by Amber Heart
“He’s a wide receiver.”
“Hmmm, the variety of dirty puns is far too great, so I’m going to keep it classy. The point is, I like that you sound happy and I hope it stays that way whether you go after the guy or not.”
“I didn’t realize it was that obvious,” Claire admitted, her tone going serious. “That I was...you know...”
“Miserable?” her sister filled in quietly. “I sort of picked up on it several thousand times...but I didn’t want you to think I was trying to get all into your business. It’s different now that you’re so far away. And I didn’t know if maybe you wanted some space from...well...me.”
Claire sighed and dropped down to the edge of the fountain in the quad. “I never wanted space from you,” she said. “I mostly just wanted space from everything else. And it didn’t really work. Instead, I kind of just hid. I’m so sorry, Kailey.”
“Don’t be sorry. Just...don’t be sad. Logan is an asshole.”
Claire gave a half laugh. “God, he really is.” Why had it taken her so long to see it? They’d been together for a year and looking back on it, she didn’t remember ever feeling comfortable with him.
“That’s the spirit!”
“So, enough about me. What about you and Brianna?” Claire dragged the other girl’s name out in a sing song voice. “Do you looooove her?”
“No. Shut up. And we’re going to the movies tonight.”
“Text me when you leave and tell me all about it.”
She could hear a smile in Kailey’s voice again as she said, “Every detail. Promise.”
****
When Claire stepped into her townhouse however, her mood took a bit of a nosedive. Both of her roommates were there, sitting at the island in the kitchen. She’d have no choice but to walk past them to get to her room. It didn’t seem as intimidating as usual, but it still wasn’t going to be fun.
“We heard Chase Franklin got benched,” Ellie said as Claire walked up.
Claire didn’t say anything. There wasn’t really anything she could say. He had gotten benched, but it was his own fault, not hers. But she discovered that she didn’t want to throw him under the bus. For one thing, they wouldn’t believe her. But mostly...he’d acted on what Logan had said about her. She couldn’t blame him for that. And he’d apologized. And, as much as she hadn’t wanted to believe it, he’d sounded sincere. She wasn’t going to be stupid and only time would tell...but she was a step closer to believing that he wasn’t a jerk.
“With a tutor like you, it’s not really a surprise,” Ellie pressed on, resting her chin in her hand and watching Claire closely.
“I haven’t even had a tutoring session with Chase,” Claire protested. It was one thing not to end up in a shouting match, but she was tired of people spreading and believing misinformation about her.
“Obviously not, even though you were supposed to,” McKenna said, rolling her eyes. “You did your best to screw the team out of a good quarterback, now you’re getting the wide receiver benched. Which guy are you going to go after next?”
“I’m not--”
“I hope you’re not planning on trying to get Logan again,” Ellie said. “Because I can promise that he doesn’t want you anymore.”
Claire glanced at Ellie quickly. There was a smug look in the other girl’s eyes.
“Congratulations on finally getting him in bed,” Claire said tightly. “You tried for a long damn time.”
Ellie’s face flushed, but there was no way for her to deny what Claire had said and they both knew it. To get any sort of alone time with Logan last year, Claire had been forced out of the townhouse. If he came over, Ellie was there, leaning over him, smiling at him, complimenting him. She had even cooked for him, for God’s sake. Claire remembered how Logan had laughed about that when they were alone. He’d called her “Eager Ellie” and he’d absolutely loved the fact that she’d worshipped him.
“You can’t blame her for wanting him to have a decent girlfriend,” McKenna snapped, always eager to stand up for popular Ellie. “She makes him happier than you ever did!”
“Is that why I’ve heard so much about the two of you as a couple?” Claire asked, crossing her arms and leaning back against the counter. She doubted that it would do any good, but she had a feeling that Logan was using Ellie. And she knew for sure that Ellie didn’t know it.
Her face still red, Ellie snapped, “It’s why he’s taking me to the party tonight!”
“When should I expect him here?” Claire asked pointedly.
“She’s going over with me,” McKenna said when Ellie couldn’t seem to come up with a response. “We’re meeting him there because it’s easier on him. Ellie cares about things like that. And you’re not even invited, Claire, so why don’t you worry about your own problems?”
“Hey, I was just trying to get to my room,” Claire replied, opening the refrigerator. “Anyway, not having to hang around with a bunch of drunk jocks isn’t a problem to me. You seem to be forgetting that I went to all those parties last year.”
Neither of the girls responded as Claire grabbed some leftover pizza and walked down the hall. Once the door was closed and locked behind her, she leaned against it with a sigh. It could have felt like a victory, and in a way it did. It was the first time she’d stood up for herself to them since the breakup at the beginning of the semester.
But they’d been her friends. Last year at the parties, they’d spent just as much time together as Claire had spent with Logan. They’d laughed and joked and danced. They’d had movie nights and makeovers. They’d helped each other with homework, teacher problems, and other minor dramas. And then Claire had broken up with Logan and everything had gone to hell.
She’d lost more than her boyfriend. She’d lost her entire social circle. And no one had even listened to her side of the story. They’d all taken his side without even asking her how she was doing. She knew that it was partly because she’d always done her best to pretend that her relationship with Logan was ideal, but Kailey had picked up on it over the phone from Maine. Surely the girls who lived with her should have seen something as they interacted day after day.
It had hurt the most a few months ago. Now she was...Claire chewed her cold pizza thoughtfully. Well, not okay with it. But she was getting by, which was better than being curled in the center of her bed fighting back tears. The conversation with Chase had helped. The conversation with her sister had helped even more. And maybe owning that argument had been pretty awesome too.
She felt a smile tug at her lips and she was almost surprised by it. It had been a long time since she’d felt like smiling. It has also been a long time since she’d noticed the warmth of the sun on her face, or joked around with her sister. Today might just be the first good day she’d had in a very long time.
She finished the pizza and flung the paper plate Frisbee style at the overflowing trashcan. Everyone was going to be at that party tonight. She could clean out her room and do some laundry. It probably wasn’t the most epic way to spend the evening, but at least she’d be able to move without tripping over anything.
Her phone buzzed and she looked at it apprehensively. She didn’t recognize the number. It wouldn’t be the first time that Logan had called her from a random number. Claire took a deep breath and answered. Maybe she could put him in his place while she was riding high. Or maybe her luck would hold and it wouldn’t be him at all.
“Hello?”
“Hey, it’s Chase.”
Relief flooded through her at hearing his voice. She also realized with a start that she really liked the way he sounded. She hadn’t noticed before because he was so good looking that she tended to focus on that. But his voice had that slightly rough and husky quality that seemed to suggest that he’d just woken up and it sounded even deeper over the phone.
“What’s up?” she asked quickly, getting her mind off of what it would be like to roll over and hear that in the morning. It probably deepened even more in the
early hours.
“Well, I’m looking over my notes and...I don’t want to go off on a tangent, but nothing makes sense.”
Claire laughed. “The boy has jokes.”
“I had to do something to prove I’m not an idiot.”
She leaned back against wall behind her bed and smiled. “I don’t know. They say puns are the lowest form of humor.”
“Ouch. Got me there. What’s it going to take for me to impress you?”
“Well, I will admit that I’m super impressed that you’re studying without me there. But I don’t think you need to be worried about trig right now.”
“Weird thing for my trig tutor to say.”
She grinned. “I think that you should just relax and focus on your other classes tonight. Don’t burn out. The more you freak out, the worse it’s going to get.”
“You’re very Zen for a math tutor.”
“Soon you will be Zen as well, young grasshopper,” she said.
Chase laughed and the sound warmed her to the tips of her toes. “We can only hope,” he said. “Okay, I’ll leave the trig alone and switch to 19th century British lit.”
Claire made a face. “I thought I told you not to punish yourself.”
“I take it that you’re not a fan of British Lit?”
“It’s not just the brits. English class and I don’t get along,” she said, eyeing the homework stacked on her desk. The majority of it was English related. She really needed to get in touch with her professor in that class and see if she could get an extension on the paper she hadn’t even started yet. “But I’m glad you mentioned it because I’ve got a few things to catch up on.”
“Too bad we can’t just exchange homework. I’m great at English.”
“I think they call that cheating,” she said dryly.
“Damn. I don’t know who “they” are, but “they’re” starting to tick me off. No puns, no homework help...”
“It’s a rough life,” Claire agreed.
“Yeah, but at least I got to talk to you. See you tomorrow, Claire.”
“Will you?” she asked, surprised. She hadn’t started making a new schedule yet. And new attitude or not, she’d expected to have to rope Chase into his next tutoring session.
“Sure. I’m not in class or on the field. Therefore, I belong to you.”
Claire bit her lower lip. “Okay. I’ll call you after class.”
“Sounds good. Talk to you later.”
Once they disconnected the call, Claire drew her knees up and rested her chin on them as butterflies fluttered to life in her stomach. Obviously nothing was going to happen. But she wanted to enjoy the light feeling for as long as she could. It had been much too long since she'd’ felt anything like it.
She heard her roommates heading out about an hour later and she sighed with relief. Once she’d made a plan of what she wanted to do with all of her free time, waiting had been torture. Claire tossed her phone onto the bed, shoved her clothes ruthlessly down into the overstuffed hamper, and headed down the hall to the small laundry room. As she started a load of clothes, she walked back and grabbed a trash bag. By the time she got all the trash gathered, bagged, and taken out it might be time to switch one load from the washer to the dryer, but she didn’t let herself get bogged down.
She sat on the floor and sorted her recycle stuff out from the pile of junk. Then she bagged the rest, dumped it all in the various bins outside, and began to clear off her desk. As she dropped an armload of papers onto her bed, she noticed that she had several texts from Logan. For a moment she froze, her heart kicking into high gear. Then she took a deep breath and hit reply without even bothering to read the combination of accusations and insults.
“Have fun with Ellie tonight.”
She flipped her phone to silent and continued with her cleaning. By the time her roommates came stumbling back in, laughing and talking in what they probably thought were quiet voices, she had a closet full of clean laundry, she could see her floor again, and her desk was totally organized. She had even caught up on a few assignments and made a firm to do list that she’d tacked on her bulletin board at eye level so that she couldn’t lose track of it.
As the other two girls chatted in the kitchen, Claire slid into bed and put her earbuds in, listening to a playlist she’d forgotten her love for as she got comfortable under the clean sheets. It was the first time she’d drifted off without thoughts of her ex in weeks. Instead, she kept replaying Chase’s rough voice until she drifted off to sleep.
Chapter 7
The next afternoon, Chase knocked on the door of Claire’s townhouse and looked around while he waited. He’d always liked this little student village, but until he met her, he hadn’t known anyone who lived in it.
Up close, he was still impressed. The doors were all painted a cheerful red and everything looked neatly maintained. It was off campus, but not too far away. He still could have walked to his classes from it. It would be a hell of a lot better than the dorm. The door opened and Claire gave him a quick smile.
“How’s it going?” he asked as she ushered him inside.
“Um, fine, I guess.” Claire tucked her hair behind her ear in a slightly nervous gesture. “How about you?”
“I’m...” He trailed off when he stepped into the living room.
Every impression that he’d had of the little townhouse as a quiet and neat environment disappeared as he got his first real look at the interior of the place. It was the messiest room he’d ever been in. At least it was definitely the messiest room he’d ever been in that wasn’t in a frat house.
Claire followed his gaze around the living room. “Yeah...my roommates haven’t cleaned up in a while.” Or ever, really. She’d kept the house pretty neat last year, but she’d avoided the common areas since everything had gone to hell, so she hadn’t kept it up this year.
“And by “awhile” you clearly mean all semester,” Chase said, still staring in disbelief.
“Basically, yes. But since none of it is mine, I’m not going to clean it up.”
“I guess I don’t blame you,” he replied as he looked at the astounding mess surrounding him. Clothes were draped over chairs. Coffee cups and glasses cluttered every flat surface. There were several pairs of heels and boots that had been kicked halfway underneath the couch, and books lying face down and splayed out all over the couch and coffee table.
“You look shocked,” Claire said, fighting back a smile. “It’s not that bad. I promise there’s nothing living in the piles of stuff.”
“It’s just...I thought that girls were neat.”
“Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but girls are people. Some people are neat and some people aren't.”
He rubbed his chin, realizing that he’d forgotten to shave that morning. He wondered what Claire thought of that and then jerked his mind away from it. She probably didn’t think anything about it, and even if she did, it didn’t matter.
“Fair enough. But you people are definitely on the “not” end of the spectrum,” he said lightly.
“This is all my roommates stuff,” Claire informed him. “I’ll have you know that my room is sparkling clean at the moment.”
“Is that where we’re working? Because if we stay out here, we’re going to have to clean.”
Claire looked around. It was pretty messy. But suddenly it seemed that Chase, with his tall frame and broad shoulders, would take up too much space in her small room. And her whole body went a little warm at the thought of him on her bed, where they’d have to sit. He’d take up a lot of room there too.
“We could try the kitchen,” she said instead.
“Sounds good,” he said easily, following her through the living room, being careful not to trip and break any bones.
Claire sighed when she saw the clutter spread on the kitchen table. “Seriously?” she muttered. “I would have thought all the dishes in the house were in the living room.”
He grinned at her. “Looks li
ke we’ve got some work to do. You bring me the dishes from the living room and I’ll start loading up what’s in here.”
“You don’t have to--”
Chase looked at the mess and gave a playful grimace. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but yeah. I kinda do. Otherwise I won’t be able to think. And math is hard enough on my brain.”
Claire shrugged. “I guess I won’t stand in your way. I’m sure my roommates will appreciate it.” Actually she doubted that they would notice, but she would.
She began gathering dishes as Chase shrugged his backpack off and into one of the chairs. She could hear dishes clattering as he began to sort and load what was covering the table. It was sort of nice to share the housework with someone.
