Page 25 of Draft Pick

Sloane sighed and slumped back into the booth. "I sound terrible when you put it like that."

"No, that's just it, you're not a terrible person. You're the sweetest and kindest person I know, you just can't seem to stop running when you're with someone good. Eventually Bob won't be there when you decide that you want him back. I know it hasn't happened yet but it might and I don't want to see you lose out on someone like him."

"But he's sooo boring, Starlie," Sloane moaned, falling forward to lay her head on her arms, narrowly missing upsetting our plate of fries. "You have no idea how much I want to be a better person because you're right, Bob is sweet and he's so good to me but sometimes when I look at him I nearly die from boredom. Do you know that he'd rather spend his weekends athome, doingnothing? I'm young and I want to party and experience all that life has to offer. I don't want to sit around and watch my life go by like I've already lived my life and I'm sitting in an old folks home waiting to die!"

A little dramatic, but I got her point. "Have you asked Bob if he wants to go out? Maybe he doesn't realize that's what you want. I can't see the man denying you anything."

"That's just it, Starlie…I don't want to feel like I'm forcing him to do whatever I want. I want him towantto go out. That's why we're not good for each other. I know he adores me but is it for the right reasons? Don't you think I knowI'mthe toxic one in this relationship? That's why I need to let him go. Be free, Bob! Find your true bliss!"

I hated to admit it, but Sloane made a valid point. "So…do you think Verve is the one you're better suited for?" I asked, cringing.

"God no, he just seems like fun," Sloane admitted with a playful laugh. "I mean, the man renamed himself Verve… there's a screw loose in there but guys like him, they're great for making crazy memories and I'm woefully short in that department. I refuse to graduate with nothing but a depressing series of boring Bob dates attached to my college memories. I need more."

I nodded, finally understanding. Sloane wasn't so flighty after all. Definitely had Daddy issues, but who didn't these days? My dad dipped when I was a baby, never even got to know him. My mom raised me by herself and taught me to be self-sufficient, which was a blessing because she died when I was a senior in high school.

Not that I wasn't close to my mom, because I was, but at least I hadn't been completely lost when she passed from cancer. It was just me and an uncle that was left of my family tree — and I rarely talked to my Uncle Charlie. Not that he was a bad guy or anything, he just wasn't part of my life.

Darby and the other girls were my family. Maybe even Danielle qualified. She did cover my share of the rent when I was scraping the bottom of the barrel to get to payday, which was sweet.

Family wasn’t always blood, it was the people who showed up when you needed it.

I grasped Sloane's hand. "You know what? You do what's right for you. Maybe it is a kindness to finally let Bob go. Just do me a favor…truly let him go this time, okay? Because it's not fair to him to treat him like an option."

I swallowed the sudden lump in my throat. No one deserved to be treated like an option. It was great advice for me, too. I deserved better than whatever Cason thought he was doing.

If Cason didn't call or text me by Friday, I was done with him.

If there was one bit of advice my mom had shared that I'd internalized, it was this: we teach people how to treat us.

If you forgive hurtful behavior, they'll figure it was okay to do it again.

And I was not okay with that.

I met Sloane's gaze and said, "Ready to get out of here? Maybe hit the square and see who's playing at Crocodile's?"

"God yes. Hopefully, it's that Norwegian band with the hot lead singer. What was it called? Ragnarok's Fury? Yeah, that's it. He was fine as hell."

I laughed as we pushed out through the front door. "Fine enough to forget about Verve and his zen ways?"

"Oh definitely. Fine enough to make me want to put my dusty passport to good use," Sloane shot back with a wink.

Laughter felt good, but a tiny sliver of sadness remained.

Damn, you, Cason. It was the pizza and beer's fault. I never should've let him in.

I wasn’t lookingfor Starlie.

Even if my gaze kept scanning the quad, I wasn’t looking for her.

I doubted she wanted to see me, anyway.

It’d been a month and a half since I last saw her, and she hadn’t left my mind since, but I figured a clean break was best. Unfortunately, each time I tried to figure out how to make it work, my ugly reality kept crashing and burning every attempt.

The problem wasn’t just my parents — it was everything. What did we have in common, aside from incredible chemistry? I was doing her a favor by dipping before things got too complicated.

That’s what I told myself.

So, I wasn’t hoping to accidentally run into her between classes or catch a glimpse as we went about our lives on the same campus but worlds apart.

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