THE CAFE WE HEARD is the best around here, is all the way across campus, but that's okay. It gives us a chance to see where all our classes are. There's nothing worse than getting lost on your first day. Though, why they're starting class on a Friday is a mystery to me. What's the point?
We enter the small establishment to find it packed with students. The line is almost out the door. It really must be as good as people say it is.
By the time we reach the counter, my stomach is making embarrassingly loud noises I hope no one else can hear. We both decide to split a turkey sub and each grab a drink. I pay for it all, telling Kennedy she can get the next time. After all, I did almost knock her to the ground without even introducing myself first.
“So,” she begins as soon as we sit down. “Tell me about you.”
I shrug and run my fingers through my hair. “There's really not much to tell. I'm nothing special.”
She scoffs. “I find that hard to believe. Come on, give me something. Where'd you go to high school? Somewhere around here?”
I shake my head. “I went to a boarding school in North Carolina. It's this really prestigious school.”
“Ah, so your parents are those kind? Really wealthy and would rather send their kids away to school?”
“No, not at all,” I giggle at the thought alone. “It was all my idea. I wrote an essay in middle school that won me a full scholarship there. Academics have always been my thing.”
She tilts her head to the side. “And you decided to come to NHU? Why not an Ivy League or something?”
“I missed home,” I tell her honestly. “My brother goes here, and the lower tuition helps my parents with the stress of needing to send two kids to college.”
It looks like she's really absorbing my words before she smiles. “Oh my God, you're adorable.”
The attention being completely on me is becoming a little uncomfortable. I busy myself with opening my Snapple and taking a healthy sip.
“All right, your turn.”
Kennedy is obviously the total opposite of me, because she shines in the spotlight. “Well, I went to Campton High School before coming here. I have a little brother and a little sister—they're twins. And I'm a cheerleader.”
It all comes together. “That's where I recognize you from! You were at try-outs!”
Last spring, I flew home for a weekend so I could try out for the North Haven University Cheerleading Team. It was a rough few days, but totally worth it.
Her eyes widen in excitement. “You went out for the team, too?” I nod. “Please tell me you made it.”
“I did, I did,” I chuckle. “We start practice next Wednesday, right?”
“Yes,” she squeals. “Ah, this is perfect.”
They call our number and we go grab our food before sitting back down. It really does justify all the talk about this place. The bread is obviously homemade and everything else is super fresh. This might end up becoming my new favorite spot.
“So, what was it like going to high school so far away?” she asks between bites.
“Not as exciting as you would think,” I answer. “The rules were really strict, and the classes were probably ten times harder than normal high school classes.”
She frowns. “Well, I mean you had to break the rules every once in a while, right? Sneak out to see your boyfriend?”
Even the idea of having a boyfriend is comical to me. “Didn't have one. And the punishments for going against the rules were so severe, not many people chanced it.”
Her brows raise. “You were away from home for four years and didn't have a boyfriend?”
“Nope.”
I don't mention that I was too hung up on someone back home to ever really notice anyone at school. The whole concept of my ridiculous crush on Easton's best friend is embarrassing. The last thing I want is for her to think I'm some kind of loser who can't seem to let go of a childhood crush. But the way he looked the other night...
I'm standing in the bathroom, checking over my reflection for the thousandth time, when Easton bangs on the door. I startle slightly and roll my eyes.
“I'll be out in a minute.”
He groans. “Well, hurry up. We're already late.”
I give myself another once-over and take a deep breath before opening the door. “Funny. Are you forgetting you changed your outfit and your hairstyle each three times?”
His gaze narrows on me. “Watch it. I don't have to bring you tonight.”
If I had a death wish, I'd mess his hair up right now, but I don't. “Whatever you say, brudder. Now, can we go?”
The whole car ride to the club, Easton's knee is bouncing like a fiend going through withdrawal. I have no idea what has him all nervous for tonight. If anyone should be freaking out, it's me. After four long years of being away, I'm finally going to see him again.
The first boy who put butterflies in my stomach.
The only boy to ever steal my heart.
My brother's best friend.
Easton parks the car and gives me a look before getting out. “Stay behind me.”
It takes everything in me not to mock him right now. Easton has always been protective, but you'd think that would fade a little bit as I got older. Nope. He still treats me like his ten-year-old sister who needs help keeping the bullies away.
The bouncer checks our IDs and we walk through the club, straight into the VIP section. I do as I'm told and stay behind Easton, until a familiar voice has my heart ready to beat out of my chest.
“Took you long enough.”
My brother sighs. “Sorry. I forgot how long it takes chicks to get ready.”
“Oh, like you were much better,” I quip.
I step up beside Easton, and that's when I see him. The pure definition of tall, dark, and handsome. His jet-black hair is styled up in a quiff, and the light reflects off his sky-blue eyes. Zayn Bronsyn looks every bit like the boy I remember, only different. His face has a light coat of scruff on it, making him look more like a man than a boy, and his arms are sporting gorgeous ink. If I thought he was hot before, he's practically a god now.
He's taking a sip of his beer when his gaze meets mine. In a split second, his eyes widen, and he breaks out into a coughing fit. Easton and all his friends watch with amusement as he tries to get himself under control, but I can't look away for another reason entirely.
“Uh, you good?” my brother asks.
Zayn nods with a fist to his ribs. “Wrong pipe.”
Just as he finally starts to calm down, Tessa, my brother's ex, pushes her way through Zayn and Knox. At the sight of her, it immediately all makes sense. This is why Easton was so picky about his appearance tonight. I should've known.
“Can I just say how much I missed you?”
My heart warms at the fact that she doesn't hate me now that she and Easton aren't together anymore. After spending so many family gatherings together, we got pretty close. I haven't seen her in a little over a year, since they broke up and all her drama went down, but it's nice to know I'm still on her good side.
“Oh my God, hey.”
She wraps her arms around me in a tight hug and I return the sentiment. Then, she moves onto my brother. Even a blind man could see the way he melts into her, but from what I've heard, she has a boyfriend. And not just any boyfriend, a famous, football-playing, sculpted from stone boyfriend, Asher Hawthorne. Their relationship was all over the news last winter. It honestly would have been hard to miss, but I never brought it up to Easton, so it's not something we've talked about.