Page 45 of Breakaway Goal

“Huh? Who?”

“Maddie and … him.”

“Oh,” Lane answers, his voice betraying that he thinks it’s weird I’m still dwelling on this. “The movie theater downtown. They’re showing this old movie she wants to see on Friday night.”

Before Sunrise. I’ve heard Maddie mention that movie as one she’s been meaning to watch for a while now. She’s into indie movies like that. And I noticed yesterday that the theater intown is going to be screening it. I even planned on suggesting to Maddie that we see it together.

I feel my features twist on my face.

Instead, she’s going to see it with this … guy.

I don’t like it. I don’t fucking like it at all.

“Hey, Rhys!”

I’m stepping out of Brumehill Brews, the on-campus coffee shop, with a coffee to pick me up so that I don’t fall asleep in my next class, when a girl runs up from behind me and sidles next to me.

“Oh, hi, Amelia,” I greet her. We hung out a couple times last year, though I haven’t seen her so far this semester.

She’s keeping herself glued a bit too close and tight to my side for comfort as we walk to my next class. The way she bats her long, dark lashes and giggles at everything I say even though I’m not even making any jokes tells me that she’s interested in striking up a very specific kind of acquaintanceship.

She’s a nice girl, don’t get me wrong, and she’s objectively gorgeous to boot. But all semester long, I just haven’t had space in my head for any girl other than Maddie.

Come to think of it, I can’t remember the last time I’ve had a dry spell this long. It’s something that should worry me—but right now, the only thing I’m worried about is this …dateof Maddie’s that Lane told me about.

An idea zaps into my head. It’s a bad idea, I know that, but as soon as it lodges in my brain, it immediately bypasses my better judgment and pushes a question from my mouth.

“So, Amelia,” I turn to my companion, suddenly stopping. “How about catching a movie on Friday night?”

22

MADDIE

“No way. You went to a Kailin Madsen exhibit and she was actually there?” I’m downright fangirling over what James just told me as we’re waiting in line for tickets at the movie theater.

“Yeah, it was a trip for sure,” James answers. Kailin Madsen is one of my favorite contemporary artists, and James is telling me about how he went to one of her art openings in New York City over the summer. “My uncle’s an art dealer, so he was able to get me an invite.” He chuckles. “I was totally star-struck all night. The place was swarming with famous artists and critics.”

“Did you get to talk to her?” I ask eagerly.

“Nah,” he shakes his head. “She was swamped all night. Plus, I don’t think my mouth would have been able to work if I had the chance.”

It’s a beautiful night, the coldest of the season so far, but still not so cold that it’s uncomfortable. A chilly breeze blows down the street, rustling the gorgeous mustard-yellow leaves of the tree next to us. The street is bathed in the deep, warm orange of the streetlights, casting everything in a romantic hue.

“It must be cool having an art dealer for an uncle,” I say to James.

“Yeah, definitely. He’s the reason I got into art. He and my dad are really close, so he’d be around all the time, always showing me art books and talking about the art world.”

“That’s really cool. It would?—”

“Hey, look who it is!” A loud greeting from behind us cuts me off mid-sentence.

The feeling in my chest I always get from the low, gravelly timbre of that voice tells me who it is before I even turn around. And when I do, sure enough, I see Rhys—with a girl by his side.

Rhys is wearing a wax jacket with a button-up shirt underneath. The top button is undone, showing off a splash of the ink that covers his wide chest. My throat hitches at the sight.

My gaze ticks to the girl next to him. She’s tall, wearing a sweater and a tight pair of jeans that combine to show off her stunning hourglass figure. Her face is gorgeous. A pulse of jealousy twitches through me.

It’s stupid and selfish, but I don’t like seeing Rhys with other girls. I never have.

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