Chapter Fourteen

James

Being away from Edelweiss for an entire weekend was torture, especially knowing I’ve set the day of our demise. I missed the smell of her shampoo and how her hand feels so right in my own.

When the bell rings, I leap up and almost trip over my chair as I make for the door. The brisk air cuts into my cheek while I skip the sidewalks and dart across the lawn to the math building.

I see Edel’s signature light-blond hair before she sees me. Perfect. I step to the side of the hallway, wedging myself behind the girls’ gymnastics trophy case, and wait for her to pass. When she does, I reach out and grab her at the waist, spinning her around.

“James.” She giggles, pressing her hand to my chest. A group of students pause their conversation, watching us.

I scoop her close, and with my wink, she catches on. Her hand slides up my shoulder, and I can’t help but let my lips brush against hers. “Long time, no see,” I say. “I missed you.”

“I can see that.” She laughs, cocking her head to the side once people have moved on.

“In my defense, people would expect a kiss after we weren’t together for an entire weekend,” I whisper.

“I doubt they even noticed we weren’t together.”

I scrunch up my nose, remembering Proctor’s text from Saturday night. “Did Proctor sit next to you at dinner on Saturday?”

She nods. “With Tuti and Jordan, too. Oh, and Gavin. He showed up halfway through.”

Because I texted him to move in after Proctor texted me bragging about hitting on “my chick.”

“Trust me,” I chuckle and take her hand in mine. There, now this feels right. “They noticed.”

We wander through the hallway and out the door to the quad. A twenty-minute break between classes is not enough time to soak up the amount of Edelweiss I missed over the weekend.

“How are you?” I ask her once we’re outside and out of earshot.

She zips up her coat. “Good. You?”

I glance at the sophomore girls gathered at the bottom of the stairs. Once I let Edelweiss go, my entire year will be spent avoiding girls like them. “I’m good.”

She glances at the girls as well. “So how do we do this?”

“Do what?”

“Show the school we’re not a perfect couple anymore? We need to start distancing ourselves from each other if we’re breaking up on Halloween. It’s only a week and a half away. The way you just kissed me feels too much like a fairy tale.”

“Are you saying you want me to stand you up?”

“I don’t know. Maybe miss a few dinners? I could be a no-show at your game next week?”

The thought of not having her in the stands makes me shake my head before I can even think. I’m not as stressed out on the field with her up there. Her presence is a gentle reminder that there is more to life than football. Plus, it’s funny that she has no idea what I’m doing out there but claps anyways.

“No way. I need you there.”

“Why?”

“There’s something about you that makes me want to do my best, Edelweiss.” She opens her mouth, but before she can ask why, I interrupt her. “Let’s not mess with the game. I don’t want to let the team down.”

“Deal. How about you forget to eat dinner with me tonight?”

“And leave you sitting alone at our table?” I shake my head. “Not cool.”

She laughs. “James, once we break up, I imagine I’ll be eating dinner alone a lot.”

“It seems too brutal. How about we start smaller than me skipping out on dinner?” There’s something nice about sharing a meal with her, and there’s no way I’m letting that go when we have so few left.

“Like what?” Her phone vibrates, and as she answers the text, I can’t help but catch her grin.

“Who’s that?”

“Thomas, from history. He has to write a report on the Berlin Wall, and he keeps picking my brain about it because I’ve been there a few times.”

Knowing another guy is texting her feels like someone taking sandpaper to my skin. I take a step closer, hovering too close. Chill out, man. Even if she was your real girlfriend, it doesn’t mean you own her.

“You okay?” she asks as the five-minute warning bell chimes.

“Perfectly fine.” I nod to her phone, then give her the space she deserves. “Feel free to answer as we walk to class. Maybe that can be our small thing?”

“Not paying attention to each other while we’re together?” She scrunches up her nose.

“Well.” I pull out my phone while we walk across campus and shoot her a text.

Looking disinterested doesn’t mean we can’t talk.

She laughs. Now this I can handle, she texts back.

Want to have lunch on the front steps?

The skin near her eyes crinkles as she grins, and those solid blue eyes shine. That goes against our rules.

It’ll be worth it. Trust me.