It’s not that I reallyneedthe company, but in some ways, I do. Growing up with hippie parents in what was essentially a commune meant that I was never without company. Lincoln and I grew up there together, we fell in love there together, and we grew apart there.
So I guess in some ways, Iwaswithout company, but only afterthat.Never before. And then it didn’t matter because my parents whisked me away, and I met Darcy right after. Maybe my circle isn’t as big as it used to be, but it’s still mine.
It would be easy to dismiss Ben and Landon, but there’s just something in my gut that keeps pulling me back to them.It’s attraction, you fucking idiot.But that makes ice fill my veins. It’s much better to not be attracted to anyone. It’s dangerous and opens me up to the potential for heartbreak. Heartbreak I never want to experience again.
But the strings of fate keep pulling them closer. This is a big campus. That Landon quite literally ran into me on two separate occasions in the same week just feels too monumental to ignore. All of it is. Ben and Landon already being friends? The way everything transpired?
God, I used to give my mom so much shit for the way she’d act over “our fates” and her woo-woo beliefs about people’s souls being tied together. But then I met Darcy, and my friendship with him felt effortless.
We’re nothing alike. At least not on the surface. He’s a smarty-pants, and if you asked me to do any sort of advanced math, I’d probably cry. But for some reason, we just… work. We always have. Right from the very start.
I could have ignored that pull then, but I didn’t, and it gave me one of the most pure, trusting, and loving friendships I’ve ever had. And now? What if I ignore that pull now? What gifts from the universe will I be giving up?
I sigh. Fuck it.
Me
Do you guys want to come hang out tonight? I found a new show we can watch.
My heart beats triple time as I stare down at the delivered symbol.
I nearly jump out of my skin when my phone rings. Fumbling with it, I drop it and rush to pick it up only to realize that it’s Darcy calling and not Ben or Landon.
Jesus. I swipe to answer and put the phone to my ear. “Hey.”
“Hey, I’m freaking out.”
I can’t help but chuckle. At least this is a distraction from the mess in my own head. “What’s going on?”
Darcy drags in a deep breath. “West almost kissed me,” he hisses. “Or maybe I almost kissed him. I don’t know. It’s all fuzzy in my head.”
“Almost?” Holy shit. “What do you mean almost?”
He groans. “Crap. He was so close, Park. I could almost taste his freaking mouth, and then my dad called me.”
“Okay? So what does that have to do with anything?”
“I answered it.”
“What?” I resist the urge to laugh when he groans again, this time even more frustrated than the last.
“I was so close. So freaking close, and my dad calls. I answered the call. What the heck is wrong with me? Oh my God.”
“So what happened when you got off the phone?” I ask.
There’s a beat of silence that can’t mean anything good, and when my phone pings in my ear, I pull it away and accept Darcy’s FaceTime call. His face fills my screen, eyes wild and hair in disarray. “He got all weird,” Darcy whispers softly.
Unease prickles under my skin. “Weird how?”
“I don’t know.” Darcy runs his hand through his hair, his distress and irritation evident. “I was going to go all in, right? I’m almost positive he was leaning in. Not just me. Itcouldn’thave been just me, you know?” I nod, even though I truly have no idea. “And then when I got off the phone, it was like… he just changed.”
That unease ticks up, my blood starting to boil in my veins. I didn’t have West pegged as a homophobe, that’s for sure. “Changedhow?”
“He just acted different. Like maybe he came to his senses while I was on the phone and realized he didn’t want to kiss me after all. I don’t know.”
I’m about to respond when he rattles on. “But he invited me to the game this weekend.” My stomach aches a little at that. Why wasn’t I invited to the football game? Two football players at my house every night this week, and no invite for Parker. Now I regret sending that text even more. “Anyway, will you go with me to the game?”
“What?” I blurt out.
