Her eyebrows disappeared into her hairline. “Say what now?”
“If Charlie is gone for a month, we’ll need more hands, and who better than campus’s dance team?” I batted my lashes at her, smiling and being extra cheesy. “It’ll show leadership, and your coach would love to see y’all work. You could make posters and host a fundraiser. Oh, yes! Sell shirts or coasters or pinup shots of you all.”
Dani laughed. “Ah, right. The topless photoshoot we did. How could I forget?” Sarcasm dripped from her tone before she sat at her desk chair. “I’ll try my best, but this kids camp starts at six am, and I’m not one of those early risers. You know this.”
“Yes, yes, but even a dinner shift here or there would be appreciated.”
“Fine. Of course I’ll do what I can. But only if you tell me about why you went from wanting Cal Holt’s babies to hating him.”
Damn.She went there, fast. My skin burned with embarrassment and hurt, since his comments had been living rent free in my head for months. It was absurd. I didn’t know him. I just really liked his face. And yet, those commentsstuck with me. I grabbed her pillow and put it over my head, screaming into it without real anger.
“Nice.” Dani snorted. “Helpful.”
“He insulted my intelligence and motivation and major in one breath.”
“Okay, but he’s an idiot?”
“It was a lot to have the player you had a huge crush on say you were dumb and creative writing is a joke, making your parents laugh at you. He said it was a joke of a major and an easy choice for blondes. That’s all. Doesn’t help that he’s an asshole. He told me he wasn’t excited to learn he had a cousin? That’s an asshole flag right there.”
Dani winced. “Van hasn’t shared a lot about their chats, but it seems Cal is going through some stuff.”
“Doesn’t give him an excuse to be a dick though.” I sat up and stretched my arms over my head. “Working with him is gonna be a real joy.”
“Stay busy.” Daniella smiled at her phone, and an odd sense of envy went through me. She had a great relationship with my brother. They truly were a fit—them bringing out the best and making the other’s life better.
I wanted that. The romance. The swooning. The grand gesture. Gabe hadkilledit when he asked Daniella to go from fake girlfriend to real, and they’d been together ever since. I dated a guy named Jenson in high school for six months and then some artist in community college freshmen year.
My past boyfriends were lukewarm. Fine. Medium. Like eating leftovers that you heated up in the microwave but weren’t in long enough but you were too lazy to reheat it so you ate it kinda cold. They were like that. They filled the role and did the job, but the relationships weren’tromantic.
Putting myself out there in my hometown was rough. Too many connections but here? Clean slate for my romanticendeavors. Now, I just needed time, which… I wasn’t gonna have for a while because of the bar.
“Will I find love?”
“Obviously.” Daniella set her phone down and rested her elbows on her legs. Her red hair hung in two braids, and she frowned. “Don’t like that you asked this question after talking about Cal Holt.”
“No, it was seeing you grin at texting my brother.” I had a half smile. “I want that.”
Her features softened, and she exhaled. “It’s the best thing ever. You’ll discover your person Elle, but don’t rush or force it.”
“I’ve read all these sweeping love stories about couples meeting in college and then getting married, traveling. Maybe pop out a kid or two. I want that.” My life was fulfilling, but I never had a partner. Again, I loved Daniella, but she didn’t fill the void that seemed to ache in my chest. I wanted what the main characters had in the books I read and stories I wrote.
When good things happened to me, there wasn’t that one person I couldn’t wait to share it with. Yes, I’d call my parents and my brother and Dani, but I wanted the one, the person, the supportive partner. Maybe it was a pipe dream.
“I must be hungry again to get this sappy.” I pushed up and walked toward our kitchen. One way I’d passed the time when living with my parents the last two years was to cook and try new recipes. It was ironic that I forgot to eat when I was lost in a manuscript, but when I listened to audiobooks? Cooking it was.
I put on the latest story from Chloe Leisse and pulled out the dishes I’d need. I could totally make enough to share with Alex and Cal tonight or give some to Charlie for the road. It wasn’t the first time I cooked shepherd’s pie, but changing up the spices or amount of flavor I put in the mixture always made the taste different.
“Anxious chopping?” Dani came out, smiling at me. “Need help?”
“No, you know I zone out when I do this. Writing and cooking are what dancing is to you. Let me be, woman.” I pointed the knife at her, and she laughed. Daniella went back to her room, and I turned up the volume. There were some authors who wrote so well, so consuming, that it made me pause and wonder if it was worth it to even try.
But then I stared at the tattoo on my left forearm: 26 letters, endless stories.
It was pretty incredible we had 26 letters and were able to create millions of words and stories and screenplays and poems. The same with music. There were only so many notes, yet music was limitless. I got lost in Chloe’s world and focused on cooking. There was no sense getting caught up in my head this time, not when tonight was going to be wild.
Chaos. Beautiful, noisy chaos, but still. My feet ached, and my arms hurt, but my smile was real. The place was packed for game two of the Bulls playoff run, and drinks were flowing. Alex seemed like a hot mess, with their hair undone and the red lipstick completely erased from their face.
Cal too looked hot. Not physically. But red face and sweat beading on his brow as he roamed through the crowd and picked up dirty glasses. He hadn’t stood still once since the game started, and a part of me was impressed. I wasn’t sure why I’d assumed he’d be lazy working here, but he wasn’t.
