As soon he stands up, I see it buried in the beanbag. “Here it is.”
He swipes it out of my hand. “Whew. Thank goodness. She’s not up yet.”
I raise my eyebrows at him and smile. “You, my friend, are whipped.” He kinda smiles and hangs his head. “And I love that you are.”
“Me too.” He looks over at the rug. “Do you think Aiden will mind if we miss his birthday dinner?”
“It’s your anniversary. He’ll understand.”
“Speaking of that. I forgot to ask you. What'd you think of the freaking Eiffel Tower?”
“It’s amazing. He asked me to go to Winter Formal at the top of it. At sunset.”
“Top of the Eiffel Tower, Sunset. That's the theme.”
“One of the very first times I tutored him, he said he’s going to ask me to marry him at the top of the Eiffel Tower at sunset.”
“What'd you say to that?”
“I said I don’t even like you. Why would I marry you?”
Riley laughs. “That’s funny. Do you think I take good care of Ariela? Like, Logan did the big gesture. Aiden took you dirt. I want to make her feel like that. I don't want to just tell her I love her. I want to show her.”
“She loved the way you asked her out and to Homecoming. I think tonight will be special. There are some votive candles in the cabinet. Light a bunch. Turn on just the twinkle lights. Be as sincere as I know you feel. She'll love it.”
Riley pulls me into a hug. “Thanks, baby.”
“That’s the first time you've called me baby in forever.”
“I don't want to piss off her or Aiden.”
“It doesn't sound right when you call me Kiki. Do you call her anything?”
“Yeah. I call her Kitty. Not very original, but it fits her. She reminds me of an adorable little kitten.”
“And you want to pet her?” I ask with a laugh.
“Ha! Exactly.”
“I swear, I can almost smell the croissants baking from down here.”
“Should we let them sleep?”
“Naw, let's all go get breakfast.”
At breakfast, Annie texts me.
Annie:
Are you in your room? I need to talk to you.
Me:
I’m at breakfast. Come over.
Annie:
Can I meet you in your room?
Me:
Sure. Is everything okay?
Annie:
Everything is wonderful. (Jake and I did it!!!!!)
I read it twice, just to be sure, then message Jake.
Me:
Jake!!!?!!!!!!?!!!!!?!!!!!
WHAT???!!!
THE??!!!!
FUCK??!!!!
Jake:
I take it you talked to Annie?
Me:
I can’t believe you would do that!
Jake:
Me?! Oh no. She attacked me!!!
Me:
Seriously?
Jake:
Yes. It was awesome. I’m going to ask her to Winter Formal. DO NOT TELL HER. I want it to be a surprise. And we need to brainstorm. Come up with something good.
When I get to my room, Katie is there, fresh from a shower.
“Annie’s on her way over. Her and Jake did it last night!”
“So did me and Bryce.”
“Oh my gosh! How was it?”
“Good. I really like him.”
“Wait! Does that mean he asked you to go out with him?”
She gives me a big grin, holds up her hand, and shows me a pretty silver heart ring. “He gave me this, too.”
“That’s so sweet of him.”
“I know. I’m so happy. He didn’t ask me to Winter Formal yet, but now I know he will. My mission for today is to find a dress. I’m heading to the mall.”
Annie walks into our room, beaming. Her arm is wrapped through Maggie’s. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her look happier.
“Ohmigosh, Annie!” Katie says, hugging her. “How do you feel?”
“Amazing. Last night was seriously the best night of my life. I’d been almost dreading having sex with Ace. All the talk about when we’d do it was sucking the romance out of it.”
“Are you sore?” Katie asks. “I was sore after my first time.”
“Not really. It was a little uncomfortable, like, for a quick second, but he was just so sweet.”
“Tell them your good news, Katie.”
Katie spills about her and Bryce and gets congratulatory hugs.
“Everything is working out for all of us!” Annie says. “Although it’s kind of weird that Maggie and Keatyn haven’t done it yet.”
Maggie purses her lips and looks slightly offended.
“I didn’t mean weird like bad!” Annie says quickly. “I just meant that I never expected to have done it before you guys—and with Jake! Like, not even in my wildest dreams did I ever think I could get a guy like him to even look at me. He's fun to hang out with, and he's really funny. I swear, all I do when we’re together is laugh. Well, that and kiss. He's a good kisser too. Like, really good. You kissed him, Keatyn. Didn't you think he was?”
“I was drunk but, yeah, he was a good kisser.”
“Who was better, Dawson or Jake?” Annie asks.
“I don’t know. They were both good kissers. Dawson was hot. When I kissed Jake, they were sort of angry kisses.”
“What about between Aiden or Dawson?” Katie asks.
“I stopped having sex with Dawson when Aiden kissed me with his tongue.”
“So good,” Annie says.
“I can't compare Aiden to anyone.”
“What does that mean?” Katie asks. “Sure you can.”
Maggie goes, “No, that means he's the one.”
“What do you mean?” I ask her.
“If no one compares, if when he kisses you it's so amazing you don't care if you ever kiss anyone else again, if when you kiss it's so good it's almost overwhelming, then that’s how you know he's the one. It's way more than just heat and desire. It's the way he affects you. How, with him, you feel a combination of smoking heat mixed with sweet tenderness. And it's not just when you kiss. It's something as simple as him touching your hand or locking eyes with you from across the room. You feel the intensity. The heat. The complete vulnerability that thrills you and scares the shit out of you.”
“Wait, why does it scare you?” Katie wants to know.
“Because people tell you you're young and have so much more life to live. So many more boys to meet. But you know you could meet every boy in the universe and it wouldn't matter. He's it for you.” Maggie hugs herself while we all sigh.
So much crying.
10:30am
I hope that Aiden likes his birthday surprise. I’ve never planned anything like this before. Although, honestly, it wasn’t that hard. I just emailed the track, told them what I wanted, and they were very accommodating.
I walk down to his dorm, stopping for a moment to look at the Eiffel Tower. I still cannot believe they built it. It’s gorgeous out today. Sunny and almost sixty. It’s supposed to be nice all day, but tonight the wind is supposed to shift and blow a winter storm down from Canada. They expect us to have a lot of snow by midweek.
I completely lucked out that it’s dry today.
When I walk down the hall, I stop and knock on Dawson’s door. He answers wearing nothing but a pair of boxers and a sleepy grin.
“Did I wake you?”
“Kinda. That’s okay, though. What’s up?”
“Nothing. I was just walking by your door and realized we haven’t talked all week.”
“Come in.” He gives my outfit a once-over. “You have on jeans. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in jeans.”
“I don’t wear them very often. I’m weird, I know.”
He gives me a sexy grin as he walks around me. “Oh, but you should.”
I roll my eyes at him. “So, what have you been up to? Lately, I only see you at lunch or when you’re playing basketball.”
“I’ve been hanging out with Brooke a lot. Alone.”
“How’s that going?”
He sits on his bed next to me and shrugs. “I don’t know. I like her, but a guy can only handle so much crying.”
“How long did they date?”
“Since eighth grade. And during all that time, they only broke up twice, for, like, two days.”
“Well, her being upset is pretty understandable—especially with the way she was blindsided by the breakup. I didn’t date my ex for that long but I still miss him. He was my best friend for two years. We talked almost every single day. You feel like a part of you is missing when that’s suddenly gone.”
He nods. “She says the same thing. And she keeps trying to talk to him. Tell him she misses him. I told her that she shouldn’t because he’s probably thinking she wants to get back together, not that she just misses their friendship.”
“It’s only been a week. Sometimes you have to miss something to appreciate it.”
“I told you that after I lost you.”
I nod. “I know. So is she friends with anyone he goes to college with? Does she know what the real story is?”
“What do you mean?”
“Has he been seeing someone else? Did he cheat on her? Or does he just want to enjoy being single for a while?”
“I have no idea, but I know someone who can find out.”
“You?”
“I could. I’m friends with him too. We played football and soccer together. But if I ask, he’ll think she put me up to it.”
“But if Cam asks . . .” I say, smiling.
“Exactly.”
“Call him!”
Dawson looks at the clock. “I’m really not supposed to call him before noon, but it’s close.” He dials and puts his phone on speaker.
“What the hell, bro?” Cam answers, his voice gravely.
“You up?”
“Do I fucking sound like I’m up?”
“Hey, Cam!” I say cheerfully. “You’re on speaker with me and Dawes.”
“What are you two up to?”
“Typical high school drama. Dawson likes Brooke, who is still obsessing over her ex, who is . . . That’s the question. We want to know about her ex. Do you know the real reason why he broke up with her so suddenly?”
“Yeah. Dawson, do you want this for your own knowledge, or are you going to tell Brooke?” Cam asks.
“I guess for my own knowledge.”
“He called me before break. He’s in a frat and you know how that is. Lots of parties. Lots of girls. He had a night where some things happened with another girl. He didn’t cheat. Didn’t even kiss her. But he wanted to and felt guilty. He decided he wants to have some fun and figures if they’re meant to be together, they’ll get back together later. She’s planning to go to the same college. He wants to have fun until she does.”
“That sucks,” I say.
“Why does it suck? It’s pretty mature, if you ask me. Better to have some fun now before you settle down than regret not having fun later in life and blame your wife for it.”
My mind immediately pictures B coming out of the cabana and the leggy blonde hugging him. “Is he going to tell her?”
“I think so. Eventually,” Cam says.
“If he wants her to go to the same college, he should. If he did that to me, I’d be seriously reconsidering my choice.”
As the words come out of my mouth, I realize I’m not just talking about Brooke.
“Then they aren’t meant to be together,” Camden says.
Which pisses me off. “Is that really how he wants to live? Throwing his life into the wind and hoping he lands somewhere good? If he really loved her, he’d never want her to be with someone else.”
“That’s the problem,” Cam says.
Dawson understands what he means faster than I do. “So you mean, he wants to have fun, but if she was having fun, he might change his mind?”
“I think if he thought she was moving on it would affect him. Not sure what he would do,” Cam replies.
“Why you getting so worked up about this, Monroe?”
“I’ve just been in her situation before, and it sucks to think that someone you care about can throw away your love so easily.”
“I would think if someone threw your love away, they weren’t really that in love with you.”
Tears spring to my eyes. “What about that stupid saying about if you love someone let them go and if they come back to you it was meant to be?”
“I’ve never really understood that saying until recently,” Dawson says. “It means you have to give the person you love the freedom to make their own choices, even if they don’t choose you. You want people to be in your life because they choose to be.”
He touches my hand and smiles at me.