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If it can save me from struggling with public transport, I’ll deal with riding in the car with Nolan.
It’s already stifling hot when we arrive in the street. Nolan unlocks his Chevrolet SUV and I climb at his side. His smellgrabs me by the throat as soon as I sit on the seat and for a long time, I inhale the scent of cologne that envelops me.
My God, this day is going to kill me.
“Here, eat this!”
He places the banana on my thighs, inadvertently brushing against my bare skin. At this moment, I thank the delay we have, which forces him to focus on his maneuver and prevents him from dwelling on my epidermal reaction. In a few seconds, we are out of the parking space and driving towards the college. The radio is on, the windows wide open and I’m enjoying the fruit he took from me before we left. We don’t speak, taking advantage of the ambient silence, not deeming it necessary to break it.
I love being with him like this. I feel at this moment that eleven months have never separated us. I watch him on the sly, contemplating his facial features, his square jaw, his round nose, his full, shapely lips. He styled his hair so that his strands wave slightly on the top of his head without falling in his face. I admire his profile at the same time as I study the way he drives. His concentration, the frown of his eyebrows as he passes a few vehicles, his slight glances at the rearview mirror… I take a deep breath, reveling in his scent and his familiar presence.
“How do you feel?” he asks as I breathe.
“If we take away the fact that I’m going back to college after a year? Everything’s fine.”
And that you knock out everything in my life like a cannonball: my heart, my stomach, my hormones, and all my remaining self-control. All. Is. Fine.
“Stressed out?”
The sound of his chuckle sparks a slight excitement in my lower abdomen.
I inhale.
“Can’t wait to get back to the girls.”
I retrieve my phone from the front pocket of my bag and readthe few messages they sent in our group chat. We arrive in the parking lot in less than fifteen minutes and, more and more disturbed by his proximity, I thank Nolan by leaving the car quickly. As soon as I see my girlfriends waiting for me, I rush towards them for fear that their knowing glances will betray me.
“So?”
Paige jumps into my arms, like we didn’t just see each other two days ago.
“So what?” I ask, then hug Carol.
I know exactly what they want to know.
Nolan. Roommate. Me.
“Don’t keep us waiting any longer,” Carol complains. “You didn’t tell us anything about yesterday evening!”
I chuckle as I follow them down the halls of the school. We head to student center to grab some food and catch up on the couches that are spread out around the lounge area. Since freshman year this had been our tradition on the first day of school. We’d spend a couple hours catching up and telling each other about our summers. All three of us are in our junior year of college majoring in management and international business. Only Paige and I took advantage of an opportunity to study abroad to improve our level of French in an exchange program. Although my unofficial goal was mostly to get away from my brother’s best friend and the feelings that were overwhelming me. So, we finally meet again after months apart. And I feel like once again, nothing has changed.
“I’m all settled! The room is nice, my brother has already started making a list of rules like we’re in prison and Leo is as adorable as ever.”
I add nothing and they yelp together. I burst out laughing.
“And Nolan is still the same.”
“Still so beautiful from what I could see!” Paige exclaims.
I sigh, running a weary hand through my ponytail.
“It’s torture!”
My impossible crush for Nolan Jones is no secret for my best friends, and the prospect of knowing that I was going to spend an entire year in his company amused them a lot. They immediately understood that it was going to be a nightmare for me, especially now that he’s officially inaccessible and settled.
At the mere mention, my chest tightens, and I bite the inside of my cheeks.
I did my best to ignore this new information that my brother told me one evening while I was in France. When I learned that Nolan had hooked up with a beautiful blonde with eyes even lighter than mine, I got drunk. To forget. The results? I don’t remember my evening except thatNolan had a girlfriend. And it wasn’t me, because he never thought of methatway. A girl he could date. I’m and always will be Scarlett Martin. His best friend’s sister. Untouchable.
