Roman?”
He lifts his chin in a hello of sorts. “I’m not sentimental like the rest of these fools, but Ryne’s my boy and I’ve always got his back. So here.” He reaches over and slaps something on my chest. “From Ryne. There, now I’ve fulfilled my duty.” He smirks when I glance at him again, and then I hesitantly peer down at my shirt. It’s a sticky note. “See ya later, Pecker.” Roman walks away without another word.
I peel the note off my shirt and read it. On it is a list in Ryne’s handwriting.
Reasons Why Dacen Should Give Ryne Another Chance:
1. He’s really, really sorry for being a dickhead. Really.
2. He wishes he could take it all back and start over.
3. He misses Dacen’s dimples. Both sets. A lot.
4. But mostly he misses talking with Dacen.
Reason number five makes me laugh out loud as I walk into class.
