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“No, I…”
“I meant Henry,” she said with a wink, then reached for Star’s hand. “Let’s go home and celebrate with some cake.”
I followed them in a daze, glancing for the first time at the card that came with the flowers. My steps faltered when I opened the tiny envelope, pulled out the message, and read it.
You’re beautiful. And I wish somehow, some way, that you could be mine. XOXO
32
HENRY
I was feeling exposedin my morning classes the following day, and I didn’t think it was my imagination. I had put myself out there for Lark by going to his performance—which, by the way, had been incredible. And then bringing him flowers and writing a private note, much like he’d written me so many years ago.
When Spencer asked where I was headed last night, I was hesitant to tell him. He would likely put two and two together as soon as I mentioned Lark. For now, my admission during our previous conversation had been enough.
I still worried whether Spencer would keep my confidence if put on the spot or pushed past his limit. I hated feeling that way, but we hadn’t known each other that long.
As soon as I joined Lark in pre-calc, there was a low murmur in the room. Lark was aware of it as well because he texted me from across the table.
I feel like people have been staring at me all morning.
I kept my gaze trained on my phone as I stealthily typed:Me too.
Someone even asked me if we were friends.
I rolled my eyes.Rude.
Not sure the flowers helped,but I love them. Put them in a vase as soon as I got home.
A smile tugged at my lips. He didn’t mention the card, but that was okay.
I replied:I probably screwed myself, but…I don’t regret it.
Our eyes met briefly before we both looked away. Real smooth.
Maybe we just lie low for a bit?I typed reluctantly.
Yeah, I suppose.He added a frown emoji.
I don’t like it either.
At lunch, I got in the food line, though I wasn’t sure if I’d even be able to eat any of it. Lark was sitting at the dancers’ table clear across the room from my football buddies. I wished we could all sit together and hang, like we did at the carnival. But as expected, everyone tended to retreat to their friends’ groups. It reminded me of high school, so not much had changed. Bet it wasn’t this way at the larger universities, with so many thousands of students that you’d never keep track of their names, but what did I know? I had always been part of exclusive schools and clubs where status and social circles were important.
MaybeIwas the one who’d been missing out.
When our gazes clashed, I couldn’t help grinning and Lark returned the gesture, though his smile seemed a bit sad. I squared my shoulders as I walked toward my teammates and sat down. I shoved food in my mouth so I didn’t have to make small talk, but the energy felt off. When the tension became overwhelming, I couldn’t take it anymore.
“What? Spit it out already,” I said and noticed Spencer in my side view, frowning. Maybe he could’ve given me a heads-up, but I’d kept my plans under wraps last night.
Flash smirked. “So how was the dance recital?”
A-Train lifted his hand to his mouth to hold back laughter.
“Dude, seriously? What’s the big fucking deal?”
“It was obviously a thing if people are talking about it. You even got him flowers and hung with his family,” Flash replied.
Ugh, so there it was, all of it.
