Slowly, she nods. “Deal.”
6LOIS
Today’s Friday. While most students are cheering for the weekend, I’ve officially hit rock bottom. It’s been almost a week since Kirk broke up with me, and exactly six days since he ghosted me. This morning, I sent him my twenty-third text—yes, I counted—left unanswered. I mean, that’s not strictly true. Hedidrespond to the first one.
KIRK: Please give me some space
Along with the messages, I tried calling eleven times, with just as many knocks on his door. He might want space, but I’ve got too much of it. I hate what I’m becoming, but my pride is in the exact same state as my heart: broken. That’s why Lane’s nickname hit so hard.
Lane. Jesus, I can’t believe I’ve been on this guy’s couch since Sunday. I could never have imagined I’d be in this situation. I don’t have many friends back in Florida—Kirk’s friends were the only ones I had. So sharing some small corner of an apartment with a student I just met is pure craziness. Plus, he’s aguy. As a girl with four younger brothers, you’d think I’d be used to sharing my space with the opposite sex. Growing up, let’s just say I never had a moment’s peace—but this? It’s a different beast entirely. Still, when Lane gave in and offered to let me stay, it didn’t take me long to figure out I needed to say yes—because Kirk lives three floors below him. That alone sealed the deal.Now that I’mtemporarilynot homeless, I can focus on what really matters: cornering Kirk on his way out of the building and winning him back. I mean, it’s not like four years of feelings just disappear in a week, right?
The only reason I managed to peel myself off the couch this morning (besides the fact that Lane was hanging around) was the feeling that I’d definitely bump into Kirk here in the lecture hall, where I’ve been waiting for ten minutes now, along withevery otherfreshman. I don’t give a damn about the orientation meeting itself: an afternoon-long welcome session where some of SHU’s student clubs get the chance to harvest as many new sign-ups as they can. Count me out.
“Lois!”
I jump, sending my notebook fluttering to the ground. I kneel and start scooping up the pages before someone can spot that I’ve doodled “Kirk” everywhere.
“Becca! Hey!”
She draws me in for a quick hug. “What’s new?” She juts out her hip, slouching against the wall in the kind of super feminine pose I could never master.
“Hm. Not much! You?”
I gnaw the inside of my cheek. I can’t stand the way I can barely string a sentence together.
“My summer was insane.” She grins, smoothing her blond ponytail back into place.
“So makeup classes weren’t all that bad, after all…” I smile.
“It was amazing.” She sighs, her eyes twinkling. “I mean I totally screwed up again, and now I’m retaking some freshman year classes, but you should’ve seen our English professor… Let’s just say he seriously made up for my dad’s meltdown. You should’ve seen his hips!”
“His hips? That’s what you look for in a guy?”
“He wasn’t a guy, Lois. He was aman! And yeah, a nice pair of hips slapping against my ass… Nothing better.”
I can feel myself starting to blush.
“How about you? All good with Kirk?”
My heart is racing.
“Yeah.” I squeeze out a smile.
“Is he here with you?”
“Yeah. I mean—no! I mean, he’s on his way,” I mumble.
Luckily, she doesn’t seem to pick up on what a mess I am right now, or maybe she just doesn’t give a shit. Either works for me.
Luckily, the doors finally creak open, and we pour into the lecture hall. By the time I grab my bag and turn back to the pressing crowd, I’ve lost sight of Becca. I slip into a seat at the top near the entrance and pretend to look for something on my phone, perfectly positioned to spot Kirk as soon as he arrives.
“What are you doing? Let’s go!” Becca grabs my arm, and before I have a chance to shake her off, she’s dragging me away. “The front is filling up already.”
She skips down the stairs to the third row, elbowing past a gaggle of girls.
“Do we really have to sit this low down?” I whisper, glancing over my shoulder.
“Yeah, we really do.” She yanks at my T-shirt. “Sit!”
