Still, I cheer for him when I hear the rest of the crowd call his name. I have no idea what happened, but I clap anyway. Then, his coach calls a time out. All the guys huddle in a circle on the field, and Lily turns to face me.
“I still can’t believe you’re dating Connor-freaking-Williams.” She shakes her head.
“Trust me, no one is more surprised than me.” I smile smugly at her. “Which can not be said about you and Hardy. I’m so glad you guys are dating too.”
Her cheeks turn bright red as she looks down at her hands folded in her lap. “We decided we wanted to try to make it work.”
With all the chaos of life, Lily and I still haven't had a chance to talk about her and Hardy’s relationship status. They got really flirty after his birthday party, but I think they made it official at the Noel dance like me and Connor. Starting to date at the middle of senior year is really scary. I want to know what their plan is, partly because I’m curious about how they hope to make it work, but also as inspiration for my own relationship. “Have you figured out college stuff yet?”
She turns to the field and sighs. I can see her breath in the cool air. “We’re still just playing the waiting game.”
She means whether or not Hardy gets into University of Florida. We were all texting like crazy when the decision letters were sent out. Even though I don’t intend to go to UF, I applied anyway—mostly because everyone I careabout did. Lily, Connor, and I all got in on early admission. Hardy was deferred and will find out next month if he’s accepted or not. But that doesn’t tell me what they’re going to do if he doesn’t make the final cut.
“And if he doesn’t get accepted? What will you do?”
Lily doesn’t look away from the huddle of players. “I don’t know. He’s considering Santa Fe so we can still be together.”
“Really?” I jerk back, surprised by the news. Santa Fe is the community college that feeds into UF. Obviously, there’s nothing wrong with community college, but most students from Citrus Prep don’t go that route. The school has a reputation for sending students to the best colleges around the country, and the families here don’t consider community college the best. Hardy has been accepted to several top schools with great scholarship packages. I wonder what his parents think of him not going to them in favor of Santa Fe.
A buzzer indicates the time out is over. Connor and Hardy both jog back onto the field, and I’m back to pretending to understand what’s going on.
“What about you and Connor?” Lily asks before I can probe her more about Hardy’s college decisions. “Have you figured out what you’re going to do?”
I snort. “Not even close.”
“But you like him?”
I bite my bottom lip and slowly release it. “Yeah.”
“A lot?”
“Yeah.”
“But you still haven’t figured out college stuff.”
I look at her briefly before turning my attention back to the game. “This feels a little like the Spanish Inquisition.”
“No, it’s your best friend trying to catch up on all the big stuff.”
Best friend.
A tightness forms in my throat with those two words. Lily and I haven’t talked as much as I had hoped this year. The closer I got to Connor, the further I felt from her. Everything is so mixed up, but that hasn’t changed the fact that we’re still best friends. At least, not in her mind. This makes me more emotional than I expected. I swallow hard. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
“Yes, it has. I barely know the details of Connor’s and your relationship. I’m assuming you’ve kissed.”
Our first kiss was almost two months ago. Have Lily and I really not talked about it before now? I nod.
“Is he any good?”
My eyes widen, and I gasp. “Lily. You can’t ask me that!”
“Of course, I can. And your reaction makes me think that he’s terrible which makes me wonder why all the girls trip over themselves to get to him.” Lily laughs, but the thought of Connor kissing other girls stirs a wave of bitterness in me.
“Oh,” Lily says, humor lacing her tone. “Sorry, I didn’t realize you were so possessive.”
“I’m not possessive. I just really like him.” Honestly, I’m afraid that my feelings are morphing from like to something more serious. But it’s too early to start throwing outthe L-word, isn’t it? We’ve hated each other for years, just became friends a few months ago, and have only been dating for a month and a half. “And he’s a great kisser.”
Lily laughs.
