I saw Dakota a few feet away from them. He rested his helmet on his shoulder, holding it steady with a gloved hand. It didn’t take much for me to find an excuse to go over to him. Friends could congratulate one another after a job well done.
Weaving through the sea of people proved to be harder than it looked. By the time I got within speaking distance, someone else claimed his attention first.
“Not here,” David was saying. “Not now.”
“Set a time then.”
Dakota’s back was to me. I could hear the tension in his voice. My forehead wrinkled because he didn’t seem thrilled to be here. They’d just won a game, cause for celebration. Why did he sound like he was ready to do the opposite?
David leaned too close for me to hear the entirety of his next sentence. All I caught was a stiff warning: “Let it go.”
When David pulled back, his eyes fell on me. His expression darkened, but his voice sounded calm when he told Dakota, “Think you have your first groupie.”
I frowned at the label, and David gave me a smirk. Dakota turned around to look at me. His brief shift in focus gave David enough time to escape.
“Sorry,” I said, watching as Dakota reached for David’s shoulder but missed. His friend disappeared into the crowd. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Dakota looked after David for another second, letting me know if I was off the hook for worrying about it, he sure wasn’t.
“Something wrong?”
He looked back at me and raised a brow. “No. Why?”
I stuck out my bottom lip as I shrugged. “You look like your car got totaled and is currently burning in a ditch. Not like you’ve just won a game.”
“I don’t have a car.” Dakota’s voice sounded a million miles away. My shoulders sagged a little because of his distraction. Something had got to him.
“You could tell me what’s up.” I stepped closer so he could hear me better. The noise around us was dying down a bit but not fast enough for us to speak at a respectable distance. When I moved closer, I could feel the heat of his body on mine. The space between us was barely enough room for someone to walk through.
“Maybe I could help?” I offered with a smile.
He shook his head. The smile I was used to seeing on his face returned. If I blinked, I would have missed the small bit of worry drain from his eyes. Dakota replaced it with a twinkle. His finger wiped back a stray hair from his forehead. Back was the charming look a prince might take on. I didn’t know whether to melt or run. Sometimes, the sweetest-looking fruit was the most bitter when bitten. I used to bite into bitter fruit on the regular. I knew better now, and I needed to act as such.
“Thanks for the offer.” He started to say something else but a guy wearing a student newspaper shirt asked for a few minutes of his time.
“I’ll catch up with you after this,” Dakota promised as he started backing up toward the small camera crew. “Are you busy later tonight?”
I shook my head. “I’m free.”
He smiled. “Perfect. I have something to show you. Should I give you the address now? I’m not sure what time I’ll be finished showering and whatnot, but I promise not to keep you waiting too long.”
“Actually, let’s exchange numbers.”
It felt silly now, keeping my number a secret. We were heading in the direction of friendship, so it was safe now. And, I’d keep sure not to message him unless it was vital.
“Okay.” He nodded and accepted my phone. The smile on his face felt more genuine than the one he’d tried to paint on earlier. I grinned back, glad to be the source of his change in mood.
“I’ll see you soon,” he promised.
Chapter 13
Ikeptmyphoneclose to me like a middle schooler who’d gotten the phone number of their first crush.
To distract myself from the anticipation of Dakota’s text, I started cyber-stalking my ex and old friend group online. Not my brightest moment. Even though it worked as a distraction, afterward my mind was ambushed with memories better forgotten.
Seeing everyone happy, healthy — and most importantly — moved on from last year’s drama, I was tempted to finally text Lawrence back. He’d been messaging me on and off for the past week asking how I was doing. It felt nice that one person from my old life showed interest in me.
I started rationalizing contacting him because he wasn’t all bad, all the time. At one point, I would have called him, not Lizzy, my best friend. And honestly, he at least proved to be more loyal than Lizzy ever pretended to be.
