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“No. I’ve basically been avoiding him.”
“Aurora, you need to talk to him. He owes you that much.”
“I hate saying this because I know how weak it makes me look. But maybe it’s for the best, Harper. I was kidding myself for ever thinking it could work.”
“No, I don’t accept that. I don’t accept it at all. Love doesn’t color inside the lines, Rory. It’s not a one-size-fits-all. It’s wild and messy, and it breaks boundaries.”
“Noah doesn’t love me,” I scoffed because the idea was preposterous. “We were just fooling around.”
“Right. Just fooling around with the hockey playboy who’s never slept with the same girl twice.”
“Actually, he slept with Sam more than once.”
“Not the point here.” She scowled. “He cares about you. And maybe he walked away because he thinks it’s the only way he can protect your heart.”
“My heart was always going to get broken, Harper. Girls like—”
“I swear to God, Rory, if you say ‘girls like me don’t get the guy’ one more time… I will scream. For someone who claims to be an Austen fan, you really need to work on your self-confidence.”
“Uh, overcritical mother with an obsession with physical perfection.” I raised my hand.
“Father, who wishes I had a dick instead of a vagina.” She pointed at herself, cocking a brow.
“What are you—”
“Story for another time,” she said, brushing me off. “The point is, we all have shit going on, babe. We’re all a little bit broken and messed up. But it’s college. Our time to shine. Our time to say fuck it to the haters and go out there and grab life by the balls and live.
“We get one shot at life, Rory. Do you really want to spend it scared? Watching opportunities like being Noah freaking Holden’s girl pass you by?”
“No?”
“Oh my God.” She grabbed a cushion and threw it at me. “You need to go over there and demand an explanation. Because what if Noah made the biggest mistake of his life, and he’s just too stupid to see it?”
“He is kind of stupid.” My mouth twitched.
“Damn right he is.”
“I’m scared, Harper.”
Because I’d been here before. Putting myself out there, trusting my heart, and the boy promising to keep it safe.
“In the words of Charlotte Lucas, ‘We are all fools in love.’”
My brows furrowed. “That doesn’t even make sense in this context.”
“No, but it sounded good, didn’t it?” She chuckled. “Look, I get it. You’re scared you’ll put yourself out there again, and Noah will reject you.” I nodded, and her expression softened. “But what if he doesn’t, Rory? What if he just needs you to make the first gesture? What if he’s just as scared as you are?”
“I…”
“Doesn’t sound so silly now, does it?” A flicker of amusement passed over her. “How about this? If it all goes horribly wrong, I’ll be right here with copious amounts of sushi rolls and zucchini fries to make it all better.”
“How did you—”
“I notice things.” She shrugged, giving me a small, knowing smile. “And when you’re ready to talk about that, I’ll be here to listen.”
“You’re a good friend, Harper.”
“I know.” She pulled out her phone and opened the notepad app. “Now let’s figure out exactly what you’re going to say to Noah to make sure he knows he gave up the best thing that ever happened to him.”
