29 The inevitable third-act break up
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
The inevitable third-act breakup
RILEY
The sun was shining as a rarity today. Grace and I had bought soup and bagels from a pop-up food truck on campus and were eating them at the picnic tables in front of the main building.
Grace was insanely easy to talk to, except occasionally having to ask for clarification on words she shortened. Like defs or heckers – definitely and hectic.
“So you’re moving to Colorado with Holloway after graduation?” I questioned, stirring my soup.
With her mouth full, Grace nodded. Levi had been drafted to the Colorado Eagles. They were based in Levi and Will’s home state, but not their hometown.
“It doesn’t bother you changing your plans to follow him?” I pressed.
Grace tucked a piece of blonde hair behind her ear. “I wouldn’t say I’m following Levi, more like choosing him. The idea of living so far from home still scares me, but the possibility of not being with him was scarier.”
They clearly had something special, and Levi was evidently a different person to the guy I’d known in freshman year.
“Is that why you and Will broke up?” Grace cautiously asked. “Because Will got drafted to Texas?”
Setting down my lunch, I took an encouraging breath. Grace had caught me up to speed on her and Levi’s history. It was only fair I did the same .
After being partnered in a group assignment, Levi and Ryker had made a dumb bet and used Grace as a wager. It hadn’t taken long for Holloway to see the error of his ways though and he’d fallen hard for Grace.
Once she found out about the bet, she jumped ship. Well, technically she jumped on a flight and flew home to Australia. The distance made her realise how much she loved Levi though. Now here she was, back in a country far from her own and committing her future to him.
I’ll admit, it was kind of a sweet story. Once you looked past the obnoxiousness of Levi and Ryker.
“Before we get into that,” I said. “Maybe you should tell me exactly what you’ve heard.”
“Not enough to understand. Levi’s remained heaps tight-lipped about it, and it’s obvious asking Will is a bad idea.” Grace smiled sheepishly. “I’m curious though. I mean, until we walked into your office, none of the guys had ever mentioned you.”
That shouldn’t sting as much as it did, after all, Parker hadn’t known about Will. But she hadn’t been around when we were dating. Levi, Ryan and Tripp had been. They knew me, and they knew Will and me together.
“We met in freshman year at the Athletes’ Centre.”
Grace’s eyebrows shot up. “Athletes’ Centre?”
“Back when I didn’t avoid it,” I confirmed.
And before mum had spiralled and I was forced to give up any extra commitments.
“I was on the track and field team in freshman year. I’d always noticed the hockey guys. I mean, everyone does, right? But something about Will drew me in. He was reserved and serious, and I guess I liked being the girl who made him light up.”
Grace was grinning like I was Nicholas Sparks reciting his newest novel. Plot twist – the inevitable third-act breakup was coming.
“The good times were good. Like, really good.” My cheeks warmed in memory. “But we started spending less and less time together when hockey ramped up. Then this big draft party was being thrown for him and Levi and I didn’t show, so then...” I trailed off to realign my train of thought. “He thinks I pulled away because he was going to get drafted. But that wasn’t it.”
Grace’s lunch was entirely forgotten. Mine was too.
I hadn’t taken this full trip down memory lane in a long time. I’d allowed the fact that Will had cheated to evade all the other details that had led to our breakup. But there was more to it than that.
More than even he knew.
“What was it then?” Grace prompted.
“My mum got sick. ”
And by that point, I’d realised hockey would always come first to Will. As someone who’d always come second to my dad’s sporting career, it wasn’t something I was willing to commit my life to.
“Was your mum okay?”
I shook my head. “She died that summer.”
“Oh, Riley.” Empathy clouded Grace’s soft features. “As a fellow member of the dead parents’ club, that sucks.”
I snickered. “Dead parents’ club? That sounds sad as hell. My dad’s still alive, but we’ve never been close.”
“That’s a bummer.” Grace absentmindedly stirred her soup. “Does Will know about your mum?”
“No. I, ugh, kind of caught him cheating on me before I had a chance to tell him.”
Grace’s jaw dropped dramatically. “He cheated on you? What a bloody wanker. I’m going to kick his ass.”
Laughing, I ripped off a piece of my bagel. Grace was barely half Will’s size. I’d love to see her try.
“And you really hadn’t spoken to him again until I brought him into your office?”
I shook my head. “Nope. Hence the awkwardness.”
“Are things still awkward?”
“Sometimes.”
But for entirely different reasons. I didn’t need to add the second part for Grace to pick up on the unspoken message. A flush crept up my neck that I couldn’t hide.
“It was a one-time, well, a one-and-a-half-time thing,” I hurriedly clarified.
Grace smiled coyly. “Uh-huh.”
“And not happening again.”
“That’s a shame. If you were dating Will, you and I could have some fun.”
I agreed. It was a pity she hadn’t been dating Levi when Will and I were together. I liked Grace Hughes, and I could easily see why the renown Levi Holloway had given up his bachelor status for her.