Me:I like old movies. Black and white stuff. Film noir.
Sebastian:Really?
Me:Why is that surprising?
Sebastian:I had you pegged as more of a modern documentary type.
Me:I'm full of surprises, Thornhill.
Sebastian:Clearly. Film noir it is. Any specific requests?
Me:You choose. Surprise me.
The three dots appear, disappear, appear again.
Sebastian:I'm good at surprises. Sometimes.
Me:We'll see.
I pocket my phone and get back to work, but I'm smiling. Actually smiling. When did that start happening?
Wednesday morning, I'm at the café when Ivy slides into a seat at the counter during a lull.
"Emergency meeting. Tonight. My room. Same time."
"What's the emergency?"
"You. Sebastian. The fact that you're smiling at your phone every five seconds." She crosses her arms. "Intervention part two."
"There's nothing to intervene about."
"Lennox saw you holding hands with him outside the library Saturday. Actual hand-holding. Not contract-required hand-holding."
Damn. I forgot about the security of small campuses. Everyone sees everything.
"It's not what you think."
"What is it then?"
I want to tell her, want to explain about the arboretum, about freshman year, about the fact that maybe I've been wrong about Sebastian. But the words stick in my throat.
Because what if I'm wrong again? What if this is another mistake? What if giving him a chance is just setting myself up for worse pain down the line?
"I don't know what it is," I admit finally. "But I'm figuring it out."
Ivy studies me with those sharp eyes. "You like him."
"I don't?—"
"You do. I can see it. The way you said his name just now. The way you're defending him without actually defending him." She sighs. "Isla, I'm not trying to be the bad guy here. I just don't want to see you get hurt."
"I know and I appreciate it. But I need to do this my way." I wipe down the counter even though it's already clean. "He told me the truth about freshman year. About why he's been so awful and I'm giving him a chance to do better."
"And if he doesn't?"
"Then I walk away. But at least I'll know I tried."
"That's very mature of you."
