“You’re warm,” I mumble.
“You’re drunk. Close your eyes, Alondra,” Jack says.
This time, when my eyes shut, I don’t open them until I wake the next morning in my bed alone, wondering how much of last night I imagined and what was real.
CHAPTER 12
Alondra
Macy shivers in her coat,pulling it tighter around herself. “It’s so fucking cold here,” she moans, and I have to agree with her.
“It’s seventy-eight in Texas today.” I looked this morning to torture myself when I saw the temperature for Minnesota. The sun is shining, but the wind is brutal, cutting through every material designed to keep it out, chilling you to the bone.
“I say we pack our shit up and go there.”
“Right now?” I ask, laughing at the absurd idea.
“Of course. We both have cars—let’s run away.”
“Does this mean you’re done with Chad?” I ask, and Macy’s smile fades into a grimace.
“I’m done with him this time. Sorry you have to keep picking up the pieces every time we break up,” she says, and I bump her with my shoulder.
“I didn’t mean it like that. Besides, I have no room to be upset after all of your help when things ended with Bradley.” Macy gives me a sympathetic smile.
I know she’s my cousin, but I couldn’t ask for a better best friend.
By the time we’d decided to move so Bradley didn’t know where we lived, it was impossible to find a two bedroomsince Rose wasn’t going to live with us again, but Macy didn’t complain once. I really should just shut my mouth about Chad, but I wish she knew she deserved better than him.
“Al, that was different, and you know it.”
I force out a short laugh. It was different, and it also wasn’t. “I guess,” I mumble, shoving my hands into my pockets.
“Have you told Jack you’ve been planning dates for him?” she asks, and I stuff my hands in my pockets.
“Not yet, but the girls seem nice enough.”
Macy snorts, chuckling under her breath. “It’s kinda weird that you’re doing this. I know you said he would be cool with it, but are you sure he even wants a girlfriend?”
It is weird to be picking out potential girlfriends for him when I’m trying to make sense of why he makes me feel things nobody else has for the last nine and a half months. I don’t want to be his girlfriend, but I’m not sure I know how to be his friend either.
“I guess I’ll find out when I tell him.” I’m avoiding telling Jack until the last possible moment because I don’t think he knows I was serious, and I’m a little worried this might be the thing that pushes his golden retriever puppy energy over the edge.
“How’s tutoring going?”
“Really well, actually. We’re waiting to get scores back on our midterms.” I’m hoping he passed. I don’t want to see the defeat on his face if he scores badly. He worked so hard to do well on it.
The wind blows again, and I try to shrink further into my winter coat I’ve already had to break out, but I have no doubt everyone will be risking hypothermia next week for their Halloween costumes.
Macy shivers again, and I swear, our parking lot is too damn far away from the buildings on this campus. “I’m glad you decided to help him. He seems like a nice guy.”
He is a nice guy. I spent all last night during our tutoring session trying not to remember how sexy it was to have him dress me while we worked on some of his homework for a different class. We’re friends, and friends don’t look at friends like that.
“Jack’s pretty great.”
“Do you think you could see him as more than a friend?” she asks, and I’m quick to shake my head. I knew it was only a matter of time until someone asked me.
“I know he’s not Bradley, it’s just . . . being friends with him is one thing. Anything more is a boundary I’m not sure I should ever cross with Jack,” I admit, sighing. Maybe if everything hadn’t gone down the way it did, I’d consider it, but I can’t. It doesn’t matter that he makes me feel light and vibrant instead of the box of black, white, and gray I’ve been locked inside.
