AllFreeNovel
Share Us
| 25
MID MAY
Jake Larson has been avoiding me. Again.
If I hadn’t told him I’m falling for him, it wouldn’t bother me as much. In fact, it shouldn’t be bothering me inanyinstance. And yet, here I am, wondering why the hell he hasn’t spoken to me in three weeks.
There are two more weeks left in the school year. Which means I’ll no longer be a freshman.Thank freaking God. This was definitely not the year I expected to have. From almost being kicked off the track team to falling in love with an emotionally unavailable guy to not being sure of my major anymore, I’d say I’m drained. I just want this year to end.
The seniors are graduating in a week...which means...no more Jake Larson.
I hate that it’s affecting me like it is.
“Leia, why aren’t you more excited? Summer’s almost here!” Taya istooexcited for my liking. But she isn’t wrong; why am I not more excited?
This summer, the girls and I planned on going to Lake Tahoe. Normally, I’d be shopping for shorts and cute tops around this time. Instead, I’m thinking about why I’m being avoided.
“I just have other things to think about.”
Her face tells me she knows I’m full of it. “You’re pensive again. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, love. Just being my regular Leia self.”
She rolls her eyes at this. “Let’s take your mind off it, then. Shopping?” She’s speaking my language.
The smile on my face can’t be contained. “You know I can never turn down a shopping trip.” This time, her smile matches mine.
“This flavor’s gross, Taya,” I say, examining the monstrosity in front of me. It was Taya’s idea to go get ice cream after going shopping. Normally, I’d be all for it, and I was. I wasn’t expecting her to buy me peanut butter-pineapple ice cream. “I said surprise me, not gross me the fuck out.”
“It never hurts to try new things, Leia. That’s your problem. You’re too...traditional.”
My eyebrows shoot up. “I’m not even dignifying that with a protest.” I take a scoop of the ice cream, hesitant to taste it.
“Just taste it. It’s not going to jump out at you.” I choke on a laugh before bringing it up to taste it. I taste a small scoop, and...yeah, I was right before. I meet her expectant gaze. “So?”
“All this tells me is that I’m not trusting you with deciding ice cream flavors anymore.”
She laughs again and takes a scoop of her vanilla ice cream. I gape at the difference in ice cream. She set me up.You’ll get her back later.
We spend the rest of the afternoon at the ice cream shop, trying new flavors and talking about the school year. It feels nice to talk to her again. She seems very...different from before. She doesn’t make snide comments anymore, and she’s just a normal friend to me now. I needed this afternoon more than anything.
We make it back to our dorm room later that night, and Sarah greets us with a guest. My heart stops at the sight of Nick and Sarah talking.
They look at us in surprise as we both walk in. Taya and I share a look before looking back at them. What the hell is going on here? Sarah clears her throat and puts on a fake smile. “Sarah?” I try.
“Hey, guys. How was your day?”
Neither one of us responds.
“Sarah, what’s this? Nick, why are you here?” I’m glad Taya was able to speak up because I’m in shock right now.
“Nick...” Sarah takes a deep breath before continuing. “Nick has something he needs to tell you.”
My heartbeat speeds up yet again, and I’m pretty sure my jaw drops in surprise. “Guys—”
“Leia, trust me on this. It’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. But I haven’t heard from you in a few weeks so....”
They choosenowto flirt with what happened?
