She was Fin’s best friend whom I hadn’t met before that evening, but he had brought her along to integrate into the group. From what I had heard and seen so far, she seemed really nice. Funny, sweet, beautiful. Everything I should have wanted instead of being hung up on the guy who left me behind. She gave me a look I couldn’t quite interpret with the alcohol buzzing through me. Her hand landed on my knee, squeezing it gently. Through my slightly blurry vision, I saw her lips tug into a soft smile.
“Want some company tonight?” She asked quietly. I felt myself nodding without really knowing what I was saying yes to. She linked her fingers with mine, said a quick round of goodbyes to our friends and promised them she’d get me home safely.
We made it outside and the muggy Texas air did nothing to cool my sweaty skin. I stumbled behind her as she started down the sidewalk, but she only squeezed my hand tighter.
“It’ll be okay, Dawson. I’ve got you,” she reassured me. I mumbled out the directions to my apartment, trusting her to steer us the right way. I didn’t know what she wanted from me or if I could even give it to her, but I did know one thing. I didn’t want to be alone.
With one devastating kiss and my ring around his neck, Theo destroyed me all over again and I was scared of what would be left of me in the morning.
Chapter 2
Dawson
“Ihope you realize I’m still salty about you abandoning me for the rest of the summer,” Aly griped from my bed, twirling my plush football pillow in her hands. “Who am I supposed to hang out with now? Fin works most days and my other friends all went home in May.”
“It’s just a few weeks. You’re also welcome to come hang out anytime you want, Al. My parent’s house isn’t that far.”
“Oh gee, you know I’d love to, but some of us work for a living, Hayes,” she sassed. She stuck her tongue out and threw the pillow at my head, missing by several inches.
“Very classy. Temper tantrums are a good look on you,” I teased. Aly gasped loudly, her hand flying to her chest.
“That was the most romantic thing you’ve ever said to me,” she said dramatically. “Now see? Where am I going to get that kind of devoted affection until school starts again?”
“Tinder,” I deadpanned, earning me both her middle fingers even as she smirked, kissing the tip of one and blowing it at me. I grabbed and stuck it in my pocket before I headed into the bathroom to gather my toiletries as Aly went off about her summer work schedule and some problem with a bitchy coworker.
Aly and I had become close in the last five weeks after karaoke night. She didn’t mind that I wasn’t a big talker and would rather be at home than out partying, whereas she lived for the Austin nightlife and really only stopped talking to eat or sleep.
That night at the bar, I had figured she’d wanted to hook up and I’d been fully prepared for her to freak out or get angry at me for leading her on when I couldn’t go through with it. I had thought about it the entire walk to my place, determined and desperate to feel anything other than the fierce ache that had started the moment I laid eyes on Theo and his date.
By the time we’d walked through my door, the thought of touching anyone but him made me sick to my stomach. Surprisingly, Aly hadn’t been offended in the slightest. Instead, she threw herself on my couch, pulled up some cheesy action movie, and had me laughing most of the night with her insane commentary.
Somehow she picked up on exactly what I had needed. She never pressed me for information on Theo past his name or what had happened to tank my mood before I rejoined the group. I didn’t know if she sensed that I wasn’t emotionally able to talk about it or she just wasn’t the prying type, but I got to live happily in denial when she was around. No pressure, no expectations, no questions asked.
“Well, it’s an open invitation if you get some time off. We’ve got a guest room with your name on it,” I told her as I sauntered back into my room and zipped up all my stuff.
“What about football practice?” She asked curiously. “Aren’t you muscly jock types supposed to be practicing twenty-four seven to keep your bodies from exploding with all that testosterone?”
My gut clenched uncomfortably at the question. It had become a bit of a sore subject for me lately.
“I went to the two required camps in June, but the rest of them are optional up until August. The sport steals most of my time during the fall as it is. I didn’t want it to steal my whole summer too, you know?”
In truth, I probably should have been staying on campus and going to practices and workouts with the team. However, with certain decisions I’d recently made for myself, the sport just wasn’t as important as it used to be. That was a conversation I needed to have with my dad sooner rather than later, but I hadn’t really worked up to that yet.
“Uuughh, but why are you going home? No one actually wants to spend their summer break with their parents, unless they’re being forced,” Aly sulked. “Wait. Is that it? Are you being coerced into this? Is this against your will? Blink twice if you’re under duress!”
“Of course it couldn’t possibly be because I actuallylikeseeing my family?” I shot her an unimpressed look. She stared back, horrified by the notion.
“You mean there are actually people whoenjoytheir family? I thought that only happened in really cheesy sitcoms,” she shuddered.
“It’s been known to happen on occasion,” I responded dryly.
“Sounds like my personal nightmare, but what the fuck do I know? My mom gets boozy with the pool boy and my dad is an emotionally stunted, workaholic mess, hence why I chose a school hundreds of blessed miles away from them,” she snickered.
“What about a boozy mess?” Nate burst into my room and threw himself on the bed next to Aly, loudly crunching on an apple in his hand. “Sounds like a good time to me.”
Nathaniel had a habit of crashing into my room unexpectedly and I had long ago given up trying to break him of the habit.I’d have better luck potty training a squirrel. Rooming with your best friend definitely has its drawbacks at times.
“We were talking about how my parents are an unmitigated disaster compared to Dawson’s own Brady Bunch,” Aly explained with a deceptively sweet smile.
