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“I’m up,” he said with his eyes still closed.
I rolled over top of him to get off the bed. He moaned at first when my knee went into his side but let out a deep laugh when my feet hit the ground.
He stared at me with sleepy dark green eyes. “I’mreallyup now.” Butterflies erupted behind my navel and fluttered into the lower parts of my chest.
We still had finals to do, goodbyes to give, and half a day ahead of us, but I already missed him.
* * *
After a sappy goodbyewith Katie and a bear hug with Connor, I drove Jaxon and I to campus for our Journalism final. We arrived on time and sat in our usual seats. The professor got us started right away, probably just as eager to start winter break as we were.
For the final, we had to write an article analysis separately and create a demo article with our partner. There was no way to prepare for the final before the session, but Jaxon and I moved quickly through it with fifteen minutes left to spare. Once we handed in our article, we were free to go.
“One last Dunkin run?” Jaxon asked as we passed the store on campus.
I checked my phone. It was already noon, and Jaxon had a nine-hour drive back to North Carolina.
“It’ll be quick,” he reassured me. “I need something before I start driving.”
“Are you buying?”
“I suppose.” He answered playfully and opened the door so I could walk inside.
“So, what’s Christmas like in North Carolina?” I asked once we were in line. “Is it at least warmer there than it is here?”
“It’s warmer. But it’s pretty low-key. Just my parents and my brother if he can come into town, which last I heard, he is. I spend time with friends and catch up with people. It’s nice going home.”
“Your brother is older, right?”
“Alex is . . .” He pursed his lip and looked at the ceiling. “Twenty-four? We’re three years apart. He works out in California, but depending on who he is dating at the time determines if he comes home or not for holidays. He told me he met someone at a wedding and that she seemed cool. But we’ll see.”
The guy at the register sighed. “Can I help you?”
Just as Jaxon was about to order, his name was called from further down the counter. “Jaxon? I have it down here.”
Jaxon ran a hand through his hair and nodded at the register as if to say, “Thanks anyways.”
A petite brunette greeted him on the other side of the counter. She wore a big smile and made the required Dunkin baseball cap look cute. She slid the iced coffee across the counter and set a paper bag in front of him. She paid absolutely no attention to me. It was our Thursday order, prompt and ready on a Friday afternoon.
“Thanks, Reagan.” Jaxon tried to turn away before she had the chance to say anything but she was too quick.
“Heading home for break? Heather said she texted you yesterday and you told her you left.”
I took a long sip of my coffee and pretended to be interested in something outside.
“I was going to, but I decided not to,” Jaxon said.
“Oh, okay! Well, if you want to hang out after break, let us know! Heather and I are cool again. No more drama between us.” Reagan shot him a look like there was much more to that invitation.
Jaxon nodded and didn’t say another word. Instead, he followed me outside and glanced over at me as he sipped his coffee.
I knew he was waiting for my reaction, so I finally caved. “Reagan and Heather are cool again. In case you didn’t know.”
As much as I didn’t want to hear about his conquests with other girls, I craved this topic of conversation. Jaxon and I used to talk about past hookups and relationships all the time. Well, his hookups and my relationships. We hadn’t since I slept with Bryson and it felt nice to be on familiar ground again.
“Heather is the girl I kicked out of my apartment that morning.” Jaxon shrugged. He knew he didn’t need to elaborate on what morning he was talking about. “Reagan is one of Heather’s roommates. When Heather found out Reagan slept with me, she got really pissed off. They didn’t talk for months.”
“Did you continue to talk to them?”
