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It feels like the air is sticking to me.

Beads of sweat cover my forehead and I’m unable to brush them away because this humidity makes each box feel ten times heavier than it actually is.

The plastic bin with my brother’s bed sheets is the perfect example.

The last bin is securely on the ground when a familiar voice shocks the hairs on the back of my neck straight up.

“Long time no see, Lola,” the deep voice greets me. His large calloused hand reaches out and brushes away that pesky bead of sweat.

I have to remind myself that I don’t care about that beautiful smile and those spectacular blue eyes anymore.

I reluctantly lean into his open arms. He squeezes me like our relationship didn’t take a drastic turn this summer.

The hug feels like I missed you .

“How have you been? How was your summer at home?”

“Hey, Byron. It was great,” I say cheerily, and he looks at me, questioning its validity. “I’m happy to be back, though.”

He nods his head, but shows no real sign of believing me.

“It should be a fun year.” He pauses and I watch his brows pinch. It’s obvious neither of us know how to handle this new chapter of our relationship. The awkwardness nearly kills me. Luckily Byron is a nervous talker.

“They sent me over to help.” His thumb points to where his head coach is talking with some parents. “Coach put all the freshmen in the same dorm this year, so I’ve spent all day lugging boxes up three flights of stairs.”

This summer has treated Byron well. His blonde hair is a shade lighter from spending time in the sun. His tanned biceps look like they’ve gained a couple new tattoos. One thing that hasn’t changed is that goofy smile. Damn, I’ve really missed that smile.

His eyes scan the bins peppered around my car. “I forgot Oliver was your brother.”

Sounds like there is a lot about me that’s easy to forget.

“Oliver just went and unlocked the door, the heavier boxes are at the front of the car, so that would be a good place to start.” Byron eyes the boxes before letting out a groan.

“I’ll take those and send some of the other guys over to help with the rest.” He takes the boxes out of my hands.

“You look good, Lo. Are you coming to the hockey house tonight?” He asks, and I think I see a hopeful glow in his eyes, but I might have imagined it because I blink, and it’s gone.

“I’m not sure,” I say with a shrug, knowing I already promised Indy I’d go.

Byron’s normally cheerful eyes dim a bit. He catches it quickly replacing it with his signature smile.

Grabbing my purse from the floor behind the driver’s seat I pull out the light green pack of gum that is always tucked in there.

The winter cool freshness cuts through the grueling August heat.

I quickly pull out a second stick, and tuck it into my pocket.

If I am going to be forced to be around Byron while I get my brother settled into his room, I’m going to need my coping gum.

Two duffle bags are left in the car, so I decide to take those and leave the heavy lifting to the guys. I thought I was in good shape, but these stairs are no joke. Even with snagging the lightest bags, I’m panting by the time I make it to Oliver’s door.

“Hey, Ollie, where do you want these?”

With my hands on my knees, I focus on the ground trying to catch my breath. I’m starting to seriously consider adding more cardio to my gym routine.

“He’s in the bathroom,” Byron’s voice bounces off the walls of the empty room. “He should be back soon; he’s been gone for a while.”

When I finally roll my body to stand straight, Byron pinches his nose and swipes his hand under it.

I try to hold in my laugh, but it comes out when Byron starts laughing at his own childish joke. His blue eyes remind me of the easy laughs we shared last year.

The room goes silent. I move my weight from foot to foot.

Voices of excited freshmen fill the floor.

They talk about their plans for the year.

Some yell about how drunk they plan to get at the hockey house tonight.

Their innocence is endearing, and something I lost a long time ago.

Now I’m standing here trying to figure out a way to get out of going to that same party.

“How was your summer?” I ask, as I start unpacking the box my brother has labeled ‘desk’. He really needs to finish whatever the hell he is doing in the bathroom.

“It was good. I didn’t do much; I just volunteered at the rink and was the third wheel to Jalen and Ivy all summer.”

It’s the same hockey rink that he and Jalen met at as kids. It hosts camps for underprivileged kids who wouldn’t be able to afford hockey otherwise.

I busy myself, unpacking my brother’s textbooks and organizing his desk for him.

The room falls silent as I wait for him to elaborate on what else I know he did this summer.

It only takes a few seconds for me to know that he isn’t going to mention the girl I saw him with when I went to New York City to visit Jalen and Ivy.

By that point our communication was at the bare minimum of what I would have demanded from someone I was allegedly in a relationship with.

I’d never admit it to him but I was a little heartbroken when he didn’t come to the dinner Jalen helped me plan to surprise him.

We sat in a dimly-lit Italian restaurant on the Upper East Side waiting for him.

We were finished with our second glass of wine by the time Byron texted Jalen to say he wasn’t feeling well.

After dinner I reluctantly gave into Ivy’s pleas to go to the club with them. I settled into our booth surrounded by Jalen’s drop dead sexy teammates, but all I cared about was drowning my sorrows in the expensive bottle service.

That was until something across the room demanded my attention.

The tall figure struted in what felt like slow motion with a smaller figure tucked under their arm.

The whole thing played out like some Hollywood dramatic comedy.

The strobe lights that had been flashing all over the club landed on the one person I wasn’t expecting to see.

Byron.

Byron with a leggy blonde on his arm.

She was my opposite in every way. But if living with my mother had taught me anything it was how to keep a straight face when you are screaming on the inside.

When I realized he didn’t see us, I grabbed the closest professional hockey player to me and dragged him to the dance floor before I could be hypnotized by Byron’s mystic blue eyes.

I was devastated. Jalen and Ivy didn’t know that though.

When they asked what happened between us, I told them what I had told everyone that asked, that we were never serious, and it just fizzled out.

The truth was that I kept missing his calls, and when I tried to call him back, he could only talk for a second before he had to be at work or practice.

Eventually, the calls became fewer, and I stopped calling back.

It was one thing to try and put in the work to be accepted by my family, but I wasn’t begging any man to be with me.

“Did you have a good summer?”

“It was good.” I flash him a sincere smile. “I had a really good trip to New York. Jalen told me you were sick. That was a bummer. I was looking forward to catching up.” I really was. I missed him. He would never know that though.

His face drops the goofy smile I was desperate to see this summer and is replaced with pinched eyebrows and a small frown.

“Yeah, it was a rough summer.”

“I got the last bag!” Oliver says from his bedroom door.

Needing the comfort of my baby brother I meander over to him and wrap him in a side hug.

“I’m going to go to the house. Call me if you need anything.” I let him go, before he walks into his room and plops his bag onto his twin-sized bed. Byron throws his arm around Oliver and flashes me his most panty-dropping smile.

“Don’t worry, Lo, he’ll be in good hands.”

Pointing my finger at Byron I slowly drag it to my brother. “Do. Not. Corrupt. Him.” I punch out each word. “He is my sweet angel.”

At that comment, Oliver rolls his eyes. I keep mine locked on Byron.

“I have no such plans,” his lips say, but his eyes tell another story.

“I’ll see you both later and I expect all clothes to stay on during beer pong this time.” I turn to walk out of the room. I’m halfway to the staircase when Byron pops his head out the door.

“No promises.” He smirks, before hitting me with a wink.

Heat flushes my cheeks as I hurry into the stairwell. Once I know I am safely out of view of those teasing blue eyes, I fan myself with my hand, pissed Byron can still make me feel this way.

Since I was able to leave my winter wardrobe and furniture in my apartment over the summer break I’m unpacked in forty-five minutes.

The tote I picked up on a trip to Greece is the last thing left to unpack.

Holding some of my most prized possessions in it.

I pull out a stack of books and slide them into the front opening of my bedside table.

Each book represents a period of my life.

You could say my life is timelined by the books I read.

I remember what I was reading when I made my first best friend– Junie B Jones And The Stupid Smelly School Bus .

When I was dumped by my first “boyfriend” in middle school– The Outsiders– or when I got my first period– The Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants .

The books I bring with me every move-in day have never changed. The stack sits like this:

If You Give A Mouse A Cookie

I Spy Treasure Hunt

Magic Tree House Polar Bears Past Bedtime

Best Friends For Never- A Clique Novel

Next Year In Havana

Bright Side

The Right Move

Some were added more recently. Others show their wear as a badge of honor, but once they are tucked into their temporary home, I finally feel free to relax.

I jump on my bed and grab my phone off the top of my nightstand, pulling up Instagram to see that I have a new follow request. I don’t recognize the name, but when I click the profile, I remember the face.

It’s the hot hockey player I met in a bar in downtown Philly this summer.

And no, I don’t have a type.

He was working at a camp there all summer while training for this upcoming season. I scroll through his public profile, and when I see his jersey I think I have an inkling on why he followed me.

He goes to Hamilton University, which is only a thirty-minute drive from here.

I accept the follow request and send him a message. If I have to go to the hockey house tonight, I might as well get in the mood with a bit of harmless flirting.