Page 78 of Spring Tide

“Is that the reason?” she teases. “Because it’s late?”

“Because I want you to.”

“Yeah, I’ll stay.”

We snuggle under the covers together, our linked hands resting on my bare stomach. I shift a little—forward, back, then onto my side facing her, tucking up my left leg until I’m at least semi-comfortable.

I won’t admit it to Harper, but there’s an unavoidable ache inside my knee now. It’s painful but not unbearable. I’ll need to ice it the moment she leaves in the morning, but I knew the consequences of my actions before I started this.

“Harper?”

“Yeah?” she murmurs, her voice already filled with sleep.

“You’re good, too,” I say. “So good.”

23

HARPER

“Doyou have a bikini that ’Lani can borrow?” Stella asks as she crosses into my bedroom. She rifles through my dresser drawers before I can even formulate a response, sifting through layers of lacy underwear and boy shorts.

Lai’Lani is more my size than Stella’s, meaning she has tiny boobs that would never fill out her girlfriend’s bikini tops. I consider it both a gift and a curse. While we can get away with wearing no bra and backless tops, any attempt at cleavage is a concerted effort.

“Top left.” I chew on the end of my pen, flipping through my ergonomics textbook. “What are you guys doing today?”

“Hot tub party at Saachi’s apartment.” She pulls out a lime-green triangle suit, holding it up for my approval. “This one fine?”

“Yeah, of course. And are we talking about your ex, Saachi?”

“Who else?”

Stella met Saachi last October. She came into the Surfbreak with her three roommates, and they hit it off right away, dating for almost half the school year. Sadly, that’s about four months longer than any romantic relationship I’ve ever had.

“’Lani doesn’t care?”

She tilts her head, smile filled with amusement. “We’re all friends.”

“Very enlightened of you.”

She steps closer, tapping me on the nose. “Just because my little Blue Fairy doesn’t have any exes to be friends with doesn’t mean it’s not possible.”

I cross my arms, feigning a pout. “I have exes.”

“I mean actual exes. People you talked to for more than a few weeks before you started crushing on someone else.”

I rack my brain for a response, coming up with a singular name from the last three years of my college life. “Rory from freshman year.”

She gives me a sympathetic smile. “Honey, Rory was dating about half of Coastal at the time.”

“It was an open relationship.”

Stella’s not necessarily wrong. I’ve casually dated a lot of different people since coming to Coastal. My crushes may fade quickly, but that doesn’t mean the feelings weren’t real at the time.

“It was a situation-ship at best. Speaking of, how are things going with Reynolds?”

“See, now that’s definitely not asituation-ship.”

“Oh, so you’re in a full-fledged relationship now?” Her lips purse into a teasing smile. “He’s your boyfriend, then?”

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