Nico mentioned that I hadn’t dated anyone so if he sees me with a boyfriend, that should put the nail in this coffin once and for all, right?
“I guess so…”
It all seems too perfect. Too likely-to-work. I hate to admit it but this plan is…genius.
The only trouble now is, will I be able to separate reality from fiction?
After ordering a pizza for dinner, Arden and I spend the next few hours ironing out the details of our master plan.
“So, Wednesday and Sunday afternoons we’ll work on stats.”
Arden looks over his class and work schedule. “Works for me.”
“And we can figure out the easiest ways to be public together in front of Nico.” I glance at my own schedule. “The best time this week is probably at the welcome drinks Friday night. All the first year cohorts and their guests are invited to a cocktail hour event.”
“Sounds fancy.”
“How fancy can an event being held in the dining hall be?”
Arden groans.
“Look if you don’t want to do this, we can—”
“No, no. Let’s go. It’ll be…fun.”
“It looked like it physically pained you to say the word fun.”
“It did.”
Gathering our dirty paper plates, I start to clean up our dinner. “We don’t have to stay long, just enough for Nico to see us.”
“You should stay long though. This is part of your med school orientation, you should stay and make connections.”
Blinking a few times, I turn to face him again. “You don’t mind staying?”
“I don’t mind staying.” He nods, definitively.
“Hm,” I murmur. “Then we’ll stay for a bit.” I nod and head into the kitchen. Arden follows me, his hands full with the empty pizza box. He hovers it over the counter before bringing it instead to the garbage can and stuffing it inside. I find myself smiling despite myself.Progress.
Chapter Eleven
Danika
Ardenputonatie and I stifle the giggle threatening to burst from my throat. He looks like he’s cosplaying as a CEO. Arden glances at me through the mirror and rolls his eyes.
“I can put on a tie, brat,” he says, adjusting the knot at the base of his throat. The way it knocks against his Adam’s apple makes my own throat slightly dry. I cough to maintain moisture.
“I never said you couldn’t. I’ve just never seen you in one.”
“That’s not true. You were there when I left for my senior prom.”
I pause. “You remember I was there?” I know it wasn’t that long ago, but I always thought that Arden saw me as an extension of his sister. Like a wall decoration that he could just walk by and ignore. I had no idea he even noticed me.
“Yes,” he says simply, turning around to face me.
For this event, I’ve opted to go full glam. For a few reasons. I want to make a good impression on the people I’m about to work with for the next four years, including professors and mentors. But, I also need Nico to see that I’m fully capable of being without him, and that means pulling out my tastiest black dress and shiniest beach waves.
Arden looks me up and down and there’s a teeny tiny part of me that thinks he might actually give me a compliment. He opens his mouth. “Ready to go?”