“Never thought I’d see the day.”
“You know what that means.” I smile widely, and he groans as I start shaking my arms. When he doesn’t join, I lean across the twin mattress to force it. “We agreed! Once we got it all out, we would shake off the negativity and focus on what we loved!”
“I’m not shaking like a dog, Chaos.” But I’m persistent, and he finally caves, swinging his arms a couple times. “Happy?”
“That, my friend, is what we’d call a half-assed attempt. But I’ll take it.” I settle back on my side of the mattress. “Now, positivity. I’ll go first. I love that I can sit outside for more than five minutes without sweating, unlike at home.”
Colton crosses his arms, but I’ve learned a few tricks over the past couple of months of our friendship. He may not speak up a lot, but he always caves if I hold my tongue for a few minutes.
He sighs and runs his hands through his long, messy hair, pulling it back, and I’m temporarily dazed by the sharp line of his jaw. God, this boy could kill if he pulled that hair back.
“The Public Garden is pretty.” He says it like it’s a personal offense, but at least he’s talking.
“Oh, especially right now, with the leaves changing.”
“The architecture’s cool.”
“The fact that everything here is old. It’s like walking through history!”
He smiles a little at that, then ducks his head like his enjoyment embarrasses him. “The food from different places. You don’t see much of anything in Grand Creek.”
“The antiquing!”
“Okay, add that to my negativity list,” he says with a raised brow.
It’s my turn to toss M&M’s at him. A handful bounce off his chest and roll off the bed.
“If I can’t negativity shame you for hating adorable sightseeing vessels, then you can’t shame me for loving old things.”
He holds up his hands in surrender and smiles that broad, dimpled smile that he makes me fight for. I want a trophy room filled with pictures of him just like that, a plaque beside each one stating what I said to earn it.
I glance down at the pile of books between us. We’re supposed to be studying, but neither of us have worked up the energy to start.
“Are we doing this?” I ask, gesturing to the offending pile.
“Guess we gotta.”
The bane of my existence, my calculus book, sits on top of the pile, mocking me. Colton tosses it over before grabbing his finance book, both of us settling in.
The words and numbers blur on the page in front of me. I look over at Colton’s scrunched up brow as he reads something in the book, seeing he’s clearly as excited about studying as I am. I throw my book back down.
“We need to do something fun. Something to get our minds off the stress so that we can focus.”
“I am focused, Chaos.”
“Really? Look at me.” I wait until his gaze meets mine, holding it for a few seconds. “Tell me the last thing you read.”
He narrows his eyes. I take his silence as confirmation that he’s retained about as much as I have.
“Come on.” I smack my palms against my lap. “We’re going to the Esplanade.”
“Why in the world are we going to the Esplanade?”
“To go kayaking on the Charles River.”
“Quinn, I gotta study. Plus, it’s cold.”
I flop back again. “Fine. You’re no fun.”
