He takes Maggie’s abandoned cup of tea, sips from it and then high-fives Nova, who’s thrilled to see him.
“Well, it’s nice to meet you. Nova’s told me so much about you,” he says to Steven and Will, then turns to me. “Oh hey, Vernon.” He winks.
I roll my eyes. “Sheldon.”
Sam chuckles, setting down his sunglasses and iPhone before diving into a thick conversation with Nova and Will, as if he’s known him all his life. I don’t know how he does it. Steven interjects occasionally, then looks at me, mouthing,Everything okay?
I nod as I text Derek because he should’ve been here by now. A phone vibrates on the table just as I send the message and Sam picks up his phone, smiling. “I’m here, Valentine. Ready for the interview, are you?”
I frown. “Derek?”
“That’s his middle name,” Nova confirms.
“What do you need a roommate for?” I ask, crossing my arms.
Sam shrugs. “Everyone gets bored.”
He runs a hand through his light brown hair, his eyes lighting up when Maggie emerges from the bathroom, texting. Sam fixes his hair and puffs his chest under Nova’s amused gaze, mine and Steven’s skeptical and Will’s curious.
Maggie ignores him, sits beside him, and slams her phone on the table.
“I’m going to k—” she freezes, finally noticing Sam. Her face darkens. “You? What the fuck are you doing here? Holy shit, you’re a stalker or something? Which one of you knows this asshole?” she demands.
Nova bursts out laughing and Maggie rolls her eyes. “This isn’t funny. This guy’s—”
Her roommate interrupts her. “It’s Sam,” she says between laughs.
Sam keeps staring at Maggie with a dreamy look. She groans, ignoring his gaze. “Is this jerk the Sam you always talk about? Thank god it took years for the introductions, then.”
“Two years, eight months, and four days,” he corrects her with a wink and she responds with a middle finger.
Steven leans back, sipping his lemonade, while Nova rests her head against his neck. “How do you know each other?” he asks.
“A few weeks ago I was at USF and found him in the gardens. He started hitting on me like a kindergartener.” Maggie mutters.
Nova and Sam respond at once but with different lines. He insists seduction is an art for a chosen few, while she asks him if Maggie’s the girl who’s hotter than Christina Aguilera, as he once claimed.
I, on the other hand, want to know why Maggie was at USF—she doesn’t take classes there, and Nova was with me that day before heading to the bakery. But I keep it to myself.
Sam nods at Nova’s question, then goes back to gazing at Maggie. He notices the notebook on the table and smiles—his first real smile since arriving. “Evangeline...” he reads softly.
Maggie’s cheeks turn scarlet. “That’s my middle name,” she mutters, stuffing the notebook into her bag before getting up. “I’m going home. I have to finish this fucking report. Call me when you’re on your way back,” she tells Nova, ignoring the rest of us. She slings her bag over her shoulder and adjusts her denim miniskirt as she walks.
Sam watches her every step, dreamy-eyed. Maggie’s movements are always graceful—even when she curses.
When she disappears, Sam turns back to us. “I think I just fell in love.”
“Yes, he’s indeed Sam Wilson’s Captain America,” Will snaps suddenly, pointing at him.
CHAPTER TEN
Nova Marshall
PAST (2012)
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"I was tired of pretending that I was someone else just to get along with people, just for the sake of having friendships."
