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I reach over and gently squeeze her arm, drawing her eyes back to me. “You’re gonna get it.”
Her smile is filled with emotion. Our eyes lock.
Mackie clears her throat. “Gonna get what?”
Rae’s eyes drop from mine and she looks over at her. “I had an interview this morning for an internship at Promise Advocacy.”
Miles’s head snaps up. “Whoa, isn’t that crazy competitive?”
“Yep,” Rae says, popping the P.
“So, that’s why you didn’t want to go out last night. Why didn’t you tell us?” Joel asks, looking offended.
“Because I didn’t want the pressure. I love you guys, but it’s a lot sometimes. Of course, I was gonna tell Sarah. Amanda isn’t part of the hive mind.” Mackie and Amanda start laughing at that. “And I just told Aaron this morning.”
Joel smirks as he looks at his food. Then his eyes roll between us. “And what were you two doing this morning?”
Never flustered by his nonsense, Rae levels her gaze at him. Then her body jerks slightly before Joel yells out, “Ow!”
Rae shrugs. “Sorry. My foot slipped.” She winks at me, then her phone goes off. She lets out a long groan, houses the rest of her taco in two bites, daintily wipes her mouth, and says, “Gotta go. Group projects can bite my ass.”
“I’ll take care of your tray,” Sarah says. “Go on.”
“Thanks, baby. Love you.” She kisses Sarah on the cheek, then slings her bag over her shoulder. “Bye! See you guys later.” Rae’s eyes drop to me. “Later, Ace.” She squeezes my shoulder, then playfully ruffles my hair as she walks away.
Damn.It’s been a long time since we’ve had an exchange like that. But that’s how we used to be. Back before we dated. Before we started pushing the boundary between friends and something more. That’s how we always were. Affectionate and playful. I realize I’m smiling to myself like an idiot. I still miss us being a couple, but being friends again—or trying to be—feels good. When I look at the rest of the table, they’re all staring at me. Some with looks of confusion. Others with smiles. And then there’s Joel with his obnoxious knowing smirk.
“Stop looking at me like I just fucked her on the table in front of you,” I growl. Mostly because I don’t want them bugging Rae about any of this later.
“Well, I mean—“
“Do you want to get kicked by me, too?” I pointedly look at Joel.
Miles fails to hide a laugh, then looks at me. “We just want to make sure we didn’t miss anything important.”
“You didn’t. Exactly. It’s between Rae and me. Let it go. And by ‘let it go,’ I don’t mean go bug her about it instead. Got it?”
Sarah locks eyes with me, searching for answers. She must like what she sees, because she gives me an approving nod. “They’re in a better place. Let’s take the win when we get it, okay?”
Everyone seems to agree because the conversation drops off after that. When Miles gets up to leave, I decide to walk with him. I was a complete dick to him at the party, and even if I feel like a better version of myself today, he still deserves an apology for who I was last night.
“Hey,” I say as we wait for the elevator. “I’m sorry about last night. You were right to try to cut me off. I shouldn’t have been drinking like that. I’m not going to do that anymore. Trying to drown my problems in alcohol instead of facing them is done. I know you have no reason to believe that, so I’m going to prove it.”
He leans against the wall and stares at me. “About fuckin’ time.” He stands up straight and looks me over, sighing. “I’m sorry I gave you so much shit. I don’t think I realized how much you were truly struggling until I saw you acting more like yourself again today.”
“Thanks.”
As we walk into the elevator, he smacks my shoulder. “You’re gonna be okay. And I’m here for you. Always. We’re family. I think we’ve all gotten a little too caught up in the drama and forgotten some of that this year.”
I nod. He’s not wrong. This year has been a lot of change and a lot of drama. We’re all learning about ourselves and figuring out a new part of our lives. To some degree, we’re all a bit of a mess. “I’m gonna need it. But for now… I don’t know.” We walk off the elevator and out the glass double doors. The cold lake air burns against my face. “I feel like I’m heading in the right direction for the first time since college started.”
“Good. You deserve it, A. You always have.” He smacks my arm and heads in the opposite direction.
As I make my way to class, my mind drifts, wondering what the offer is from Coach. It catches me off guard when I realize I don’t feel nervous. I’m excited and I can’t wait for my meeting with him.
The last two days have flown by. Getting back to my normal self has been freeing, but I’m still feeling the weight of guilt and regret.Ah well, more fun shit to work through.
Right now, though, I’m only focused on where I’m going. My meeting with Coach.
