I took a deep breath, staring out the windshield at the large campus before me. I was physically prepared—I had started making up some of my missed work online, bought a strap-on baby carrier so I could carry Abigail around easier, and had Kaybree on speed dial, even asking Miranda if she could call her periodically just in case—but, mentally, I wasn't sure if I could do this.
When I had texted Rico telling him that I was coming back, I got an expected response in very excited all caps. Since we had planned a few of our classes together, you know, the classes that somehow overlapped between Microbiology and Social Media Marketing, we shared a class starting at eight forty-five. Approximately ten minutes from now.
But yet, here I sat, definitely not getting out of the car and making my way inside.
My phone buzzed on the dashboard. I knew it was probably Rico asking where I was parked so he could come pound on my window and demand I come inside, but I picked it up anyway.
I was pleasantly surprised to see Sav's name attached to the notification.
First day back, right?
I sighed, typing out, Yep.
Her reply was immediate. Good luck. Hope your lecture listening ears aren't too rusty ;)
Ha, yeah, me too. I sent that and then decided to add in a separate message, I keep staring at the building but not actually going inside...
Yeah, Rico's weirdness is pretty scary sometimes.
Though that is true, that was not why I was dreading going in.
Scared that your cute new arm candy is going to overwhelm you with college cheerleaders?
I snorted. Okay, maybe having Abigail with me is going to take a little while to get used to, but I meant having to try to focus on taking notes and doing such mundane things when I could be at home, helping Kaybree get better.
The bubbles danced a moment before her reply came in. Kaybree was getting better without you when you were on the trip with me. What's stopping her from getting better without you now?
She had a point, but it still felt strange. I didn't want Kaybree to have to depend on me forever, but it was still hard trying to stop worrying about her twenty-four, seven.
True, I said. But then I thought of something and changed the subject. Hey, can I hold you to our lunch plans today?
Oh, yeah, sure. When do you have a break in classes?
I finish my last class at twelve on Wednesdays.
Perfect. I finish mine at eleven forty five. Want me to come there and we can take your car to wherever?
I imagined her sending this with a teasing smirk, which she probably did, as I replied, Sounds good to me. I'll be coming out of the West Hall next to the baseball field house.
She answered with a thumbs up and that was the end of our conversation until lunch.
Glancing at the clock, I had five minutes remaining. It would take at least that to unbuckle Abigail, get her in the strap on carrier, and then walk inside.
I sighed. I guess I was really doing this.
I pushed open the driver's side door and started to get Abigail ready, all the while preparing myself for what was to come.
°•°•°•°•°
"And you have officially survived your first day back in thirty years, my friend," Rico said dramatically as we filed out of the lecture hall of my last class of the day. Rico had another class but, fortunately, I was done for today.
I sighed and readjusted Abigail's carrier. She made a squeaky noise before blowing a bubble. "It hasn't been thirty years, Rico. Why are you always so dramatic?"
He flipped his imaginary long hair over his shoulder. "I was born this way."
"No joke." I rolled my eyes. For the almost five years I'd known him, he hadn't changed. There was no maturing for Rico Basurto.
Rico's phone buzzed from his pocket. He pulled it out and glanced at the screen, a small smile pulling to his face before he put it away again.
I held back a smirk. "Who was that?"
"Hm?" He looked over his shoulder at me before realizing what I had said. "Oh, no one."
"So you smile randomly when no one texts you?"
He sent me a half-hearted glare. "Fine. It was Miranda. Happy?"
Oh, I was very happy. If he already had her number, then convincing him to ask her out—which I had been failing miserably at since I had completely forgotten—would be easier than expected.
"Have you guys been talking a lot?" I questioned casually as we pushed our way out into the cold.
"Not... a lot. But some. With you and Sav off doing couple-y things-"
"We are not a couple."
"-I didn't have anyone to talk to so I texted Miranda. I brought her and Kaybree lunch a few times when y'all were gone and we've been talking occasionally since."
"First of all, you have an army of friends. You're on the baseball team and everyone just naturally loves you."
"Jealous much?" he teased.
I ignored him. "Secondly, how often is occasionally?"
He wouldn't meet my gaze as he reluctantly replied, "Once or twice or... a few more times than that a day."
I grinned and shoved his shoulder. "Occasionally, huh?"
He huffed. "She's just being nice."
"Miranda is nice, but do you really think she would put up with you if she didn't at least like you a little bit?"
"Hey, I'm not that difficult."
"Whatever helps you sleep at night."
He scowled and I chuckled.
"Look, we're just... friends," he told me, but he didn't sound too convinced of that himself.
"You should ask her out."
He paused and looked at me skeptically. "I don't think she likes me like that."
I sighed, backtracking to where he stood, looking as if he was contemplating the meaning of life. I smacked a hand on his shoulder. "Look, dude. You may be good at flirting, but you're so oblivious, you're on the verge of being blind. I promise you, if you text her right now and ask her on a date, she would not say no. And not just out of pity or because she's a genuinely nice person. She is a nice person. But she is also a nice person who very much likes you. Admit it to yourself and do something about it."
He brewed on this for a moment, looking as if he wanted to believe me but also was having a hard time picturing it. Which was insane since it was so obvious that they liked each other. But then his eyes cleared and he smirked. "So you're going to stand here and tell me I'm oblivious when you literally just got back from meeting Sav's family and you're still calling yourselves 'just friends'?"
I rolled my eyes and started walking again, letting him catch up. "That's different and you know it."
"No, I really don't." He sped up to walk next to me again. "You guys have practically spent every waking moment together for the past week straight and you're trying to pretend like it's nothing. You've got to admit you like her."
"No, I don't have to admit anything because we're just friends."
"But you met her fam-"
"Rico, I've met your family but that doesn't mean I have romantic feelings for you."
He grunted. "That's definitely not the same thing."
"I know it isn't. I just said it to prove a point. That you and Miranda's situation and my and Sav's situation are also not the same thing."
"So you can confidently tell me that you don't feel anything when you're around her?"
I really didn't feel anything but friendly respect toward her when I was around her. Normally. Except when she laughed. Maybe I felt something strange in my chest. Or when she took my hand. Maybe it was a bit harder to breathe. Or when the sun made her lightly freckled cheeks shine. That sometimes made my thoughts wander. Or-
I swallowed. "Yes, I feel nothing."
"It took you way too long to reply to that."
I started to protest again when I saw Sav climb out of an Uber in the small parking lot that was closest to the West Hall. Turning to Rico, I tried to shut down this conversation fast before Sav got over here. "Look, can we just drop it? You're never going to convince me of something that isn't true. So let's let this conversation end so that I can go eat lunch. Deal?"
He crossed his arms over his chest and he seemed like he was about to give in when his eyes barely flicked to the side. Toward the parking lot.
He cackled. "Oh, see? This just proves my point. You guys are literally going on a lunch date! 'Just friends' don't go on dates."
"Friends can have lunch together, Rico," I growled, starting to get annoyed with his persistence.
"We don't have lunch together."
"That's not true. We go places to eat all the time."
I heard footsteps behind me and glanced over my shoulder to see that Sav had spotted us and was approaching. I gave her a smile. "Hey."
She nodded back, her expression light and her eyes twinkling. "Hey."
"You know, I should feel offended that you're having lunch with her when you left me for a week," Rico whined. "Shouldn't you be having lunch with me?"
"No, I shouldn't be because you're being annoying." I turned to Sav. "Ready?"
"Yep."
"My car's parked in the other lot closer to the exit. Mind if we walk?"
She shook her head. "Not at all."
We started to walk, leaving Rico to sulk about being left behind by himself. "Fine! Leave me! Maybe I'll have lunch with Miranda if you can have lunch with Sav!"
Though he didn't outright say it, I knew he was implying that he was going to have lunch with Miranda as a friend, trying to spite me and make me jealous. But it honestly made me smile. Convince Rico to ask Miranda on a date, even through unintentional methods? Easy.
"Wow, I'm impressed you actually accomplished your goal," Sav muttered so Rico couldn't hear her. Though we were probably far enough away now that he couldn't. "You'll have to tell me how that goes."
I laughed slightly. "I will. And did you really have such little faith in me? Please. I'm the marvelous master matchmaker."
She snorted. "Please never say that again."
"Ah, come on," I teased, bumping her shoulder with mine. "What's wrong with alliteration? Alliteration is allegorically alluring."
"Stop!" she groaned as she shoved me back, making me laugh even harder.
"But it's so..." But I couldn't finish my sentence.
I clenched my jaw and stopped walking as I watched a couple walk out of the baseball field house, the guy's arm slung over the girl's petite shoulders. Both figures were all too familiar.
"Kason?" Sav asked, waving a hand in front of my eyes.
I blinked a few times before focusing back on her.
She raised her brows. "I think you just entered a whole other world there. Everything okay?"
My eyes flicked toward the approaching couple before finding her eyes again. But I wasn't fast enough. She caught the movement and noticed exactly who I didn't want her to notice.
I grabbed her arm and maneuvered her in front of me, gently pushing her in the way we came. "I think it might be better if we go the long way..."
"Um..." She looked up at me skeptical but slowly nodded. "Okay. But you're going to have to explain on the way."
I really didn't want to but if it prevented us from running into-
"Kason, is that you?"
I froze, every muscle in my body stiffening at the familiar deep, mocking voice. I wanted nothing more than to pretend I didn't hear him, but I'd stopped walking. He'd known I was ignoring him. It was already too late.
"Let me handle this," I whispered in Sav's ear seriously. She gave me a confused nod before I reluctantly turned around. She copied.
My jaw tightened even more upon seeing Nick, with his stupid smirk plastered to his face, and... Mora.
I hadn't talked to her since everything that happened. I'd ignored every text and call she'd sent me. But here she was, in the flesh, maybe even more beautiful than I remembered. I hated that I still noticed how amazing she looked, with her deep, warm complexion, her long, dark lashes, her soft hazel eyes. I hated that I still liked what I saw. But I had to remind myself that our past was a lot less pretty.
"Huh, it really is you," Nick continued. "Didn't think you'd be coming back anytime soon. Or ever." He laughed smoothly. Mora didn't join in even when he looked down at her. She was staring at me. But Nick seemed unconcerned.
I forced myself to say something back. "Yeah, well, maybe I'm just good at not letting what other people do uproot my life." I hadn't meant to refer to what happened between the three of us, but it applied. I didn't take anything I'd said back.
"At least there's one thing you're good at. Because we all know baseball and keeping a girlfriend definitely aren't your strong suits."
"Nick," Mora whispered, shaking her head at him. She looked up at me apologetically but didn't correct his words. She'd never been good at speaking up at times like these.
"At least I've moved on from what I don't have," I shot back. "You never seemed to be able to. You've always obsessed over what you want until you hurt somebody else to get it."
He shrugged. "Maybe. But you could call that success, something you seem to be lacking. Doesn't really matter, though. I don't care if you're miserable. I've never cared about you."
"Yeah, you've made that abundantly clear," I answered, in a low voice that was close to a snarl. The urge to punch him, which always arose when I talked to him, was strong. But then Sav gently grabbed my wrist. It broke whatever angry spell Nick always cast over me, making me take a deep breath to calm down.
But the small movement also made Nick realize there was another person beside me. His eyes trained in on Sav, not so subtly looking her up and down. He chuckled once. "You seem to have moved on easily enough, though, haven't you?"
I really didn't want to pull Sav into this, but she joined the conversation, smoothly responding with, "I'd say nice to meet you, but then I'd be lying."
Nick let out a loud, surprised laugh. "And she's a fiery one. Though I think you could have done better, Kason. She's a little... wide."
"Nick!" Mora exclaimed, but I barely heard her. My anger stoked ten times hotter than before and the temptation to swing was too much.
I stepped forward—not thinking about the baby I'd put right in the middle of a fight if I started something—but Sav put the back of her hand on my chest to stop me. I snapped my gaze down to hers and was shocked to see she was completely calm. Holding my gaze, she nodded once, telling me to simmer down, telling me that she could handle this. But she'd never handled Nick before. He never took a hint. And I didn't want her to get hurt because of his stupid snarky comments.
Though I knew Sav was perfectly capable of taking care of herself.
She took a slow step forward and met Nick's challenging stare with one of her own. She slowly crossed her arms over her chest. "From the few minutes that I've had the displeasure of hearing you speak, I can tell that you care very little of what anyone else has to say. But I'm going to say this anyway and hope that maybe you'll be sensible enough to listen. I've made my peace with the fact that I'm not considered skinny. So by attacking me, you're really just wasting your breath. But it also shows me that you have an insecurity that you haven't made your peace with. Maybe you should acknowledge it before you acknowledge everyone else's insecurities. The log in your eye before the speck in your brothers. Now, if you wouldn't mind, Kason and I were headed to lunch before you so rudely interrupted."
She turned on her heel, grabbed my arm, and dragged me away. I followed, in complete awe.
Though it didn't take Nick long to recover, he at least sounded a little angry when he called after us, "I wish I could say it was nice talking to you, you little..."
I was glad I couldn't hear the name he called Sav or I might have turned right back around and done something I would have regretted.
I couldn't say anything as we walked the long way to my car. My anger was still too fresh and my shock over Sav's confident rebuttal made her words play over and over in my head. She'd responded so calmly and so easily, like she'd done it a million times. Like his words really didn't get to her. I wished it was that easy for me to reply like that. Hearing him be cut down a few notches was extremely satisfying.
When we finally made it to my Mercedes, we both climbed in. I sat, watching Sav as she buckled up. When she realized I wasn't doing the same, she stopped and met my eyes. She just stared back at me for a long moment before she finally asked, "What?"
I had to shake my head. I opened my mouth a few times before I could actually respond. "How did... I don't get how you did that."
She shrugged. "Like I've told you..." She faded out before tentatively taking my hand. Her lip barely lifted at the corner when I slowly laced my fingers with hers and she finished in a whisper, "Jesus changed everything."
A/N *Deep breath*........ SAV IS FREAKING AMAZING! I can't- I wish I was more like her, this girl is so-.... Wow. Okay. Anyway, let's move on XD Anyone else really want to punch Nick *raises both hands* Yeah, I think a mob of us could take him! YEAH!!! .... *clears throat* Uhm... Anyway, also, did anyone else notice how Kason was so protective of Sav? Like- *blinks* DUDE YOU CANNOT SAY YOU DON'T LIKE HER. JUST ADMIT IT! *smh* Any other thoughts??? I'd love to hear them!! :D ----->
(Also, MERRY CHRISTMAS!! Remember the reason for the season <333)