I stop mid-stride at the deep voice calling my name and relax when I see Matty sitting with a petite, long-haired brunette with glasses. They remind me a little of the ones Star wears. “Oh, hey.”
“Do you want to sit with us?” He gestures to one of the seats across from them at the table. “This is my girlfriend, Ryleigh. Ry, this is Lux. She’s the freshman I was telling you about that I met on move-in day.”
Ryleigh lifts her hand in greeting and smiles. “Nice to finally meet you.”
“Same.” I huff out a breath. “And yeah, I’d love to sit with you, if that’s okay.”
We talk and eat and laugh for about twenty minutes before Matty glances at his phone. “I’ve gotta take off. Coach wants us at practice early to look at films today.”
He leans over, tipping Ryleigh’s face to his with a few fingers to her chin. She smiles up at him before he kisses her soundly. He glances my way. “Sorry.”
I frown, holding up a hand. “No, don’t worry about it. You two are very sweet together.”
He grins like a lovesick fool and collects his bag before waving to both of us as he takes off.
“So.” I smile. “How long have you two been dating?”
Ryleigh grins with a slight wrinkle of her pert nose. “We’re one of those gross couples who have been together a while. Just about two years now, actually. We started dating in the fall of our senior year.”
“Oh. So you went to the same school?”
“Yeah. Rosehaven Academy.”
My brow raises. “I’ve actually heard of it. Nice school.”
“Where did you go?”
“Blackheart Academy. Just for two years, though. I kinda had some trouble at the end of my sophomore year.”
“Oh no.” Her head tilts to the side. “What kind of trouble? I mean, if that’s not too involved a question. Or too personal.” She flaps her hands a bit. “Sorry. I don’t mean to pry.”
Ryleigh is so flustered and apologetic, I’m confident I can trust her with a small piece of my puzzle. I wave away her worry. “It’s okay. I was in a car accident that put me in a coma. It really messed me up, so I ended the last two years of high school doing remote learning.”
“Oh man. That must have been awful. I’m so sorry you went through that.” She drags in a breath, looking around. “This must be hard, then, huh? I bet you’re not used to being around all these people.”
I nod. She’s perceptive. “Yeah. Matty picked up on my discomfort on day one. He and his football buddies descended on me outside the dorm and started grabbing my stuff. I didn’t know what to make of it. He was nice to me, though. You’ve found yourself a good one.” I drum my fingertips on the table. “It’s nice to know a few people.”
She gestures to my phone. “Let’s exchange numbers. That way you can text me. We can be antisocial together if you want. Sometimes being Matty’s girlfriend is hard. Don’t tell him I said that.” She winks, grinning.
I smirk. “Okay. And I won’t say a word. Thank you.” We take a few moments to make sure we each have the other’s number saved to our contacts. I like this girl a lot. She’s one of those people others gravitate toward. I check my phone for the time. “Hey, do you know the best place to get coffee? I really could use something a little better than what they serve here. Raven—one of my suitemates—has me spoiled with her coffee maker in our suite, but I don’t have time to go back to the dorm.”
She grasps the arm of her glasses, adjusting them. “Sure. I can take you to my favorite spot. I could use coffee, too.”
Once we’ve put our trays on the conveyor belt that takes them into the dish room, we head out.
“So, Matty mentioned he thought you had the attention of one of his teammates.”
Huh. I frown. “Um. I guess you could say that. Hawk. He went to Blackheart, but he was a couple years ahead of me.” In an effort to steer the conversation away from the complexities of our relationship, I lob a question back at her. “So, Matty is a quarterback like Hawk, then?”
She looks at me a little funny. “Matty’s a quarterback, but Hawk plays wide receiver. That’s why they know each other so well. They’ve played together for over a year now. They’re kinda like magic out on the field.”
My brow furrows, processing that piece of information. “Oh. In high school, Hawk was our quarterback. I guess we haven’t talked about football in the couple of conversations I’ve had with him.” Like, not at all. That’s the absolute truth.
She shrugs. “I guess it’s possible that some of the players change positions as their careers progress? I don’t really know. No biggie.” She points to the small building next to the campus bookstore. “This is my favorite coffee shop.”
NINETEEN
LUX
