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“It must be a big adjustment, though? Weren’t you at a small community college before this?”
My eyes narrow in Sophie’s direction. Her tone is pleasant enough, but I never know what her motivations are.
Sophie meets my gaze, smiling serenely.
Lennon is oblivious. “It’s been a big change,” she replies.
“Brave of you, to make it senior year,” Maggie comments.
Lennon glances over her shoulder at me. There’s a tangible connection when our eyes connect, something warm and special arcing between us. “Caleb’s helped,” she says,
“With moving boxes, simple directions, chauffeuring you around…”
“With everything. You help with everything.” She sways into me, the heat of her skin managing to sear through two layers of clothing. Her smile is lazy and slow, suggesting the alcohol might be affecting her.
I kiss the top of her head, wishing we could just head upstairs. I’m over this party. Usually, I’ll grab a beer, park myself in a chair on the back deck, and talk sports with the guys for a few hours before disappearing.
Tonight, I don’t even feel like doing that much. I’m tired after a long day and I can’t sleep in tomorrow morning. All I want is to be in my bed with Lennon.
“Do you miss Landry?” Maggie asks. “I want to move there, after visiting for the Cup.”
“You went to the Cup?”
I know why Lennon sounds surprised. The Landry Cup is an exclusive event that appeals to a certain niche, mostly horse fanatics much older than us.
Maggie nods, enthusiastically. “Sophie invited me to go with her family. We stayed at the Winterses.”
I’m holding Lennon tight enough to feel her tense, but she doesn’t react otherwise. “Fun,” she comments, grabbing my beer again and taking a sip.
I should have mentioned Sophie to her sooner, I guess. But it’s never come up naturally. And purposefully bringing it up never seemed necessary. Like there’s something there I need to justify or explain, when there’s not. But if I’d found out some guy stayed at Matthews Farm with his family, I’d have questions. So I’m kicking myself for not having mentioned it until now.
Drew asks Sophie a question about her game tomorrow, and then the conversation continues on from there. I don’t pay much attention to whatever is being discussed, I just stand holding Lennon.
It starts to get colder and colder outside. Eventually, we all head in. There’s a piece of cardboard taped over what used to be the kitchen window that we pass before walking into the house.
The kitchen is more crowded than it was when we went outside. I toss my empty beer bottle in the recycling, ignoring Jamie as he pretends to be a sports announcer analyzing my pitch.
I’m about to ask Lennon if she’s ready for bed when she grabs my hand and pulls me into the living room instead. It’s packed, pop music streaming from the speakers and vibrating the walls you have to press against to get through the busy space.
Lennon pulls me into the crowd, not through it. A few people glance my way, but most everyone is too occupied to notice.
We dance for three songs before she speaks. “I didn’t realize Landry would have so many fans here.”
If we weren’t so close together, I wouldn’t be able to hear her. But despite the loud music, it feels like we’re enclosed in our own little bubble. “Surprised me too.”
“You’ve never mentioned Sophie before.”
I exhale, even knowing it’s inevitable. If she didn’t bring it up, I would have. “There’s not much to say. Her parents are best friends with mine. They have a unit in the same building in New York, so we spent a lot of time together when we were younger.”
“So, basically…your parents love her.”
Lennon’s voice is matter-of-fact. But I know my parents’ derision bothers her, as it should. It bothers me, how they’ve never made any effort to get to know Lennon or supported us as a couple. Especially since Lennon doesn’t have a large support system or massive extended family.
“Idon’t. I’ve never even kissed her. When I was in middle school, maybe I thought we’d end up together, one day.” I slip my hands under the hem of her shirt, splaying both palms across Lennon’s lower back and tugging her even closer. “But then I met a girl. I metthegirl. I walked out of Principal Owens’s office and I couldn’t get the girl who wanted to be there even less than I did out of my head.”
Lennon’s lips turn up. “I probably never apologized to you about that. Getting you lost and then blaming you, I mean.” She shakes her head. “You must have hated me.”
“Actually, I wanted to kiss you.”
