But the rowing was good. The rowing was better than good.
I kept thinking aboutCharles fastand grinning like an idiot. Then catching myself. Then doing it again.
Friday lunch. The Riverside dining hall was loud and smelled like grease and whatever industrial cleaner they used on the floors. I sat across from Tyler and Evan, shoveling pasta into my mouth because Hale said we needed carbs and I was too tired to argue with anyone about anything.
Tyler was mid-story about Remy's new start sequence for the quad—something about a three-stroke build that Remy had drawn up on a napkin during Tuesday's practice—when I saw her.
Emily.
Across the dining hall. Three tables away. Sitting with two girls I didn't recognize. She was laughing at something one of them said, her curly hair pulled back, wearing that green jacket I'd always liked. She looked good. She looked normal. She looked like someone who'd moved on.
Then she glanced over.
Our eyes met.
The laugh died on her face. Not anger or sadness. Just… shock. I felt it, probably something a little different—electric shame in my body.
She looked away first.
My chest caved in.
"Yo, Liam." Tyler was waving a fork at me. "You hear what I said?"
"What?"
"I said Jace wants a few of us to do this erg workout this weekend."
"Yeah. Cool."
"You good?"
"Fine."
Tyler followed my eye line. Saw Emily. Connected the dots with the subtlety of a sledgehammer.
"Oh. Shit. You guys still broken up?"
"Yeah."
Shit, here we go.
"For real this time? Because last time you said that, you guys were back together in like a week."
"We're not getting back together."
"Why not?" Tyler leaned back, genuinely confused. "She's cool. She's hot. She tutored me through Psych 101 and I'm pretty sure that qualifies her for sainthood."
"It just didn't work out."
"Butwhythough? Did she—"
"Tyler."
"What?"
"Drop it."
He held up his hands. "Alright, alright. Touchy." He shoved pasta into his mouth. Then, because Tyler was physically incapable of leaving anything alone, he said, "Was it the rowing? Because girls hate the early morning shit. My ex said she felt like she was dating someone in the military."
