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“Gracie has an art account? I didn’t know that.”
“She puts all the jewelry she makes on there. She’s been talking about setting up an Etsy shop, too.”
Jesse’s fingers ghosted along her arm, tapping the bracelets on Raina’s wrist. “Did she make these?”
“These are Zara’s. She gave them to me because they’re pink and her mom hasn’t yet realized pink is both Zara’s least favorite color and also looks terrible with her red hair.”
“Hey, I have the same hair as Zara and pink looks great on me!”
“Well, that’s because everything looks great on you,” Raina retorted. She promptly blushed.
“Why thank you, Rai.” Jesse grinned at her, warmth spreading through his veins. Whether it was the compliment or the fact he was just happy to be with her that had him smiling, he didn’t know and didn’t care. “Like this outfit?”
She buried her face in his side. “I already told you that,” came the mumbled reply.
“Classic Aunt Alexandra.” Jesse nudged her. “But we got off topic. What were we talking about?”
“TikTok.”
“Right. So I was on Nicole’s TikTok video, and I had an idea. People can give her donations and send her messages, so what if we did something similar?”
“For what?” Raina asked, clearly confused.
“To raise money for the hotel. If we use her account, we’ll have thousands of people tuning in to watch. I bet we can easily raise the money.”
“Oh.” Raina’s eyes widened in amazement. “That’s...a really great idea. But would Nicole do it?”
“I’ll handle Nicole,” Jesse assured her. “Just think, this could be a cool college application essay!”
Raina laughed before sobering. “My mom called me again yesterday, but I didn’t answer. I…I want to write this essay without her opinions. Like you said—I need to write this for myself. I have some pretty good ideas, I think.”
Jesse popped a grape into his mouth. “Want to share? Or are you keeping it top secret”
Raina’s eyelashes fluttered as she glanced up at him. “Well, actually…” her voice drifted off for a moment. “You.”
“Me?” Jesse asked, sure his surprise was written all over his face.
“It’s a bit stupid,” Raina said quickly, “but it’s about how coming to boarding school made me learn to make decisions for myself, rather than accept everything my parents and religion dictate at face value.”
“That’s not stupid at all,” Jesse declared, voice softening. “I like it. But where do I fit into this?”
“Well, you’re the one who started me on that journey. I kind of lived in a bubble back home, and then I came to Trinity. And I met you, and Gracie, and Zara, and everyone. There was a whole world I’d never thought about before. You made me want to explore that world.”
Well, if that wasn’t something he’d be replaying in his mind for days, then Jesse didn’t know what was. “That’s going to be such an amazing essay, Rai. I don’t even have an idea yet, so it totally beats mine.”
“You could write about your family,” Raina offered. “About how none of your parents are present and how you’ve made your own family with Zara, Dean, and Theo. Like how when Romeo and Juliet’s parents didn’t approve, they made their own family with each other.”
“It’s an idea.” Jesse shrugged. “But I’m not thinking about college right now, Raina.”
“Why not?” Raina asked.
Jesse reached out to tilt her chin up until she was staring into his eyes. “Because I’m with you.”
They ended up staying out all day, only leaving the classroom to grab more food. Raina stored board games in the kosher kitchen, so they returned to the blankets after lunch, reassuming their cuddling position with a game of Scrabble in front of them. At times they would break and talk for a bit, and sometimes they’d sit in silence. It didn’t matter what they were doing, though, because Jesse felt like his heart constantly beat faster and faster.
Right now they were slowly walking back to the common room, attached by their linked pinkies. Every few seconds Jesse would glance over at Raina, smiling if she was already looking at him. Which, most of the time, she was.
They must have caught each others’ eyes at least ten times before their peace was disturbed by yelling from inside the common room.
