Page 39 of Don’t Say You’re Sorry (Hawthorne University #2)

ADAM

“ D ude, stop being a pussy. Just ask him,” Xavi whispers, pushing me toward Easton.

I plant my feet. “What if he says no?”

“Then he says no, and you can try again tomorrow. Come on. You got this.”

I push out a breath. Okay. Here goes nothing.

With an encouraging nod from Xavi, I walk over to where Easton and Nate are playing one-on-one on the small basketball court in the garden.

Nate sees me coming first, pausing with the ball in his hands as he looks between me and Xavi.

Easton turns to face me, his brows lowering.

I stop in front of him, my hands tucked in my pockets, my cheeks heating with embarrassment.

I almost turn around and walk away, but I can feel Xavi staring at the back of my head, silently warning me not to.

“You okay?” Easton rasps, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

I nod once.

He raises a brow. “What’s?—”

I pull the lollipop from my pocket and hold it out in front of him. “Will you go on a date with me?”

He blinks. At me, then at the lollipop. After a long, torturous moment, he lets out a little laugh. But he’s not laughing at me. He’s laughing because he’s happy, and it lights me up with pride.

I did that.

“Is that a yes?” I ask impatiently. “You’re killing me here.”

He grins, taking the lollipop from my hand. “Yes, baby. I’ll go on a date with you.”

“Okay. Good. Let’s go.”

“Now?”

“Yes.”

“Where are we going?”

“Guess.”

He’s still grinning as we walk off the court. Xavi high-fives me when I pass him. “Atta boy.”

“Favorite food?” Easton asks.

“Today?” I think about it for a minute. “Hot dogs.”

A knowing smile touches his lips.

“You?”

“Guess.” Turning his head on the seat to look at me, he sucks on the lollipop I gave him.

“Lollipops.”

Always lollipops.

I take a slow breath and stare at his mouth. “Favorite artist?”

“You.”

I chuckle. “Thanks, but I meant musical artist.”

“Sleep Token.”

“So predictable,” I tease. “Has nothing changed about you in three and a half years?”

“Did you want me to change?”

“No,” I say honestly. I love that I still know everything there is to know about him.

He smiles and turns his attention back to the screen.

We’re watching Fight Club at the drive-in.

It’s his favorite movie. I’ve been wanting to ask him out all week, but I kept chickening out.

When I saw they were showing this tonight, I bought the tickets, panicked at the thought of asking him to go with me, and went to Xavi.

I hesitated for so long that Easton only had ten minutes to shower and get dressed before we had to leave.

I’m mostly just listening to the movie, too busy watching Easton. I’ve seen it so many times that I know what’s happening on-screen without having to look. Easton’s unknowingly muttering the words under his breath, just like he does every time we watch it.

He does a double take at me when he catches me staring. “What?”

“Nothing.”

He pops the lollipop out of his mouth and squints at me. “You want a hot dog?”

“Yeah,” I say, climbing out of the car and falling into step with him.

At the concession stand, I grab a bag of Sour Patch Kids. I already ate the bag he bought me when we got here.

“Watermelon, huh?” he asks. “So un predictable.”

“What? I get bored.”

He chuckles. “I know.”

Turning, he orders me a hot dog and pays for it. We watch the movie while we wait, sharing my sweets. He’s muttering the words again.

“I can see you.” He bumps my shoulder with his. “Stop laughing at me.”

“I’m not. I think it’s cute.”

“I’m not cute.”

“Whatever you say, sunshine.”

He playfully narrows his eyes and shoves me. I smirk and turn to grab my hot dog, taking the ketchup bottle off the table next to the stand.

He throws his hands up in exasperation. “Since when do you eat ketchup?”

“I don’t. I’m fucking with you.” Sticking my tongue out, I put the bottle back.

He shakes his head at me.

We turn around to start walking back to the car, and his step falters, his face falling. I follow his gaze to two girls around our age standing a few feet in front of us. One of them is staring at Easton, and she looks…hurt.

“Ah, shit,” Easton mutters, plastering an awkward smile on his face. “Lauren. Hey.”

Lauren? His ex-girlfriend?

She’s stunning. Of course she is. She’s got dark brown hair, icy blue eyes, immaculate winged eyeliner that would make even Xavi jealous, and perfect lips. Her outfit is pretty cool too.

I hate her.

And now she’s staring at me because she’s caught me staring. Lovely.

“Easton.” She smiles too, but she looks just as uncomfortable as he does.

Her eyes flick to me again.

Why is she looking at me like that?

“Um. You remember my friend, Anna?” She points at the blonde girl standing next to her.

Easton nods at her. “Yeah. Hey.”

Anna sneers at him.

“Who’s this?” Lauren asks, gesturing to me.

Easton rolls his lips together.

My brows pull down. Is he ashamed of me? Why? It’s not like we’re going to tell her we’re on a bloody date.

“Adam,” I say, giving her an awkward little wave. “I’m Easton’s st?—

Easton coughs, giving me a subtle shake of his head.

“Adam,” Lauren repeats, nodding to herself.

Easton looks like he wants to say something to her, but he’s lost for words. I’ve never seen him like this before. What the hell happened between these two?

With a final glare from Anna, she takes Lauren’s hand and pulls her away from us.

“Lauren,” Easton calls. “Can you unblock my number, please? I have something to say to you.”

She doesn’t look back. “No.”

Accepting that, he bows his head and lets her go.

We walk back to the car in silence. The silence continues as we watch the rest of the movie. He doesn’t mutter the words again. I don’t eat my hot dog. I’m not in the mood for it anymore.

When the movie ends, he lays his head back on the seat and closes his eyes. “Ask me.”

“What?”

“I know you’re bursting with questions. Ask me.”

“Okay. Did you tell her about me? About us?”

He hesitates. It’s as if he’s choosing his words carefully. “She knows about you, yeah.”

“What do you want to say to her?”

“Sorry,” he says simply. “She never gave me the chance to apologize after she broke up with me. That’s the first time I’ve seen her in a year.”

“What do you need to apologize for?”

He clears his throat. “A lot of things.”

“Like?”

He opens his eyes and looks at me. “I broke her heart.”