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“Call her already,” Zara called from Dean’s bed.
Jesse jumped. He hadn’t realized she was in the room, or that she could see him. The curtains were drawn, butprivacywas not a word in Zara Ashcroft’s vocabulary.
“Zara? Do you think Tehilla will ever forgive you?”
“No,” Zara’s muffled voice said. “I messed up. I shouldn’t have kissed Nicole, even to make a point. I shouldn’t have kissed Nicole, period.”
“What if there was a misunderstanding around the mess up?”
Zara sighed, wrenching the curtains open to glare at Jesse. Her red curls had expanded, now a large puff around her face. She was dressed in her favorite leopard-print pajamas, as if she hadn’t had the energy to get dressed that morning. “Yes, Raina will forgive you. Can I be miserable in peace now? Just call her.”
Turning away, Jesse finally pressed the call button. It rang for a few seconds before Raina picked up, her voice crackling over the line.
“Hello?”
“Hey Raina, it’s Jesse.”
“Oh hi,” she sounded surprised. “I don’t think you’ve ever called me before.”
“Yeah, well, I…” he trailed off, squirming on top of his blankets. Had they really never talked on the phone before? For the majority of the time they’d known each other, they’d been at Trinity, so if Jesse wanted to talk to Raina he only had to walk downstairs. “I wanted to check on you. I mean…Gracie told you, right?”
“That we didn’t make enough money to save the hotel and my dad’s losing his job and I probably won’t be here next year?” Raina offered dryly. “Yes, Gracie told me.”
“Hey, the last two haven’t happened yet,” Jesse protested. “We’ll figure something out, I promise.”
For a few seconds, vague static was the only thing Jesse could hear. When Raina spoke again, she sounded defeated. “I’ve been thinking it over ever since Gracie told me. I don’t think there’s a solution. I’ve kind of resigned myself to not saving the hotel at this point. We did our best. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. I don’t know what else there is to do—and no, you can’t pay it.”
Jesse grinned. She knew him so well. “Well, can I pay for your dinner at least?”
Silence.
“You do know we don’t pay for dinner, right?”
* * *
The dining hall was fairly busy during the dinner rush, but luckily their group had managed to claim a table. Raina had left a few minutes early to grab her tupperware from the fridge and heat up her food. Now, Raina drummed her fingers against the table, watching as her friends took seats around her.
Jesse flashed her a grin as he claimed the seat across from her. “If I give Yaakov one penny, does it count as me paying for your dinner?”
Raina scoffed. “Please. That’s not how it works.”
Jesse held up a finger. “Well. You receive a stipend from the school, which you use to buy groceries and cook your own food. So technically, you’re paying for your dinners. And if I give Yaakov a penny, I’m paying for your dinner.”
If Jesse…food…shopping…money…
“You lost me,” Raina admitted, taking a bite of her mushroom ravioli.
“Then I guess I’ll have to take you out sometime and pay for your dinner properly,” Jesse said slyly.
Raina discreetly fanned herself under the table. Was it hot in here? She’d worn long sleeves because of the cold, but now all she wanted to do was pluck at the high neckline of her sweater.
As Jesse began to eat his dinner, Raina was able to breathe again. Even so, tiny bites were all she could manage and she could barely tear her eyes away from the boy sitting across from her. All she could think about was her and Jesse and dinner outside of school and how it kind of sounded like he’d asked her on a date.
Had Jesse just asked her on a date?
“You’re freaking out,” Gracie hissed from her seat next to Raina, grabbing a water bottle from her bag and handing it to her friend. “Take a deep breath.”
Raina downed half the bottle. But as she twisted the cap back on, she felt eyes on her once again.
