The Harvard jersey folded at the bottom of a drawer.
The guys throw a goodbye party in the common room.
“Can’t believe you’re leaving Harvard,” one of them says. “It’s Harvard.”
“Believe it or not,” I reply, “there’s life outside of Boston.”
A few of them laugh.
A few of them look at me like I’ve betrayed a blood oath.
Coach finds me alone in the gym before I leave for good.
“You did good work here,” he says. “Don’t waste it.”
“I won’t.”
He nods.
“Good luck, Vale.”
It’s simple.
It lands.
The real interrogation happens two nights later at dinner with Leo, Jade, and X.
We take over the back table at our usual place. Too much food. Too many drinks.
Jade is already emotional.
X is pretending he’s not.
Leo is watching me too closely.
“So,” X says, raising his glass. “To Tristan abandoning us for sunshine.”
I smirk. “It’s called ambition.”
“Sure it is,” Leo mutters.
Jade narrows her eyes. “Why do I feel like I’m missing something?”
Leo looks at me.
I look at my plate.
“Tristan?” Jade presses.
X leans back. “Oh, this is good.”
Leo exhales through his nose. “You gonna tell her, or should I?”
“Tell me what?” Jade demands.
Leo points at me. “He ran into his old flame. Cortez.”
Jade freezes. “Stella?”
