Page 125

“No!”

“Then I have no problem.”

A smile escaped me.

“Are you positive about it?”

“Kendra, if I keep thinking we’re not okay, I’ll always feel like I could end up going through what happened with Martin—and I don’t want that.” There was an underlying sadness in her words. “We’re together…” Her voice softened. “You’re my… girl.”

I stopped in the middle of the building’s entrance hall. Students bustled everywhere, and I felt my chest tighten, almost ready to burst. I grabbed Veronica, pulling her into a hug that she immediately returned.

I wasn’t just her girl—I was her girlfriend, and I needed to say it out loud.

“I’m your girlfriend, shorty,” I whispered so only she could hear. A soft laugh escaped her.

“If you say so, I’ll take it,” she replied, squeezing me a little tighter.

I blinked a few times, feeling my eyes sting, but then I remembered something important and gently pushed Veronica back.

Looking into her dark eyes, I confessed:

“I can’t officially ask you to be my girlfriend today because… it’s my birthday. And that would just be wrong. It’d be such a pain to celebrate both dates together.”

Her big brown eyes sparkled with amusement.

“Oh, so you’re finally bringing that up? I’ve been waiting all day for you to mention your damn birthday!” she teased, poking my side.

I felt my cheeks heat up, and I bit my lower lip in embarrassment.

“I wasn’t sure if I wanted to say anything about it,” I admitted.

Despite her initial mock indignation, Veronica seemed surprisingly understanding about my silence regarding my birthday. We continued walking to the dorms, still wrappedaround each other. Our green and pink hoodies tangled together as we moved.

“Hey, let’s go to karaoke…” Roni circled back to the first topic of our conversation, and I had to resist the urge to groan in mild frustration. “We deserve to drink a ton and celebrate your birthday!”

Trying to dissuade her was pointless at this stage—I knew that. Still, I gave it a shot:

“We have practice tomorrow.”

“Not until the evening… There’s no morning training because we have a test.”

“And you’re not going to study for the test?”

“Already did.”

“You’re not going to change your mind, are you?” I grumbled.

“No fucking way. So you better go get ready, blondie.”

I rolled my eyes, but there was nothing left to do except go along with it. Veronica left me in my room and quickly told Sid and Jaz about our plans—they were on board in an instant. I headed for a shower before getting ready to head out.

I had no idea what I would wear, but when I returned to the room I was pleasantly surprised to find Colleen there with a huge box behind her, on my bed. The bow on top kind of gave away that it was a gift.

I was sure I looked shocked as she opened her arms.

“You didn't really think I had forgotten, did you?!”

I wanted to laugh and cry at the same time.