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“Um, yeah, I remember him. He was a douche.”
I tilted my head to the side, shaking my head gently before taking a sip of my coffee. “You’re not entirely wrong on that.”
“I can’t imagine that lasted very long.”
“Longer than you might think,” I said matter-of-factly.
Wyatt tipped his forehead to me and raised his eyebrows. “How long?”
“Over a year.”
“Wow. I, uh, I didn’t expect that.”
“We broke up when he cheated on me down at U of I.”
“Wait, you went to U of I before you went here?” Wyatt looked perplexed. “I don’t remember you wanting to go there.”
“I didn’t get in here.”
“Oh.”
“So, I transferred after my freshman year. They gave me another shot.”
“Well, that’s good. Still…U of I?”
“What’s wrong with U of I?”
“Nothing, I just didn’t really think it was you. So big and impersonal. I always thought you’d be somewhere like this. Small, artsy, weird.” He chuckled.
Feeling defensiveness build in my chest, I cleared my throat. “Well, like I said, I didn’t get in here, so…”
“Sorry, I—I can tell I said something wrong.”
“No, it’s fine,” I said, glancing out the window, avoiding the tension looming between us. I had no intention of telling Wyatt that his departure was the reason I skipped my audition or that I skipped it at all. It felt…strange…intimate to reveal that to him. And I had no intention of giving him that privilege.
“So, Oden, huh? Everyone said he’d end up prom king.” Wyatt chuckled and took a sip of his Coke. Avoiding his eye contact, I also took a drink.
“Don’t tell me…”
I sighed. “It’s not like I wanted it or anything, it just happened. Because, you know, Oden.”
“Tilly Hamilton was prom queen?” His eyes were the widest I’d ever seen them, and I could feel disappointment radiating from his every word.
“You know, there’s nothing wrong with being prom queen.”
“Sure, for the vapid popular types. But you? I just don’t see it.”
“Well, it happened. And it’s no big deal.”
“Got it,” Wyatt said, putting his hands up in surrender. His expression softened, and he gave me a lopsided, gentle smile. “I bet you looked really pretty.”
Disarming as ever, Wyatt knew exactly what to say to thaw my icy exterior. And it was always genuine, which made it even more irresistible.
“Thanks,” I whispered before focusing my attention back on my steaming cup of coffee. “So, Norway. What was that like?”
“It was…an adjustment,” Wyatt said, shaking his head. “I think I adjusted a little better than Brad did, which is ironic since he stayed in Europe for college.”
“Oh, really?”
