Page 35 of Campus Crush
His eyes were bright and his smile wide when he reached us. “Hey.”
“Hey,” I echoed, trying to sound breezy, like my stomach hadn’t just done a somersault at that smile.
“I’m Sam,” my best friend said beside me when Foster and I had been staring at each other just a beat too long.
He extended his hand. “Nice to meet you.”
Before I could worry that he might find Samattractive—because who wouldn’t?—he focused back on me. He gestured to the guy next to him. “This is Gordy.”
“Gordy? Is that your real name?” Sam asked.
“Harrison Gordon. Gordy is a nickname.”
Sam hummed softly beside me. “I think I’ll call you Harry.”
Gordy arched a brow and looked like he was preparing to be offended. “Like Harry Potter?”
Sam’s smile grew. “No, like Prince Harry. You’ve got that regal air about you.”
Gordy tilted his head, clearly weighing whether to be flattered or offended. “As long as it’s not Harry Potter, I’ll allow it.”
Sam grinned. “I mean, you do have the dark hair and tragic backstory look about you, but Prince Harry is hotter than Harry Potter.”
Foster chuckled, and I couldn’t help but smile as their banter eased the tension slightly.
“Are you guys headed anywhere specific?” Foster asked.
“Just wandering,” Sam replied. “We caught some of the earlier sets, but now we’re mostly hunting shade and snacks.”
“Same,” Gordy said.
“You want to walk together for a bit?” I wasn’t sure if I was imagining it or not, but Foster asked the question as if my answer would determine whether or not he enjoyed the rest of the festival.
The question itself was casual, but the way he asked it—like it genuinely mattered to him what I said—made my heart stutter.
“Sure,” I said, looping my thumb through the strap of my crossbody purse because I needed something to do with my hands.
We fell into step, the four of us drifting toward the tree-lined edge of the field where a local band was setting up. The music had quieted during the changeover, and the air was full of low conversation and the occasional burst of laughter from larger groups.
Sam and Gordy walked ahead, and based on the snippets of their conversation, Sam was doing her best to make Gordy blush. But then she glanced back and gave me a subtle wink, and I caught on to exactly what she was doing—trying to give Foster and me a little space.
“This is a good look for you,” Foster said after a moment, pulling my attention away from Sam and Gordy.
I arched a brow. “Sweaty and borderline sunburnt?”
He smiled. “No. Relaxed.” He gripped the back of his neck, and the move showed off his biceps in a way that had my mouth watering. “I didn’t expect to see you here,” he said. “You strike me as the type who’d rather spend a Saturday mining for gold than sweating through a music festival.”
I stared at him for a beat. “Did you just make a gaming reference?”
Normally, that’s exactly what I’d be doing inStardew Valleyalong with teasing Bear about his failing crops. But there was no way Foster could know that unless he’d figured out how little of a social life I really had.
He laughed. “Maybe. You just strike me as the type. But I gotta admit, I like this version of you. The one that comes out in the sun and listens to sad indie ballads.”
“Only because Sam dragged me here.”
“I owe her a thank you then.”
That caught me off guard. “You owe her?”
