I fantasize about shoving Imaginary Tyler off the wing of an airplane before finding my words again. “Yeah, I’m, um…I’m waiting for my friend to come let me in so we can work on a project.”
He nods and flexes his tanned fingers around the surfboard, seemingly accepting my answer. “I see. What dorm do you live in?”
Put on the spot, I try to run through the other dorm building names I saw etched into the signs on the drive in here, but I come up blank. “I—”
Poseidon seems to notice my discomfort, his tanned glow paling a little. Still, he laughs sheepishly. “Sorry, didn’t mean to be a total weirdo. You looked like you had something going on.”
“Nope, nothing,” I shoot back in a voice that very clearlyscreams,Yes, everything.He starts to turn away and lean down to shoulder the surfboard, but he eyes me warily.
“As long as you’re sure.”
Olive, you idiot, this is your chance.“Actually, well—it’s kind of a long story, but my friend is taking a long time to come downstairs, and I really have to pee before we head to the library to work on this project, and I don’t think I can wait—so I should probably meet her up there and use the bathroom before she comes all the way down here to meet me and we have to double back, you know—”
“Relax, dude.” Poseidon chuckles and sets the surfboard against the wall, fishing around in his pocket until he produces his ID. “Don’t have to make it a whole thing. Could’ve just asked.”
I watch him tap the ID against the reader, which lights up green in sync with the click of the lock disengaging. “Thanks. Appreciate it.” And then, because I’m a bumbling idiot with word vomit disease, the lie keeps going. “Girl stuff, you know? Periods wait for no woman.”
His face screws up in disgust. “Er…yeah. Good luck with all of that.” Clearly not in the mood to continue the conversation, he throws his surfboard over his shoulder and heads off down the path, stopping to give me another creeped-out look before he goes.
But none of that matters, because my sneaker is currently wedged in the lobby door, holding it open. Which means now there’s nothing preventing me from getting inside and going up to find Jack.
And I still can’t determine if my stomach full of butterflies is from excitement or dread.
“Three-five-three. Three-five-three.” I keep muttering Jack’s room number under my breath as the elevator coasts to the third floor, the butterflies building as I envision the details inked in my planner, poised and waiting for ease of reference:353. Where my boyfriend lives, and hopefully is right now.
I didn’t even think of a backup plan for if he isn’t here—that’s how determined I am to fix this. Fix us.
But first, I have to know what I’m fixing.
As the doors ding open and release me, I can’t help but think back to what Tyler said on the plane, his face morphing into an expression of anger when he found out about Jack’s radio silence.Anyone who knows even a single thing about you would know you’re too great of a person to ignore. He’s an idiot if he can’t see that. When we were dating—
I stop the replay right there. When Tyler and I were dating, things were fun but not permanent. This is the boy I’m aiming to be with long-term, and it’s an entirely different situation.
Going down the hall, I see 349…351…353. I stop in front of the door, leaning my rolling suitcase up against the wall. The door to Jack’s room is cracked open, and voices float out from inside.
“…telling you, that’s not the way he explained the formula.” I recognize Jack’s measured voice, a mix of friendly and frustrated. “I could’ve sworn he taught it to us differently.”
“And I’m tellingyou,” another, noticeably higher, voice says, “that this is the way he explained it would be on the test, so this is the way we should practice it.”
“Okay, Professor.” There’s a teasing lilt in Jack’s tone that makes my stomach turn. “Whatever you say.”
Even though the crack in the door isn’t big enough for me tosee through, the twinge in my gut confirms my fear—there’s a girl in Jack’s room. And to top it off, it sounds like they’re bantering playfully, instantly sending my mind spinning in a million different directions of who this girl could be, her connection to Jack, what they’ve been doing together, if she even knows who I am.
Is she the reason Jack has been ignoring me?
I’m still standing outside the door like a creep, garnering strange glances from students who are making their way down the hall and observing the weirdo girl with the suitcase who very clearly is eavesdropping on whatever’s going on inside room353. It was one thing when an entire continent and the Pacific Ocean separated me and Jack, because at least then I could chalk up my worries to being paranoid or far away. Just not used to having a long-distance boyfriend, let alone one who is older than me and already in college.
The half-open door taunts me and I shift from foot to foot, wringing my hands and delaying the inevitable. Whatever waits behind that door, even if it’s my worst fears come to life, is better than the anxious worry of the in-between.
At least, that’s what I’m hoping for.
Unable to take the anticipation any longer, I squeeze my eyes shut, say a prayer to the gods I’m not sure I even believe in, and nudge the door open. It creaks loudly, announcing my arrival. I wait one second, then two, and then step directly into the doorway to see what waits for me on the other side.
Chapter Fourteen
At least my worst-case scenario isn’t coming to life. Jack and the female I heard aren’t tangled together in bed, naked with flushed faces. Or curled up together watching a movie, snuggling without shame. They’re not locking lips over math homework banter, either.
They are, however, sprawled on his floor next to each other, books splayed out between them. They’re both facing away from me, stretched out on the small square of space between Jack’s bed and his absent roommate’s, scattered pens and pencils and lecture notes piled around them. A quick glance at Jack’s bedspread (thankfully unrumpled) shows the sleek rectangle of his phone, the screen black.I wonder if the screen will still show my missed calls, if he really hasn’t checked it yet.They’re deep in the throes of their studying session, not even turning to look at me.
