“Orrrr…Seven Minutes in Heaven?” Ethan suggests with a wicked grin, eyeing the coat closet.
Alex goes rigid, her fingers tightening around her drink. Before I can say anything, Tara jumps in.
“Yeah, that’s gonna be a no,” Tara says, shooting Ethan a look. “Remember last week when we had to walk up nine flights of stairs to the Environmental Sciences library because the elevator was too small?”
“You didn’t have to come with me,” Alex whines, her cheeks shifting from pink to red.
“Please,” Tara rolls her eyes, but her voice is fond. “Like I’d let you tackle nine flights alone. Besides, it’s good cardio.” She bumps Alex’s shoulder affectionately, and something tightens in my chest as I watch them.
“You’re claustrophobic?” Alfie asks. “Me too.”
Alex nods, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, and laughs. “Small spaces and I don’t mix.”
“Fine! No small spaces for anyone. Truth or dare, Alex?” Ethan asks, waggling his eyebrows.
She considers for a moment. “Truth.”
“Boring!” Tara calls out.
“Have you ever been in love?” Ethan asks, and I suddenly find my beer very interesting.
Alex’s face shifts from pink to red. “I... no.”
“But you want to be,” Tara prods, because she’s evil.
“I mean... yeah.” Alex tucks her hair behind her ear, a nervous tell I’ve started noticing. “I know it’s stupid, but I kind of believe in the whole fairy-tale thing. Like, real, true love. The kind where you just know.”
“That’s adorable,” Ethan coos.
“Shut up,” she glares at him. “I just... I don’t want to settle, you know? I want the real thing. Someone who gets me, who challenges me, who makes me want to be better.” Her eyes dart to mine for a split second before dropping to her lap. “I want the kind of love worth waiting for.”
“Wait, wait,” Troy calls from the kitchen. “Are we talking about love while I’m making my world-famous nachos? This is too perfect.”
“Your nachos aren’t world-famous,” Alfie mutters.
“They’re famous inmyworld!”
I watch Alex laugh, her earlier awkwardness forgotten. Her head tilts back, and the freckles splattered across her face wrinkle together as her cheeks widen.
“Freddie!” Tara’s voice snaps me back. “Truth or dare?”
I grab the tequila. “Dare. Always dare.”
FREDDIE
THEN – SOPHOMORE YEAR – NOVEMBER
Environmental Ethics just let out, and Alex is practically vibrating with leftover debate energy. Jesus, watching her get worked up about something is like watching fireworks go off—beautiful but potentially explosive. The way her eyes flash when she’s passionate about something does things to my chest I’m not ready to analyze.
I swear to God, this girl gets more excited about arguing over tree fungus than most people do about sex. Not that I’m thinking about Alex and sex in the same sentence. Nope. Definitely not.
We navigate through the standard cafeteria clusterfuck to our designated spot—this sad little corner table tucked away. But hey, it’s ours. Has been since that day in September when Alex declared it “strategically positioned for optimal study conditions.” Such a fucking nerd.
“I still can’t believe you defended that logging company,” she says, shaking her head. But she’s got that look—the one that says she’s actually enjoying this. Classic Alex. Give her a goodargument about saving the world, and she lights up like my sister Megan does when she scores a goal.
“Someone had to play devil’s advocate.” I flash her my best shit-eating grin. “Besides, my points were solid, and you know it.”
“Good, but not good enough.” She kicks my foot under the table. “Though Professor Bam seemed impressed.”
