Shit. Shit. Shit.
Nathan—as in Nathan Phillips.
He was the golden boy”of Adams High School.Myhigh school. Nathan was the epitome of a popular jock—king shit on turd hill. He had been the star quarterback and was offered a full ride to college, where he carried out his legacy and became the all-star college quarterback. But none of that mattered to me.
The part of Nathan that made my blood run cold was how he had treated me in high school. He and his friends made fun of me mercilessly and caused more than one night of crying myself to sleep. That group of football jocks was the reason I had wanted to run away from high school and never look back. They’d made my teenage years a living hell, and I didn’t care to relive or remember a single minute of it.
"Hi, I'm Nathan," he said, staring at McKenzie as he shook her hand.
I used my hair to hide my face and raised the menu between us. I had no idea what I was trying to accomplish, but I was hoping to buy time to figure out exactly how I was going to deal withhim. Maybe I could still make a run for it, push him out of the way, knock him over, tackle him as I made a break for the front door. And by the time anyone realized what had happened, I’d be in the parking lot and good as gone.
"It's so nice to meet you. I'm McKenzie, and this…” she puts her hand out toward me, "is-"
"Elizabeth," he said, breathless, as I lowered the menu and peered up at his face.
We stared hard at each other for a long second. I assumed this was when his memories came flooding back like mine had a moment before. I was certain he was thinking of all the negative things that had taken place between us not that many years ago.
Though part of me hoped he noticed the changes in me.
After high school, I had adopted a better fitness routine, lost some weight, and toned up a bit. It was hard to see most of this from where he was standing, but my face was probably a bit slimmer as well. I had worked hard to make myself as proud of my outside as I was of the inside.
"Do you guys know each other or something?" McKenzie asked, looking back and forth between Nathan and me.
The tension was almost palpable and neither of us spoke. I wasn't sure how we were going to explain this one, much less sit down and have a meal together.
"Yeah, actually. We, uh… we went to the same high school," Nathan finally said, his eyes still on me.
I shifted to make room for him in the booth next to me, seeing no other alternative since McKenzie and Tanner were sitting together on the other side. He slid in, and I practically plastered myself to the wall so I could avoid touching him, sharing space with him, or even breathing the same air. He seemed to have the same idea as he sat as close to the edge as possible, leaving a significant gap in between us.
"That is so great!" McKenzie clapped her hands with glee. She seemed oblivious to the awkwardness that hung heavily in the air. Despite being a social butterfly, McKenzie often missed subtle social cues like this.
"Oh yeah, so great," I said sarcastically as I looked back at the menu and planned to indulge in carbs for the first time in many years.
2
Elizabeth
"Guess what?"McKenzie's loud, boisterous voice bellowed, echoing through our tiny dorm apartment.
I nearly leaped out of my skin as my glasses tumbled down my nose and fell onto the textbook in front of me.
After that horrid date, I'd found even more reason to bury myself in books and had nearly lost touch with reality—which was my goal. I didn’t need any more Nathan Philips in my life. Two hours at dinner subtly reminding him of what a douchebag he had been in high school didn’t appear to faze him one bit. In fact, he seemed to conveniently forget how heinous his behavior was back then.
And with his obvious lack of self-awareness, that dinner was about all the Nathan Phillips I could stomach for at least another five years.
"Guess what," she repeated. I groaned. If she were asking, it wasn't good news.
"What?" I asked, staring up at the beautiful mess that was McKenzie.
“So…” she said, dragging out theOsound for several seconds as if she were contemplating how to drop a bomb on me as gently as possible. Coming from Kenzie, it would be atomic level and she’d drop it like it was nothing.
I raised my brow. She appeared absolutely delighted, and I was certain she was preparing to tell me something that would disrupt my study plans.
"So...?" I asked hesitantly as I looked up at her, giving her my full attention. "What now?"
"It's my third date with Tanner and we're going to the movies tonight." She spun around and giggled, unable to restrain how ecstatic she was. Oddly, this was part of the story I had written for the two of them while I’d sat in the booth at the beginning of our date. I should have just stuck to writing short stories and people watching that night, it was far more entertaining. "He's so sweet, Eli. Every time I'm around him, it's just like...wow," she gushed, her voice becoming sort of quiet and reverent, a rarity for her.
I smiled at her warmly, genuinely glad to see her so happy. "That's wonderful, Kenz, but what on earth does that have to do with me?" I asked, puzzled.
