Page 35 of Facing the Line

Jonas. In those damned glasses again. Does he know what they do to me? How my stomach plummets to my toes when I see him looking like Clark Kent, knowing he’s Superman underneath everything?

He gives me a shy smile, barely turning up the corners of his mouth, but my belly does somersaults at the sight.

“Hey Hads, how’s it going?”

I shrug. “It’s okay.”

“You leaving?” He gestures towards the doors behind me. “I’ll walk you.”

“I don’t need you to do that.”

“I know you don’t. But I’d like to.”

It’s not macho posturing—the way he says it, I believe he genuinely would like to walk me home. There’s something so sweet about it that I cave.

“Alright. What brings you to the library tonight?”

I let him open the door for me, butterflies lifting off in my middle. It’s more like something out of one of Jasmine’s regency romances than my billionaire fare, but the innocence of it thrills me.

“Study group,” he says, adjusting the zipper on his Harrison Hockey jacket and shoving his hands in his pocket.

March in Indiana is unpredictable. We had one nice day last week where the sun was shining and it was sixty degrees. Sorority girls were sunbathing on the quad. But now it’s back to a gloomy forty degrees most days and chillier now since it’s dark.

I should have grabbed a coat to wear over my hoodie. As it is, I hunch my shoulders and pick up the pace.

“What were you doing?” Jonas asks, his tone light as he walks beside me.

I sigh. “I have to attend these career seminars. It was…” He raises an eyebrow as I trail off, encouraging me to continue. “I don’t know. It shouldn’t be this hard to figure out what I want to do with my life.”

Jonas huffs a laugh. “I don’t know, seems like a pretty tall order. It’s okay to take your time and go slow, make the right choice.”

I stop walking and shake my head. “But that’s the thing. I need to decide soon so I can declare a major and get all my credits in, especially if I want to do a study abroad program.”

His eyes light up. “So you’re really doing that, living your dream and finally getting to travel?”

“Yeah.” I bite my lip, but I can’t help but smile at his enthusiasm for me. “London. As long as they have a program that fits my degree…once I know what I’m gonna study.”

I let out a frustrated groan, then stomp my feet and rub my hands together so it looks like I’m trying to stay warm and not throwing a tantrum like a two-year old.

Jonas blinks, unzips his jacket, and places it around my shoulders. It wasn’t a bid for his coat, but I should have seen it coming. I inhale, surrounded by the piney scent of his cologne and fresh, clean laundry. My stomach swoops to my toes again.

“Thanks,” I mumble, and move towards my dorm.

“Hadley,” he says, bumping my shoulder with his own, “Far fewer people have things figured out than you’d guess.”

“Yeah but?—”

“Take Hunter for example,” he cuts me off, his eyes shining with intensity. “He’s always wanted to play hockey, right?”

I nod. “For as long as I can remember.”

“I hope he gets to do that. But what if his Plan B turns out better than that?”

“Better than a career in the NHL?” I can’t picture anything else suiting Hunter.

Jonas’s face shutters closed at my words. I probably ruined his pep talk.

“Fair point,” he says, voice faint. He clears his throat. “It’s okay if it takes you a little longer to figure out what you want. Doesn’t make it any less valid. Or make you any less driven.”

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