“Ace, you’re not failing anything. According to the portal, you’re thriving. You’re not being bullied. No one’s reported emotional distress. So unless a doctor, therapist, or alien abduction expert signs off, I can’t override university policy.”
I let my head fall back against the chair. “So, I’m stuck.”
“Afraid so.” When I look up again, I realize her eyes are on me in a way that showcases her skepticism. She knows something is up. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” I lie. The truth is, I’d rather crawl out of my own skin than sit through another fifty-minute lecture with Julia pretending I never kissed her and told her I’m in love with her. But looks like I’m going to have to find a way to suffer through it. Also, I’m probably going to have to get brainiac Lexi to help me study and shit because Julia was always my go-to tutor.
Basically, everything is fucked.
“Thanks anyway, Cynthia,” I say and rise to my feet.
“Of course. Let me know if you invent time travel. Then I’d be happy to help you.”
I’m already halfway out the door when I mutter to myself, “Yeah, funny thing, if I could time travel, I wouldn’t need a new schedule. I’d rewind a couple months. To before I screwed everything up.”
Zip’s Diner smells like grease and burnt toast, which should feel comforting, but right now it makes me queasy.
Finn never texts first. Hell, Finn barely texts at all, but this morning after I left Cynthia’s office, I got a text from him that said,Lunch. Today. Zip’s. Don’t bail.
So, even though I really wanted to bail, I didn’t. Finn can be fucking scary when he wants to.
He and Blake are already in a booth when I walk in. Finn is drinking black coffee because he’s a fucking masochist, and Blake is halfway through a plate full of eggs and bacon. I won’t be surprisedif that’s only his appetizer. That bastard can eat a truck when he’s in season.
“Hey,” I say, sliding in across from them.
Blake looks up, but immediately, his smile drops to a frown. “Dude. What the hell is going on with you? You look like you’ve been sleeping in the back seat of your own grief.”
“I’m fine,” I mutter.
Finn gives me a long look. “Fine? Get real, Ace. You haven’t been around all week. No texts. No party-pushing. No annoying late-night house calls where you try to convince Scottie and me to hide in the bushes in Central Park with you. Hell, you even skipped class this morning.”
“How do you know I skipped class this morning?” I narrow my eyes. “You got surveillance on me or something?”
Finn taps the side of his mug. “Scottie ran into Julia outside Nash. Said you weren’t in Calc.”
In the span of ten seconds, I go through what feels like every emotion possible.Julia mentioned I wasn’t in class? So, she was thinking about me? Is she thinking about me?
“Did she…uh…say anything about me?” I ask and immediately want to grab the words from the air and shove them back down my throat.
Don’t be suspicious. Don’t be suspicious. That stupid fucking TikTok sound blares in my head, and I do my best to pretend to look at the menu even though I know it by heart. Hell, a few months ago, Zip even named a burger after me.
Finn and Blake don’t miss a fucking beat, though. Blake raises an eyebrow, and Finn is looking at me so closely I swear he might be able to bore actual holes into my skull.
“What’s going on, man?” Blake asks.
“What do you mean?” I retort, choosing the defensive route. “Nothing’s going on.”
“Oh, something’s going on, bro,” Finn challenges. “So, you might as well tell us why you look like a kicked puppy in a hoodie.”
Blake leans in slightly. “Did something happen with Julia?”
I stare down at my hands. I could lie. I could make it smaller than it is, but the words slip out, quiet and sharp, before I can stop them. “I kissed her.”
The silence is immediate. Heavy.
“When?” Blake asks, like I just confessed to murder.
“Saturday night. After the Double C event.”
