CHAPTER EIGHT
Tristan
I don’t follow them down the beach.
I could.
I know the rhythm of Kane’s walk now. I know the way Stella slows when she’s thinking. It wouldn’t be hard.
But I don’t.
Because I respect him.
And because she deserves a date that isn’t shadowed by me.
Doesn’t mean I don’t think about it.
Too much.
I sit on my balcony later, elbows on my knees, replaying every look she gave him at dinner. Every laugh that wasn’t forced. Every second she seemed… open.
My chest tightens.
I saw her first.
My heart picked her before I even knew what that meant.
But I also froze first.
That’s the part that sticks.
If she chooses Kane, it won’t be because he stole something from me. It’ll be because I dropped it.
I drag a hand through my hair and exhale.
Freshman year she could’ve had him.
She didn’t.
That has to mean something.
I’m not out.
I just need to stop performing and start showing up.
The plan isn’t dramatic.
It’s small.
Intentional.
I end up next to one of Stella’s teammates in econ — Beal — loud, observant, the kind of person who knows everyone’s business whether she tries to or not.
“What’s Cortez order at the coffee shop?” I ask casually.
Her eyes light up instantly.
“Oh my God. You’re trying to romance the ice princess.”
