Page 91 of Don't Leave
Her lips lift at the corners. “Thank you.”
Before I can overthink the offer, I ask, “Do you want to hang here and watch the game?” I nod toward the kitchen. “Mom was just baking Christmas cookies.”
Her smile grows brighter, and she finally looks like the girl I grew up with. Even though we’ll never recapture what we once had, maybe we can forge a new relationship.
“You know nothing would make me happier than watching Michigan get their asses handed to them,” she says with a smirk.
I shoot her a dirty look before pointing to the door. “Get out.”
A chuckle slips free from her as she settles on the chair. For the next couple of hours, we watch the game and scarf down way too many Christmas cookies.
Our friendship doesn’t feel as easy as it once did, but it is kind of nice.
Maybe Mom is right.
Maybe there’s something to be said for closure.
Although, I won’t be admitting that to her anytime soon.
CHAPTER 26
COLE
“So, what’s the deal between you two?” Austin asks. “You two aren’t together, are you?”
The suspicion in his voice is clear.
My gaze flickers to his. “No, we’re just friends.” Sort of. I guess. Maybe. It’s all a bit tentative right now. And weird. But it’s much better than hating her guts.
His brow furrows as we walk to class.
I’m aware of how Austin feels about Jackie.
And none of it is good.
He might not know her personally, but he was there when shit hit the fan last fall. He’s the one who encouraged me to get back out there again. Up until that point, I’d never been with anyone else but her. For a couple of months, I made up for lost time in that department before deciding that random hookups weren’t for me.
He gives me a bit of side-eye me. “You sure about that?”
“Yup.” I have zero desire to travel down that road again.
When I say nothing more on the topic, his muscles gradually loosen. “Glad to hear it.”
To fight off the wicked cold blasting through campus, we both have our hockey jackets buttoned up to the collar.
“I ran into Cassidy this weekend,” he says casually.
Even though I’m the one who walked away, Austin understands that I’m still hung up on her just like I know he’s still chasing after Brooklyn.
“Where?” The word slips out before I can stop it. Or, at the very least, before I can temper my voice so I don’t sound so desperate.
My mind spins, trying to come up with an answer. I know Cassidy went home for the first time in almost a year, which means he didn’t run into her somewhere around here. The other detail I’m aware of is that Brooklyn lives next door to her.
You add those two things up and you get?—
“I picked Brooklyn up from a party on Friday night and we hung out for a while.”
Yeah. Right.
