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A laugh burst from her throat. “Silly tradition dating back years. It’s not as exciting as it sounds.”
It didn’t sound even slightly exciting, to be honest. “Oh. I don’t know. I haven’t had a chance to speak to him yet. This is his first proper day.”
“His first day? Leave now, finish up the emails at home. There’s nothing that can’t wait. Family comes first, and this sounds like a big day for your brother.”
“Cheers, Meera. I’ll text him and find out when he finishes.” She waved me away, and I left her in peace, tugging my phone from my pocket. Huxley’s selfie stared up at me from my screen, a mischievous look in his eyes that, for some reason, made me fucking ache. This must be how it felt to have Huxley withdrawal symptoms.
Me:
What time do you finish uni today? Want to meet? Need to celebrate your first day at uni
I received a reply almost straight away.
Hux:
I’ll be finished in an hour. Yeah we can meet. Where?
Me:
I’ll come to your campus. Is there somewhere easy to find?
Hux:
Meet outside the library. It’s the big building in the middle of campus and it’s signposted
Me:
OK see you soon
A grin spread across my face. Only an hour to go until I got to see Huxley again.
* * *
Leaning against the library wall, I glanced around the parts of the campus I could see. It seemed to be mostly modern glass and steel buildings, although there were a couple of older buildings in the distance. In front of me was a quad with benches and trees, with more buildings beyond, and behind it all, I could see the top of the Shard glinting in the sun. It almost made me wish for a second that I’d chosen to go to uni, but it was an option I’d never seriously entertained.
“Cole? What are you doing here? I didn’t know you went to LSU.”
I spun around to see my cousin Elliot’s best friend, Ander, exiting the library with a good-looking guy with mid-brown hair and aqua-blue eyes. He was the kind of guy I might have taken a second look at if I’d met him in Revolve or on my HookdLDN app, but now I only had eyes for one person, even if this guy wasn’t straight.
“Alright?” I nodded at Ander. “I don’t go here. I’m meeting my stepbrother, Huxley. It’s his first day today.”
“Oh, yeah. Your mum remarried.” He paused, frowning, before he clicked his fingers. “I remember now. Elliot said that it seemed like there was a bit of tension between you and your new stepbrother at the wedding. You’re getting on better now, then?”
Yeah. There had been tension. A lot of it. “Uh, yeah. We managed to put aside our differences. We’re friends now.”
“Ha, maybe you should try putting aside your differences and becoming friends with that Noah guy. He’s gonna be your housemate, after all.” Ander nudged the guy standing to his left.
“Fuck that,” the guy muttered with an irritated huff of breath. “That wanker fucked up my car and wouldn’t even accept that he was the one to blame. He’d better be good at football. That’s the only thing that could even partly redeem him in my eyes.”
“Chill, Liam.” Ander was clearly amused, smirking at his friend, who was now getting more irate.
“If you saw the damage he did to my paint job, you wouldn’t be telling me to fucking chill.”
I coughed pointedly, and both of their gazes swung to me. A flush appeared on Liam’s cheeks, and he grimaced. Yeah, this moment was awkward. Lucky for me, I spotted a flash of bleached blond hair, and my heart skipped a beat as my full attention turned to Huxley.
“See you later. Say hi to Elliot from me,” I threw over my shoulder as I made my way towards Huxley. Drawing closer, I watched his eyes light up and his lips curve into a smile, and I fucking loved that he smiled so easily around me now. I wanted to kiss him so fucking badly, but I couldn’t, not here.
He glanced behind me to where Ander and Liam were still standing, and his smile disappeared. “Who were those guys you were speaking to?” he asked when he reached me.
