Page 24 of Bad Crush
I’m exhausted, but the adrenaline of the night is still pumping.
“How’d it go?” Rhett asks from the kitchen. He’s drinking orange juice straight from the container and staring into the fridge.
“Great, I think. I don’t know. It was weird.”
“Weird? Weird how?”
I’m hesitant to tell him about me and Reagan pretending to be engaged. Rhett’s my best friend, I know he’s always got my back, but I guess I don’t want to admit that I had to stoop to that level. I’m not proud of it. In fact, I’ve already decided I need to tell Dr. Salco the truth. That’s not going to be a fun conversation.
I wave him off. “Want to grab food somewhere or go on a run?”
“A run?” He lifts a brow.
“I need to do something besides sit here. I’m all amped up.”
Smiling, he says, “It really must’ve been a weird night.”
“You should have seen Reagan charming my professors. If she were up for the scholarship, they would have given it to her tonight and then probably thrown her a parade. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Rhett grins at me. “You like her.”
“What? No.” I dismiss the idea not because it’s so crazy that I’d be into her, but the fact that it took Reagan pretending to be my fiancée to get her to open up to me. That tells me how much of a chance I stand at there being anything between us but friendship. “I’m thankful though. I think I have a good shot at the scholarship if I don’t blow the speech.”
“Maybe you can get Reagan to do that for you too,” he jokes.
I stand. I really do have way too much energy to sit around. “Let’s go for a run through campus. Remember that old trail behind the dorms we ran freshmen year?”
Rhett grins. “That’s a killer night run trail. You think it’s still the same?”
“Only one way to find out.” I head to my room and change quickly, come back out with my shoes in hand.
“I can’t,” he says when I find him still in the kitchen. “I promised Carrie I’d call her again before she goes to bed. It’s getting late there.”
“Can’t you just text her and tell her you’ll talk in the morning?”
I can tell by his expression that’s not happening. Rhett’s girlfriend Carrie lives in Nebraska. They’ve dated since high school and have been doing long-distance all of college. This isn’t the first time he’s had to bow out of something to call her.
I get that it’s important they communicate, but it’s six or seven times a day that hehasto talk to her. If it seemed like he wanted to, I guess it wouldn’t bother me so much, but it feels like it’s out of obligation.
And I’ve heard their good night conversations. They last all of two minutes. Which means he’s blowing off our run for a conversation that could be done through text. I don’t get it.
“Sorry, man. I’ll catch you in the morning.”
I decide to go anyway. I’m smiling when I step outside. My brain keeps circling back to the mixer with Reagan at my side. I swear it was so real. Pausing, I stare over at her apartment, wondering if she’s in there watching TV like last night. I contemplate knocking and asking if she’s up for a run but talk myself out of it with a shake of my head.
You’re just friends, man.
8
Reagan
Beautiful sunsets need cloudy skies. Look for the moments of beauty today!
“So, how was it?”Dakota asks the next morning as she gets ready. I’m still in bed and she’s rummaging through my makeup searching for the eyeliner she lent me.
“It’s in my purse, I think,” I say and point to where it sits on my desk.
She dumps the contents on the bed and laughs. “How do you find anything in here?”
