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My breath hitches at that proclamation. It’s not the first time he’s said this, but it hurts my heart whenever he says it. Because I just don’t feel the same way. “Nick...”
“I know, I know. Regardless of how you feel about me, I just wanted to get a friendship necklace that we both could wear. I bought mine yesterday and it’s in my dorm. But this one is yours.” He gives me a small smile, and I can only return it. “Turn around.” I turn my back to him, and he reaches around my neck, clasping the necklace.
I look down at it. “It’s beautiful, Nick. Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.” I finally feel at peace with him. The past is behind us, and now we can move forward. “Now, for the second thing I wanted to talk about. I was planning on throwing a party at my villa. Would you be interested in coming?” Ah, another party at his family’s villa. I should decline because of the memories I have of being ignored there, but I need to get out and enjoy my life.
I let out a sigh.Twist my rubber arm. “Yeah, I’d be down to go. Just let me know when.”
He gives me another smile. This could be good for me.
I need to get away, and maybe being a part of the college social life again could be the way to restart my college experience.
JAKE
Draft Day is slowly approaching. And I’m happy as hell to think about that.
What sucks the most, though, is that graduation day isalsoslowly approaching. This means I need to stop my bullshit if I want to pass these finals this week.
The good news is, I’ve been talking with the Los Angeles Snowflakes and the Boston Trojans. The coaches have been contacting me since sophomore year—with a few other teams contacting me—but I promised myself I would finish school first and boost my stats. before eventhinkingabout playing professionally. But given this year, it probably would’ve been smart to sign a contract when I had the chance.
One thing I really need to stop doing is smoking weed. I fell back into it a few times since getting back from Slovakia, and it’s fucking with me. I hate that I fucked up my chances of finishing this season. I hate that I’ve fucked up quite abitthis year.
A part of me wishes I never evenwentto that fucking country. I could’ve convinced Coach to let us stay here and just do our normal hockey season as usual. I’m a fucking idiot. I lost two things that mattered most to me this year, and I can’t get them back. Most importantly, the one person I wanted more than hockey is gone.
I’m just leaving econ with Brock when I see her leaving a lecture hall. She’s talking and laughing with Taya. Shit, I wasn’t expecting to see either of them again. It’s been a month since I’ve seen them.
“Larson? Did you hear me?”
No. I didn’t. And I don’t care. “Oh, yeah. Look, I’ll call you tonight, Morris.”
I really won’t. If I’m lucky, I might be busy for the evening.
The chance of that is 0.7 percent, since the girl rejects me like a whack-a-mole.
Brock is catching on, though. He looks toward Leia and smiles. I roll my eyes.
“Careful, dude. It’s been a while since you’ve seen her, and you don’t know if she’s seeing someone.”
I roll my eyes again. I walk away from him without answering. She’s waving Taya off and looking in a notebook when I come up behind her.
“We gotta stop meeting like this, Walton.”
She quickly turns around, her eyes widening. “Jake...” she says breathlessly. The surprise on her face is the most adorable thing. How did I walk away from this girl without a fight? Her big brown eyes are the most captivating thing to look into. “It’s been a while,” she laughs out.
“I know. You look good, Leia. As always, might I add.”
She laughs again, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Thank you, Jake. You do, too. I’m glad you...cleaned up.” I flinch at what she’s insinuating. But I understand what she means. “But your timing is nothing short of flawless.” That laugh. I fucking love that laugh.
“Tell me something I don’t know.”
She tilts her head to the side as I skim her notebooks and textbook. I spot physics and English Literature 101.
“I’d get the impression you were following me if I’d seen you more than I have in a month. How are you, Jake?” Her voice of concern speaks volumes.
“I’m in a good place, Allie.” Her breath hitches when I call her that. Shit, I flinch too. “Sorry...force of habit.”
She gives me a small smile before looking down at her notebooks.
