Page 14

“Thanks for trying, Mom, but I’d rather not take a chance on having an awful roommate again. In the meantime, I have a place to stay.”

“I know. I just want you to be comfortable.”

I smile as I balance the phone on my ear while sliding my jeans on. “If you’re worried about me leaving Walker because it doesn’t feel right, you’re wasting your worries. I am not transferring schools again. Even if I have to sleep on a cot for the next three years, I’m finishing my degree at Walker.”

She lets out a relieved breath. “That makes me so happy. I’ll be even more pleased when this room situation is resolved.”

I button my jeans and put the phone on speaker so I can slide on a tank top. “Same. Living with guys was not on my bingo card.”

“How has it been, staying with those boys?”

How has it been?

The first few days of classes are always a little chaotic, and I’ll be honest, I was a little worried that living in a house with four guys would make it even worse. But if anything, it’s been really great. Archie walked me to the bookstore to get what I needed for my classes, Pitz showed me how to access the student portal from my laptop, and Casey has been my chauffeur since he’s been pretty tight-fisted with the car keys. Beck, on the other hand, has been quiet. I haven’t seen him around much the last few days, and when I have, he’s kept to himself. Even at bedtime, he seems to stay in the living room until I’m asleep and then comes up to bed.

“It’s been great, Mom. Really good so far.” I wrap my hair into a ponytail and walk out of the bathroom, ready to start my morning.

“I’m glad. Well, I was just calling to wish you a great day. Tell your brother that I love him.”

“Will do, Mom. I love you.”

I shove my phone into my back pocket and walk over to my side of the room. You can easily tell which side is mine compared to Beck’s because while mine has bags and boxes stacked haphazardly, his side is OCD central, where everything is in its place.

I’m placing my laptop in my bag when I notice a pink peony on the top of my comforter. I lift it to my nose and inhale the sweet scent. The stem has a jagged edge, like it was hand-picked.

Beneath the flower is a note. Short. Simple. Handwritten.

Have a great first day.

—Becks

To say I’m surprised is an understatement. It’s something he used to do. Back when we were together. Back when we didn’t screw the whole thing up.

My stomach does a flip as I try to sort out in my head why he would do this. I can’t help but wonder what it means.

I tuck the note in my bag and leave the peony on the bed as I head to the kitchen.

“Morning,” Casey says from his place at the table.

Beside him is Beck, dressed in jeans and a henley, looking too delicious for words, as usual. His head is down as he eats and skims through his phone at the same time. He doesn’t look up or acknowledge my presence at all.It leaves me feeling a little confused and feeling more unsettled by this shift from hate to … friend-ish … to ignoring me. The problem is, I don’t think I couldeverjust be friends with Beck. Once he kissed me behind the tree all those years ago, I was his.

It’s just always been more.

The Walker University horseshoe is the central part of campus, not only where most of the class buildings are located, but also where you can find a minute to yourself on the lawn or to hang out with friends between classes. I’ve spent some time there this week, getting organized and just catching up on my reading. I’m trying to take advantage before the Oklahoma weather turns and it’ll be too cold to be outside.

Today, there’s an impromptu football game going on. Instead of lingering, I have to head over to Dell Hall, where I have a late afternoon class. It’s in a building I have yet to be in, and based on the tour Archie gave me last week, it’s supposed to be on the far side of campus.

Problem is, I can’t remember exactly where he said it was.

I stop and look up at the name of the building in front of me and down at the syllabus on my phone. The names don’t match. I scroll through my phone to call Casey. He doesn’t answer. Figures. He’s probably with Noelle again, per usual. Just like they were in high school.

I place my hand on my head and start walking farther down the brick path that leads to the next building, but I stop short when I recognize that building is an all-girls dorm. I remember that because of a funny story Archie told me about sneaking out of the third-story window last year, wearing nothing but his boxers because the girl he had hooked up with happened to be the roommate of another girl he had hooked up with. The girls called their resident assistant on him as an unwanted intruder, and he’d hauled ass down a water pipe before getting caught and subsequently losing playing time.

So, now, I’m standing on the back side of campus, lost and laughing to myself like a crazy person.

“You okay over there?” a male voice says behind me.

I turn to see a guy with brown hair and blue eyes. He has on a hoodie and oversize headphones around his neck. He looks kind of familiar, but I can’t place him.