“I want to work on the paper.”
Ian cackles. “Aren’t you a freshman?”
“Yes, but believe it or not, even freshmen gossip. Plus, you knew who I was before I even approached you. That kind of notoriety will have a way of getting me into some of the more exclusive events this school has seen. Not to mention… you were a freshman not too long ago.” I try to make my voice sound nonchalant, even though I am aware that I am begging him for this positionandcomparing myself to him. He appraises me, taking a step back and hitting me with a judgmental smirk.
“You’re interesting, I'll give you that. Plus, I love your jacket,” he continues to ponder, glancing at his phone. “Look, I have to be somewhere. Why don’t you send me over some of your work? I’m assuming you have written something before…?” he raiseshis eyebrows and I can’t suppress the smile I’ve been trying to hold in.
“Of course.”
“Cool— Jean will give you my details.” He nods toward Jean before walking off.
I get the credentials from Jean shortly before I break from the group, ready to reunite with Lily.
Footsteps crunch behind me as I make my way across the lawn.
“Hey, wait up,” a smooth deep voice calls out to me. I turn and meet Will’s dimpled grin.
“Hi,” I chirp.Did I really just say hi in that octave?I try to regain my composure, forcing the blush that formed on my cheeks to disperse. “Looking for Lily?”
Will’s eyebrows knit above his pine green eyes, the kind of eyes that are dark and light at the same time.
“Lily? Why would I be looking for Lily…?” Will seems genuinely confused. “Olivia, I’m clearly looking for you.”
Never in my life have I allowed myself to melt in front of a total stranger, but with the way Will is looking at me, I have no control over the grin that flourishes on my face, my blush rising from whatever deep pit I forced it into less than two minutes ago. Sensing my shock, he takes charge of the conversation.
“I’ve been wanting to talk to you all night. I gotta admit, it hurt my feelings when you ignored me back there.”
His smirk is obliterating all my defenses and I feel discombobulated and sweaty under his gaze. He pushes his golden hair out of his emerald eyes and it suddenly becomes apparent that he’s nervous too.
Nervous? To be talking to me?I quickly push down my inhibitions and force forward the carefully cultivated Olivia Beckett I know and love.
“I didn’t know I was capable of hurting the feelings of someone like you,” I spar.
“Someone like me?” He smiles playfully, like he knows exactly what I mean. My stomach flips as I bite my lip, trying to figure out how I can regain control of this conversation.
I move closer to him, lowering my voice as if I don’t want others to hear.
“I mean, this may come as a shock to you, but I’ve overheard probably twelve girls at this party claim to be your soulmate.”
He smiles this heart melting smile, the kind you’d tape up on your bedroom wall.
“I don’t know if I believe in soulmates.”
I feel my cheeks heat.
“Did someone go and break your heart Will Chapman?” I quirk a smile and poke him playfully in the shoulder. He looks down at our shoes, making it hard to read his face.
“You could say that.” He lightly bumps his shoe into mine, a blush creeping up his neck, surprising me. There’s a vulnerability to him that I get the feeling he doesn’t let most people see.
“And you do? Believe in soulmates?” he clarifies, that mossy green gaze on mine. I consider whether I do or not and decide that in that moment, under the market lights at my first Astor kegger, with this perfect boy, that maybe I do.
“I think?—”
“OLIVIA!” I hear Lily shout my name across the lawn. I squint, my eyes trying to spot her and when I finally do, I see clear frustration in her eyes. I sigh and look back at Will, an indistinguishable expression on his face, like a mix of angry and sad. A twisted sense of excitement fills me at the prospect that he could be this upset that our conversation was interrupted.
“I’m guessing you have to go.” His voice is quiet, but I can hear a pang of something like disappointment.
I smile and bite my lip shyly. “It appears that way.”
