Page 3 of Trick or Heat

We each hold each other’s letters, and I’m surprised by how similar his feels. I guess it’s the exact same letter no matter what the words say, but I can’t help but let it spark the tiniest bit of hope.

My fingers slip under the fold of the envelope carefully as I try to avoid any paper cuts. When the glue undoes itself and lets me slip it open, my stomach twists. I pull the paper out as I actively avoid watching Casey do the same thing.

My eyes trail over the first few words and my heart leaps.

We are pleased to inform you that your application to White Pine Crest University has been accepted.

He did it.

I read the sentence over and over again, my smile flying free. For an entire minute, I’m not thinking about my own letter or worried about the idea that we might be separated. I’m just proud of my friend for getting into the college of our dreams.

“Elsie?”

I hesitate for only a moment, doubt and worry riddling me, but then I look up at Casey’s smiling face. It’s light and elated and free of panic, and that’s what makes my heart skip like a racehorse that just won its first Kentucky Derby.

“I got in?” I ask, my lip trembling.

He nods and points at the paper in my hand. “I got in?”

Instead of answering, my body seems to move without thinking because it flies right into Casey’s, his arms catching me before we fall over into a heap on my bed. I wrap my limbs around him, clutching his shoulders as relief soars through me. I may also shed a tear or two, but nobody needs to know that.

“We don’t have to separate,” I whisper in his ear, letting the truth of the words flow into reality.

“No, never,” he agrees, holding me tight. “I’m right here. I’ll always be right here.”

My hormone-riddled brain causes the words to sound much more sultry than I’m sure he intended, but I don’t bother to correct it. The omega inside me lets me have it, even for just a moment. Maybe it would have been for the best if we were forced apart since we can never be together, but that’s not what I want.

I want him in my life, even if it’s just platonic between us for the rest of it.

Still, that’s a problem for another day. Right now, I am just overjoyed by the fact that I don’t have to say goodbye to my best friend. I have four more years to figure out how to tell Casey that I love him, or four years to finally accept that it might never happen.

ONE

Current Day — Halloween

“Is that what you’re wearing?” Mavin asks, her eyes bright through the screen as she trails over my costume.

“Yes! Can you tell what I am?” I do a little spin, my white dress flying up with the movement. The silky fringe glides like butter over my skin.

“To be honest, El, no.” She laughs, pushing some loose hair behind her ear.

“Hold on.” I grab the accompanying headpiece and place it on my blonde locks. “What about now?” I ask as I sway my jazz hands dramatically.

“You look like you’re from The Great Gatsby,” she observes. “Are you a flapper?”

I put the tip of my finger to my nose. “Ding, ding, ding.”

She shakes her head. “Normally people go for red, you know.”

I shrug, moving to pin the headpiece. “I thought it would look better with my hair.” I snap a bobby pin in place and sigh. My hair is near white these days, the blonde turning more and more translucent as the years go on.

“When will you be here?” Mavin asks.

“Probably a little after nine.” I attach the last bobby pin and adjust the feathers on my eyelashes, the white wisps curling dramatically.

“Destiny and the guys are going all out. I think they want to show out since it’s our first party as a bonded pack.”

I glance at her, peeping the flush in her cheeks and her smile creeping up.