I’m not pleased to admit that I’ve gotten into more than a few fights defending Danika’s honor but I’d do it again if it meant keeping her name out of those disgusting teenaged wet dream locker room talks.
“I doubt I’ll even see her,” I tell my grandma. “Plus I’ll be really busy working and taking classes. This place is too big for run-ins.”
Memaw murmurs something about my luck while Danika laughs loudly at something Margot says, the sound hitting my ears just right.
“She’ll be here all by herself, ya know. You should at least make yourself available to her if she needs your help.”
My first thought is there’s no way Danika Freeman would ever willingly accept my help but then I think, Memaw is somewhat right. Margot’s next move is to head closer to Boston with Alex and I’m not sure about Sydney’s plans but I know Danika will be on campus by herself now. I’ve always looked out for her when we were growing up, why should I stop now?
I nod to appease my grandma but the wheels are turning. I can be there for Dani if she needs me without being too much of a presence in her life. Just like an emergency lifeline for her if she needs. Someone to call if she’s too drunk after a night out and needs a ride home. Or to pick up some toothpaste if she’s running low. Maybe some snacks…whatever it is college girls need.
That’s not what college girls need,my dirty mind thinks.
I don’t know if Danika is still with that kid or not. I did what I said I would and stayed out of sight for the semester so I didn’t see if Dani had a boyfriend. There’s no one here with her now so I probably could assume they’re no longer together but I don’t like to assume things. There’s hundreds of reasons why a potential boyfriend isn’t here right now.
When I look at Danika again, she’s looking down at her phone, probably reading a text from him right now. She looks upset so I’m guessing he’s just not coming at all. When she puts the phone back in her pocket, she closes her eyes for a brief moment and takes a very deep breath in. She doesn’t think anyone is watching her but I am.
After letting out the breath, she plasters on a smile and turns back around to her roommates. To celebrate, we’re all heading back to the girls’ apartment for a big dinner and Margot seems to be caroling the group to head there now.
I didn’t spend a lot of time in Margot’s apartment but there was that one time last year that Danika and I got a little too close. I don’t know what I would’ve done if I didn’t have her there that night. But it doesn’t mean what happened should be repeated.
No, I’m ready to put my nose down and into my books. Next year, I’ll be here if she needs me but I’ll stay out of her way. Staying away from Danika Freeman is the best course of action for me if I want to maintain my sanity.
Chapter Seven
Danika
“I’msosorry,Dani,”Sydney cries on the phone. “I know I promised you we’d live together, but my…family needs me. I have to stay home, at least for a while.”
I sigh, plopping onto the chair in the cafe. “Of course, Syd. You need to do what’s best for you and your family. I completely understand.” After a few more tearful pleasantries, we hang up.
After graduation, I spent the summer bouncing around the East Coast, spending most of my time with Margot at Alex’s apartment or staying with Sydney’s family, making any excuse to not go home to my own.
While Margot was planning her big move to Boston, Sydney and I agreed we’d find a smaller apartment off campus and live together for a few more years while I’m in medical school and she’s figuring out what she wants to do.
But this phone call just changed everything.
Of course I want Sydney to be there for her family. She said on the phone that her little sister is sick with something serious so of course, she should be with them. I don’t fault her at all, but it puts me in a position of being totally homeless the weekend of my first semester of medical school.As if that wouldn’t be hard enough.
Pulling out my laptop, I search up “seeking female roommate” on craigslist and begin scrolling through the bleak options. I’m on my sixthbig-fat-nopewhen a familiar voice from behind startles me.
“Craigslist? Are you trying to get murdered?”
Arden slides in the seat next to mine, sipping his coffee. It’s the first time I’ve seen him since graduation. I didn’t spend much time in South Carolina during the summer, but I’m pretty sure he stayed in his apartment near campus most of the summer anyway. Margot had mentioned he was working somewhere nearby.
His dark hair is buzzed close to his head, letting his prominent dimples shine through his cheeks. His green eyes, distractingly similar to his little sister’s, dance with mirth as he looks at me over the lid of his to-go cup. The slight stubble on his chin is new and his muscles, well it’s clear he’s been working out this summer. He’s always been fit but damn.Snap out of it, crazy.
“Hi, Arden.”
“Hey, brat.” I roll my eyes at the nickname he gave me when I was ten years old. Somehow it stuck and I never really cared enough to make him stop using it. “How was your summer?”
“Pretty uneventful. Spent most of it with your sister.”
“Ah, so you’re the reason she didn’t come see me at all.”
I tsk. “Pretty sure you were too busy working all the time for any visitors.”
One of those pesky dimples appears on his cheek as he grins. “Did you wanna visit me, brat?” He’s toying with me, as he sometimes does. Too bad I’m not in the mood.