met at wasn’t far from campus and it only took a few minutes to get there. The sun was bright and the sky was blue as I walked through the full lot and through the glass door.
At least the weather was warming up. Spring was good; it was happy.
Rimmel waved from a table across the room when I stepped inside. I was the last one here, and there was an extra person sitting at the table. Trent.
I smiled and waved as I made my way through the crowd and noted the look in Missy’s eyes. She totally invited Trent. And I bet the reason the only empty seat at the table was beside him was her doing, too.
On the other side of Trent was Missy. On her other side was Braeden. I avoided looking at him. To his right was Rimmel and then Romeo. I took the seat between Romeo and Trent.
“Sorry I’m late,” I said and picked up the menu. “I overslept.”
“You look good,” Trent told me, offering a smile.
I smiled back at him. “Thanks. I was in such a hurry, I barely looked in the mirror.”
“Well, that’s obvious,” Braeden cracked.
There was a loud thud beneath the table. “Ow!” he groaned. “Rome, you better get your girl. She kicked me!”
Rimmel snickered and so did I.
The waitress came, and all of us ordered. When my coffee arrived, I took a sip and moaned in appreciation.
“Good stuff,” Trent remarked, leaning close to speak only to me.
“You have no idea,” I agreed. “Is it just me or are the professors trying to punish us for spring break?”
Trent laughed and leaned back in his seat. As he moved, he flung out both his arms so one rested on the back of my chair and the other on Missy’s. “Oh, they are in total annihilation mode.”
“I’m definitely not going to miss the work load next semester,” Romeo said.
“I’m gonna miss you,” Rimmel said.
He kissed her on the temple and yanked her chair so it was right up against his. “I’ll still be around.” He promised.
It was kind of hard to believe next semester Romeo wouldn’t be here. He’d be a pro football player. I’d gotten used to having him around. When he first got involved with Rimmel, I wasn’t sure how we’d get along, but as time went on, I could honestly say he was my friend. I liked Romeo, I liked him a lot, and I really respected him.
I hoped he could say the same about me. Even though deep down I wondered if I deserved his respect.
We chattered on about classes, the latest Buzz notifications, and, of course, football until our food arrived. When my pancakes were finally in front of me, my stomach growled like it hadn’t seen food in a week.
“Someone’s hungry,” Trent teased and shoved an entire slice of bacon in his mouth.
“I’m not the only one,” I shot back.
He grinned and bacon stuck out of his teeth.
I laughed and shook my head. I felt something cold from across the table so I glanced up. Braeden was watching me. Watching us.
Our eyes connected, and for a split second, I was jolted with electricity no one else seemed to feel. I looked away quickly. This was the first I’d seen Braeden since we came back from spring break. I was hoping whatever seemed to unleash itself between us at the beach would be gone.
But it wasn’t.
If anything, it seemed harder not to look in his direction.
“So what’s up with you, Ivy?” Missy asked as she took a drink of her OJ.
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve barely seen you this week.”
“I haven’t seen you at all,” Trent added.
“Like I said, classes this week have been insane. I have so much work. I’ve been busy trying to get a jumpstart on it all. With finals at the end of the semester, I want to get a lot of the work out of the way early.”
Rimmel was nodding. “Me too. I’ve been in the library a lot.”
“You look tired,” Missy pressed.
“I’m not wearing makeup,” I countered.
Braeden dropped his fork, and everyone looked at him. “Let’s just cut to the chase. You look like shit, you haven’t been butting into
At least the weather was warming up. Spring was good; it was happy.
Rimmel waved from a table across the room when I stepped inside. I was the last one here, and there was an extra person sitting at the table. Trent.
I smiled and waved as I made my way through the crowd and noted the look in Missy’s eyes. She totally invited Trent. And I bet the reason the only empty seat at the table was beside him was her doing, too.
On the other side of Trent was Missy. On her other side was Braeden. I avoided looking at him. To his right was Rimmel and then Romeo. I took the seat between Romeo and Trent.
“Sorry I’m late,” I said and picked up the menu. “I overslept.”
“You look good,” Trent told me, offering a smile.
I smiled back at him. “Thanks. I was in such a hurry, I barely looked in the mirror.”
“Well, that’s obvious,” Braeden cracked.
There was a loud thud beneath the table. “Ow!” he groaned. “Rome, you better get your girl. She kicked me!”
Rimmel snickered and so did I.
The waitress came, and all of us ordered. When my coffee arrived, I took a sip and moaned in appreciation.
“Good stuff,” Trent remarked, leaning close to speak only to me.
“You have no idea,” I agreed. “Is it just me or are the professors trying to punish us for spring break?”
Trent laughed and leaned back in his seat. As he moved, he flung out both his arms so one rested on the back of my chair and the other on Missy’s. “Oh, they are in total annihilation mode.”
“I’m definitely not going to miss the work load next semester,” Romeo said.
“I’m gonna miss you,” Rimmel said.
He kissed her on the temple and yanked her chair so it was right up against his. “I’ll still be around.” He promised.
It was kind of hard to believe next semester Romeo wouldn’t be here. He’d be a pro football player. I’d gotten used to having him around. When he first got involved with Rimmel, I wasn’t sure how we’d get along, but as time went on, I could honestly say he was my friend. I liked Romeo, I liked him a lot, and I really respected him.
I hoped he could say the same about me. Even though deep down I wondered if I deserved his respect.
We chattered on about classes, the latest Buzz notifications, and, of course, football until our food arrived. When my pancakes were finally in front of me, my stomach growled like it hadn’t seen food in a week.
“Someone’s hungry,” Trent teased and shoved an entire slice of bacon in his mouth.
“I’m not the only one,” I shot back.
He grinned and bacon stuck out of his teeth.
I laughed and shook my head. I felt something cold from across the table so I glanced up. Braeden was watching me. Watching us.
Our eyes connected, and for a split second, I was jolted with electricity no one else seemed to feel. I looked away quickly. This was the first I’d seen Braeden since we came back from spring break. I was hoping whatever seemed to unleash itself between us at the beach would be gone.
But it wasn’t.
If anything, it seemed harder not to look in his direction.
“So what’s up with you, Ivy?” Missy asked as she took a drink of her OJ.
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve barely seen you this week.”
“I haven’t seen you at all,” Trent added.
“Like I said, classes this week have been insane. I have so much work. I’ve been busy trying to get a jumpstart on it all. With finals at the end of the semester, I want to get a lot of the work out of the way early.”
Rimmel was nodding. “Me too. I’ve been in the library a lot.”
“You look tired,” Missy pressed.
“I’m not wearing makeup,” I countered.
Braeden dropped his fork, and everyone looked at him. “Let’s just cut to the chase. You look like shit, you haven’t been butting into
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