Stupid girl.
Thayer
I entered class with seconds to spare, but the professor wasn’t there yet, saving me the awkward head down and walk directly to my seat move. Masie was in her seat when I slipped into mine.
“Hey,” Masie said as I lowered my backpack to the floor beside me.
“Hey. How’s it going?”
“How was Utah?”
“Awesome,” I said.
“I thought maybe you’d call once you got back,” she said.
“Yeah. Sorry about that,” I said, slipping my computer out of my backpack. “Life’s gotten a little crazy.”
“You gonna be out at the bars this weekend?” she asked.
I shrugged. “I’ve got this sponsorship event Saturday night, and I’m trying to focus on snowboarding, so I’m not sure.”
As I turned to face the front of the classroom, she asked, “Did I do something wrong?”
I look back at her, knowing she wasn’t the one who did anything wrong. “What?”
“You kinda ghosted me, Thayer. And, I know you’re a good guy who probably doesn’t even realize you did it, but that’s what you did. And, I guess, I’m just not used to it because it’s usually me doing the ghosting.”
Fuck. “Look, you’re great,” I began, feeling like a jerk for not talking to her about it sooner. “I’ve just got a lot going on and…”
“And, there’s someone else,” she finished for me.
I felt my shoulders fall as I exhaled. There’d always been someone else. No matter who I was with, she was always there.
“Kason’s sister?” she asked, surprising the hell out of me.
“How did you?—”
“Girls always know. And if the way the two of you push each other’s buttons is any indication of how much you care about each other, then I’d say she’s the person you’re supposed to be with.”
“You can’t actually be this cool,” I said.
She smirked, and I could finally see why she was always the one doing the ghosting. She was gorgeous and funny and someone who deserved a guy who appreciated that—and didn’t have someone else he couldn’t get over. “Oh, I’m this cool and even cooler. But, I guess it’s your loss.”
I laughed. “Totally.”
“I’ll still root for you at your competitions,” she said.
“Of course you will. I’ll be the dopest snowboarder out there.”
She laughed, and just like that, I knew we’d stay friends. Something we should’ve been all along.
Giselle
I lay on my bed. It seemed to be the only thing I’d been doing since I’d returned from Park City. Well, if you didn’t count therapist visits and showering. I’d spent the last two years working long days and nights. This break was proving to me that I really had nothing else in my life other than my boutique—the one I was terrified to return to.
What a sad notion.
My phone buzzed on the nightstand. I’d given up expecting it to be Thayer, because each time I got my hopes up, it was never him. I reached for the phone and found a text from Gino.