by Rebel Hart
Nina’s smile left her face immediately, leaving shock in its wake. “Taylor. Hi.” The expression made sense to me. If Taylor and Nina had a falling out, Nina wouldn’t be jumping out of her skin to see her, but the magnitude of the shock gave me pause. Did I make a mistake inviting Taylor? “What are you doing here?” Nina asked.
“Devon and I just got back from a brunch date, and we realized we have a friend in common, so he brought me by to say hi,” Taylor explained cheerily. She looked around the room and chuckled. “Not very elaborate, is it?”
“Well, I’m not a very elaborate person.”
Taylor tilted her head. “No, but Sydney is. I remember trying to convince her to put less stuff in her locker. She tried to turn it into a royal ballroom in there. Even had this tiny chandelier.”
Nina forced out a chuckle. “That sounds like Sydney.”
Was Sydney the point of contention between them? If it was something like that, it was not a good idea that I’d brought Taylor by. “Uh, okay, well. I know Nina likes her private time, so…”
“Of course. I won’t take up more of her time.” She turned to face me. “I’ll see you soon?”
“Yeah, I’ll call you.” We’d exchanged numbers formally at brunch, although I was fast beginning to think it was a bad idea to get mixed up with someone Nina wasn’t cool with. Wait. What was I thinking? My dating life had nothing to do with Nina. “Maybe we can go out tomorrow night?”
Taylor nodded with a little bounce. “I’d love that!”
“Great. Well—” I didn’t get a chance to get anything else out. Taylor reached forward, grabbed the edges of my hoodie, and pulled me down to her. Our lips touched, and I found myself a little lost for words. Still, it wasn’t a bad kiss, even if it paled in comparison to the one I’d had with Nina. At least this kiss wasn’t just a front. Taylor pulled away, and I wiped my lips. “Well, okay then.”
Taylor winked at me before throwing Nina a quick wave. “Bye, Nina!”
Nina didn’t respond, just stared in stunned silence. I had a gut reaction to defend myself or tell Nina that Taylor and I weren’t some serious thing, but then I remembered that I don’t owe any of that to Nina. We’re not dating. Not that I even wanted to date her. She had Kai. I had Taylor. End of story.
“You guys went to high school together?” I asked, curious to know more.
Nina nodded. “Yeah.”
“Oh. You guys are friends, or were friends, or…”
“It’s a long story.” Nina was sitting on her bed, and she immediately folded her textbook and notebook up, set them off to the side, and crawled under her covers. “I’m gonna take a nap before my next class, so…”
“Oh, cool. Yeah. I probably should study a bit myself before the Dean’s Club.”
Nina nodded. “Okay. Well, just close the door on your way out.”
I wasn’t sure if Nina just didn’t realize I was planning on studying there or if she was trying to send a message, but I decided not to press. I waved at her, but she’d already turned to face the wall. I walked back into the hallway and shut the door behind me, unable to shake the sense of foreboding I got. I’d clearly messed up by bringing Nina and Taylor into the same space. I just had to hope that it would smooth over eventually and that I could keep them apart from then on.
15
Devon
The rest of the week was a long, drawn-out version of what the weekend prior had been. Ever since Nina learned that Taylor and I were dating, she’d been much more distant with me. It was back to how it was when we first met, versus the very friendly and borderline romantic way things had been between us in the days leading up to the towel incident. She was still friendly and always seemed happy to see me when I arrived for the room switch every night, but she generally avoided my gaze and never allowed our conversations to get too dangerous. If she realized our banter had crossed over into flirting, she’d shut herself down immediately, usually bringing all conversation to a definitive cease. Even when Monica poked her nose in and tried to sniff around, Nina would shut her down before I could pull any sudden kiss or role-playing antics.
Around mid-week, I’d managed to convince myself that Nina was jealous of Taylor. It made me happy to think that maybe Nina had feelings for me, and that’s why it shocked her so much to see me dating Taylor. When we woke up for class Thursday morning, though, Nina admitted that she and Kai were working together on a project for class and were meeting up for lunch to work on it. She asked me for some advice for spending alone time with him and even boldly asked me the best way to notify me to stay out of the room if they ended up coming back. I thought Kai had a girlfriend, but Nina was tight-lipped about it, saying that she recently learned he was single. That freaked me out because if Kai was single and Nina was his backup, the risk of something untoward was much higher. Fortunately, that call never came, but when Nina came slinking into the room just before count on Thursday night with a massive grin on her face, I was downright depressed.
By the time I woke up on Friday, I’d accepted two facts definitively.
First, it was absolutely a huge mistake bringing Taylor around Nina. Taylor and I had been out on another date, but no amount of questioning revealed what the history between Taylor and Nina was. Taylor always played her cards close to the chest, simply saying that she and Nina had known each other for a long time and that their friendship had been up and down. I never learned what that meant, and I considered asking Sydney. When I thought about how badly things went when I tried to involve myself in Nina’s relationship with Kai and how badly things went when I tried to involve myself in Nina’s relationship with Taylor, I figured it was high time I kept myself out of her business.
Second and significantly more terrifying, I had to accept that I definitely had feelings for Nina. I’d surpassed a simple crush a while ago and realized that what I felt for Nina had gotten deeper without my knowledge. I couldn’t call it love, at least not yet, but when I thought of being with Nina like how Henry and Sydney were together, it made me happy. The issue was that I was fairly certain that the possibility had passed me by. Suddenly, I was trying to get over Nina when nothing had happened between us, to begin with. At least nothing that wasn’t a ploy for a nosy RA or the guy Nina actually liked.
“Devon!”
I jumped and looked up at Nina, who was standing above me, shaking me wildly. My alarm was blaring on my phone next to me. I heard it go off but got lost in thought, so I never stopped it.
“Hey,” I said.
Nina smacked my phone. “What’s the matter? Your phone’s been going off the whole time I was in the shower.”
I shook my head. “Nothing. Sorry.” I sat up and rubbed my eyes, and when I was finally able to take a better look at Nina, my jaw dropped. Her normal jeans and hoodie were nowhere to be found. Instead, she wore a light blue sundress, a pair of roman sandals, and a leather jacket. Her hair was down, and her makeup even seemed more prominent. “Um. Wow. You look…amazing.”
Nina grinned slightly. “Yeah?” She looked down at herself. “It’s not too much?”
“What’s the occasion?” I asked.
She shrugged. “Studying with Kai went really well, so I was kind of hoping that if I dressed up a little bit, maybe he’d finally ask me out.”
My heart cracked at the look of hope in her eyes. “Oh. Well, yeah, I think you’re going down the right path. Although I think you could have nailed it with your regular look, too. I mean, you’re beautiful, so…”
Nina nodded. For the first time in over a week, she wasn’t avoiding my gaze. “Thank you.” She took a deep breath. “Any last advice? I feel like this is my big final exam for all your teaching.”
I snickered. “I don’t think I have anything else for you, padawan. Except…” I tossed the blanket aside and kicked my legs over the edge of the bed. I started to stand so that I could walk over to Nina, but I stopped myself. No more flirting. She had someone she wanted to be with. I shouldn’t interfere.
“Just be yourself. You’re pretty great. I’m sure Kai sees that. Now’s the time to stop all the games and just be really open. If he knows you’re interested, he’ll make a move. I promise.”
Nina’s smile got wider. “Is it weird that I’m kind of nervous?”
I shook my head, my stomach twisting into knots at the way her smile shined. “Not at all.”
“Okay. Wish me luck.” She pulled her backpack over her shoulder.
I didn’t want to wish it, but I said it anyway. “Yeah. Good luck.”
I expected Nina to leave right away, but instead, she stood in place, staring back at me. I tried to backtrack and pinpoint the exact moment she sunk her hooks into me. Surely I should have noticed someone coiling dozens of chains around me, wrapping me up so tightly that I could no longer move. Was it just because it felt so natural? Was it because, deep inside, I knew it was doomed from the start, so I just ignored what could plainly be seen? I didn’t drop Nina’s stare. For whatever reason she watched me, I was glad to soak in as much of her as she would give me until she was off into the arms of someone else.
Finally, Nina laughed and looked away. “Bye, Devon.”
Disappointment snatched me in all directions. “See you later.”
I watched until Nina was gone from the room. The door closed behind her, and then I grabbed my phone. I’d overslept but always gave myself lots of time to get ready in the morning, so I still had a good chunk of time before class. I grabbed my bag and immediately left the room, heading upstairs to Henry’s room. I used my key to let myself in and was relieved to see that Sydney wasn’t in the room anymore. Henry was sitting at his desk, pouring over a book while eating breakfast.
“Hey,” Henry greeted with a mouth full of cereal. “What’s going on?” I shut the dorm door and slunk down into my desk chair. I looked over at Henry, and he must have sensed the seriousness because he stopped eating and turned to face me properly. “You okay?”
“I have feelings for Nina,” I admitted.
“Oh.” Henry turned back around as if I hadn’t said anything important.
“What’s with that dismissal?” I growled. He was frustratingly disinterested for someone who regularly begged me to open up. “I finally share a piece of my feelings with you, and all I get is ‘Oh?’”
Henry looked over at me. “I’m sorry. I told you that you liked Nina. Like two weeks ago.”
“Well…” I didn’t have a great response to that, mainly because it was true. “I didn’t know then.”
Henry laughed. “You are insufferable. Nina is great. She’s beautiful, she’s smart, and she’s put up with you for nearly a month now. Congratulations, you found a great girl. Don’t look so glum.”
“Yeah, she got all dressed up to go impress some other guy this morning, so you’ll have to excuse my glum-ness.” I stood up and started to pull the clothes I’d packed out of my backpack so that I could freshen up and put them on. “Plus, I’m still seeing Taylor.”
“You’ve been on, like, two dates with Taylor. It’s not like you’re engaged,” Henry replied. “Nina’s been on no dates with this Kai guy, so she’s even further away. I made you keep that money to ask her out, so ask her out.” Henry returned his attention to his cereal but not before sticking a fist in the air to cheer. “I’m Team Nina!”
I rolled my eyes but couldn’t help but smile. Henry was a good friend, and he knew that at the end of the day, I did better with tough love than I did with anything fluffy. “I’m sure that has nothing to do with Sydney.”
Henry looked up at me. “It really doesn’t. I don’t know why you wouldn’t go for Nina. Don’t get me wrong, I love Sydney. There’s no one in the world I’d rather be with. I’m just saying that Nina is the total package. Sure, she’s kind of dorky, but so are you.”
“I’m not dorky. When you’re a tall, suave, debonair gentleman such as myself, it’s called eclectic.”
Henry lifted his eyebrows. “Oh, well, excuse me, sir.” He turned once again to his book and food. “Anyway. Are you going to NewSem on Friday?”
“Is it already NewSem? Time flies when you’re—”
“Shacked up with a hot girl and falling for her?” Henry filled in.
“I was going to go for the traditional having fun, but sure.” I pulled on the last of my clothes and sat down on the bed.
NewSem, which was short for New Semester, was a party held on campus during the first semester of every new school year. The big fraternities and sororities cycled through hosting, and it always fell on the same Friday as Presper’s lame Fall Ball. Despite that NewSem was a roaring party with alcohol and all of Presper’s hottest people, about a third of the university’s students still opted for the Fall Ball. I chuckled, imagining Sydney and Nina and thinking about how Sydney could be NewSem’s mascot while Nina could be the Fall Ball’s. I wondered who would lose that battle. I was hoping for Nina.
“Did you invite Sydney?” I asked.
Henry laughed, not turning around to look at me. “You mean, did I invite Sydney so that Sydney will invite Nina?”
I scoffed. “Fine, that’s exactly what I’m wondering.”
“Yes.” Henry stuck his fist in the air again. “Team Nina!”
I grinned, trying to imagine how Nina would look dressed up for the party. If I could get Nina alone at that party, maybe there was a small chance that I could figure out what that stare she gave me was all about. Then again, if Kai or Taylor came to the party, maybe not.
Either way, NewSem was known for being good luck for many. I picked up my backpack and left for class, praying that it would share some of its fortunes with me and reignite a possibility for Nina and me to become more than friends.
16
Nina
My heart was racing wildly in my chest as I made my way toward class. It was in part because of the anticipation of seeing Kai after how well working on our project went the night before, but it was also because of the way Devon looked at me when he woke up. I suppose guys could find women attractive without it meaning anything. Devon and I were friends, so I’d long stopped reading into any time he told me I was beautiful, but there was something in the way his gaze lingered on me that gave me cause for pause.
Clearly, I wasn’t skilled at reading the intentions of men from the way they looked at me or treated me. I’d messed that up with Kai on more than one occasion, but I couldn’t totally convince myself that there wasn’t a motive behind Devon’s stares. It felt like they were more frequent that week, deeper even—a weird occurrence in the wake of him starting to date Taylor. I tried to put it out of my mind, but having Devon on the brain was a habit that I was quickly developing and seldom understanding.
“Good morning, Adam,” I greeted as I walked into class and took my regular seat at the front of the room.
Adam walked over and smiled at me. “Well, if it isn’t my favorite student.”
I tilted my head. “I bet you say that to all the teacher’s pets.”
“I do, but when I say it to you, I’m not lying,” he replied with a wink. “How’s your project coming along?”
“Good. We had a late night and got most of it done yesterday, but we’ll do some buttoning up this weekend before next week’s due date.”
Adam nodded. “Very good, very good. Well, maybe consider doing it right after class. I’ve seen more than a few kids fall victim to near-death after NewSem. Knocks them out for the whole weekend.”
I titled my head. “NewSem?”
“Ah! Good morning, Kai,” Adam said, either not hearing my question or choosing to ignore it. “I just heard from Nina that your project is going well.”
“Yeah, well, with someone like Nina on your team, how can it not go well?”
Adam looked at me and lifted an eyebrow. “Sounds like I’m not the only one who favors you.”
Kai let out a joyous laugh. “Don’t worry. I’ll slide you your wingman tip later on.”
The smile disappeared from Adam’s face
, and he was totally serious when he said, “Do you need a wingman? Because I can do better than this.” I laughed, and Kai did, too, as Adam’s smile came back. “Truth be told, I don’t think you need much of a wingman here.”
My face burned, and Adam held up his hands.
“All right, all right. I’m shutting up. If I’ve learned anything in fifteen years as a professor, it’s not to get involved in students’ personal lives. Best of luck, you two.” With that, he walked away.
Kai slid down into the chair next to me, bumping into me as he did so. “Morning.”
I smiled brightly at him. “Good morning.”
He set his head in his hands and looked at me like I was the only thing in the world. It made my skin burn. “Last night was fun,” he said.
I nodded. “It was, which is saying something, considering all we were doing was working on a project together.”
Kai chuckled. “Yeah. It was a clear indicator that you and I should have been spending more alone time together long before now.”
I thought of Devon’s advice to just be open and let Kai know that I was into the idea of being with him, and it filled me with the confidence to do something I would have never done before. “I wouldn’t have minded that. I still wouldn’t.”
Kai nodded. “Message received.” He winked, and it was like I leveled up. “Well, are you going to NewSem tonight?”
That was the second time I’d heard that in less than five minutes. I had no idea what that word was. It sounded vaguely familiar, like at most, I’d been confused by it before, but the origin was totally lost on me. Still, if a professor and a freshman knew what it was, it meant that I wasn’t in the know.
I didn’t want to seem like a dork, so I replied, “Obviously.”
Kai let out a snicker, and it was almost nervous in nature. “Of course. I should have known. Are you… Do you have… Is there someone specific you’re going with already?”
