Chapter 2
Anna
“So how’s it going with the cute guy from your molecular biology class? He’s here tonight, right?” my best friend Poppy asks.
She grabs my almost-empty cup and takes a small sip before handing it back to me.
I sigh. “Not great. I thought he was into me, but he spent most of the night talking to my brother’s teammates about their last game.”
I glance across the living room over to the beer bong table in the dining room, where Kyle is hanging out with Leo and Blake.
I set my drink on the coffee table and lean back on the couch where Poppy and I are sitting.
“Maybe I read his signals wrong,” I say, feeling foolish.
I think back to how flirty Kyle’s been with me this whole semester.
How he goes out of his way to sit next to me at every class.
How, when we walked home from the library together after a study session, he insisted I wear his jacket when I mentioned I was chilly.
How, when we got our midterm exam grades back a few weeks ago, he insisted on taking me out for a drink because I got a higher grade than him.
I was certain he was going to kiss me. But he didn’t. We ended the night with a hug.
“Maybe he’s just trying to be a gentleman,” Poppy says.
She has a point. Kyle’s always been really respectful around me. It took him a month of us knowing each other before he even hugged me.
“Or maybe he’s intimidated by you. You’re a beautiful girl. And you’re crazy smart. Some guys just don’t know what to do with that,” she says.
“I highly doubt that, but thank you for trying to pump me up.”
Poppy gently smacks my hand. Her hazel eyes sparkle when she smiles at me. “I’m serious, Anna. You’re a hottie. Guys check you out constantly.”
A sad feeling swoops through me as my shoulders slump. I should probably take that as a compliment, but I don’t. All I feel is unwanted. Because the one guy I was interested in didn’t want me.
Anna scoops her hand in mine. “Thinking about Colin?” she asks in a gentle voice.
I start to shake my head, but I give up and nod. I don’t have the energy to lie to my best friend. She knows me too well.
“I should be over him,” I say in a soft voice. “But it’s hard. I really liked him. And I thought he liked me too.” I swallow back the sudden lump in my throat. “Turns out he was just using me.”
Sadness and shame steamroll my insides when I think about how quickly I fell for Colin.
He was my TA at the beginning of this winter semester, just a few months ago.
All it took was a few smooth lines and flirty comments from him, and I was smitten.
We flirted constantly over text. We met up a few times off campus and fooled around at my apartment.
Then, after sleeping together for the first time, he ghosted me.
I called and texted him, but no response. I was heartbroken. I cried for a whole day over him.
I can’t believe I let myself become a cliche. Naive college undergrad charmed by an older guy.
“Colin is a douchebag. And completely in the wrong,” Anna says, her tone sharp.
I shake my head. “I was part of it. I pursued him, too.”
“He was your TA, Anna. He was in a position of power over you. He was the one who started flirting first. He was the one who crossed the line when he kissed you during your one-on-one session. And then, after he slept with you, he ghosted you. What a piece of garbage.”
I resist the urge to cry. I feel so stupid for developing feelings for him when it’s clear that he never cared much about me.
Which is why I’m desperate to move on. It’s been more than two months since he ghosted me, and I’m tired of feeling sad and heartbroken over Colin.
“I just need to get back out there,” I say. “I need to hook up with someone new. Or at least have a hot kiss.” I let out another sad laugh as I look over at Kyle laughing and talking with Leo. “But I’m not having the best luck.”
Just then, Travis walks over and grabs his phone, which is sitting on the coffee table next to my drink. He makes a grossed-out face when he looks at my cup before walking off.
I roll my eyes, then take a long sip. “Mmm sugar,” I holler after him. He ignores me.
“What was that about?” Poppy asks.
“He was giving me shit earlier for eating cake. At a birthday party.”
She shakes her head. “Will you two ever get along?”
“Nope,” I say before taking another drink.
It’s been like this since we were preteens. Travis and I have always disliked each other.
He’s this quiet grump who never seems happy about anything. I think back to when he and my brother won the state championship their senior year of high school. He didn’t smile once. He exists with a permanent scowl on his face.
He doesn’t bother to make small talk or polite conversation. He acts like that’s beneath him. All those times when I was a kid that I tried to chat with him about random stuff, he’d barely answer me.
Or when I’d talk about school or whatever subject I was interested in, he’d roll his eyes. Sometimes he’d interrupt me to change the subject. A few times, he walked off in the middle of me speaking. Jerk
Even thinking about it now, it still pisses me off.
It was clear what a nerdy loser he thought I was.
I’d bet anything he still thinks of me the same way since every time I open my mouth around him, he looks annoyed.
Whatever. He can exist as an irritable grump if he wants.
I’m not going to change who I am to please him.
“I hope Travis is having a nice time,” Poppy says in a sympathetic tone.
She’s been my best friend since middle school, so she’s always known Travis. She’s friends with him too, even though we can’t stand each other.
I make an annoyed sound. “I hope he has the night he deserves.”
Poppy tilts her head at me, her expression chiding.
“What? You can’t honestly expect me to wish him rainbows and unicorns. He’s a jerk to me.”
“Okay, fair. But come on. It’s his twenty-first birthday. Everyone should have fun on their twenty-first birthday.”
“I don’t know if Travis even knows what fun is,” I say. “He’s such a grump. He doesn’t smile. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him express an emotion that wasn’t annoyed or pissed off.”
Poppy sighs and shakes her head. “Yeah, I guess he seems pretty averse to fun tonight. Have you noticed how half of the women at his party have been eyeing him? He doesn’t even care. I wonder if he’s dating anyone.”
I laugh. “What woman would want to go through the trouble of dating him? He has the charisma of a statue.”
She smacks my arm. “Don’t be mean. And don’t pretend that you don’t know how good-looking he is.”
I scoff, even though she’s right. Travis is a hottie. He has a head of thick, light, reddish-brown hair that makes him look like a hair model. His square jaw and rugged facial features make him look like a superhero. And he’s tall and jacked.
But we don’t need to dwell on that.
I think about the few times I’ve seen him with a woman.
They’re always gorgeous. I usually tell him that they’re out of his league to give him a hard time, but he just ignores me.
Probably because he knows it’s bullshit.
I know it too. He’s annoyingly good-looking, so of course he’d only date beautiful women.
Just then, Poppy’s brow lifts and her eyes widen.
She sits up and points at me. “I’ve got it! You just need to take control!”
I stare at her, confused. “What are you talking about?”
“With Kyle! You said yourself that he’s gentlemanly and reserved. He’s probably waiting for you to make the first move. So do it. Grab him and drag him into one of the bedrooms and kiss him.”
I laugh. “No way.”
Poppy grabs me by the shoulders. “I’m serious, Anna. That’ll kick start things for sure. No guy can resist a hot kiss from a beautiful woman.”
I open my mouth to speak, but she cuts me off.
“Nope. No talking yourself down. You’re a hottie. Kyle is gonna be over the moon when you kiss him.” She gives my shoulders a soft shake. “Kyle is cute. You’re interested in him. Hooking up with him is exactly what you need to do to get over Colin.”
I’m quiet for a second as I soak in my best friend’s words. Maybe she’s right. Moping about Colin these past couple of months hasn’t done me any good. Maybe I just need to say screw it and make the first move.
Kyle walks away from the table. He catches eyes with me and smiles before walking down the hall, toward the bathroom.
Poppy grins at me. “Perfect timing. Go get your man.”
I stand up, nerves firing off inside of me as I make my way through the crowded house.
My heartbeat pounding in my ears drowns out the music booming through the speaker system.
I can’t believe I’m doing this. I can’t believe I’m going to sneak up on a guy and kiss him.
I’ve never, ever done something so ballsy.
But I need to. I want to.
This is the first step in getting over Colin—getting cozy with someone else.
I take a breath and make my way down the darkened, empty hallway.