“I was complaining about him.”
“Same difference.” Rachel shrugged. “The opposite of love isn’t hate; it’s indifference.”
“Nobody said anything about love,” I said, a little too quickly.
All three of them exchanged looks.
“What?” I demanded.
“Nothing,” Ayanna said innocently. “So, are you two a thing now, or was this a one-time hate-sex situation?”
I nearly choked on my coffee. “Can we not call it that?”
“What would you call it?” Rachel pressed.
I stared into my mug, trying to find the right words. “I don’t know yet. We’re going to talk tonight.”
“Talk. Sure.” Talia wiggled her eyebrows.
“Yes, talk,” I insisted. “There’s a lot to figure out.” That was the understatement of the century.
“Well, for what it’s worth,” Talia said, “I think it’s great.You’ve been happier these past few weeks, even with all the complaining.”
“Just be careful, okay?” Rachel said, her voice gentler now. “This is complicated, and we don’t want to see you get hurt.”
“I know.” I nodded. “Trust me, I know exactly how complicated it is.”
“But worth it?” Talia asked.
I thought about Drew’s smile this morning, the way he’d kissed me goodbye, how he’d made me feel like I was everything he’d ever wanted last night, and how he supported my dreams.
But even with all the wonderful things, I couldn’t ignore that our families would likely lose their shit when they found out.
“I guess we’ll see.”
“Well, we’re here for you,” Rachel said, “whatever happens.”
“And we promise not to say ‘I told you so’ when we were clearly right about all that antagonism being foreplay,” Ayanna added.
I threw a dish towel at her, but I was laughing. “I hate all of you.”
“No, you don’t,” Talia sang. “You looove us.”
“And apparently Drew Dumontier,” Rachel added.
I grabbed my coffee and headed for the door. “I’m going to the practice rooms. You all are too insane to spend any more time with. That shit might be contagious.”
Their laughter followed me out the door.
THIRTY-FIVE
Who knew sneaking around would feel this exhilarating?
Over the past few days, Drew and I had been stealing moments wherever we could find them—behind the music building, in empty classrooms, even once in the dimly lit corner of the library stacks when no one was around. Every touch, every kiss felt like we were getting away with something forbidden, even though we were both consenting adults who simply wanted privacy while we figured out what we were doing.
When we’d met up for dinner after our first night together, we’d agreed to keep things private while we found our footing in our new relationship. Things were complicated enough without the pressure that would come once the general population on campus found out about us.
A lot had changed in a short amount of time, and it was nice getting to know Drew without any outside pressure.
