Chapter Thirty-Two
Sophie
While my friends and I are binging a teen romance show in Carly and Addie’s room on Saturday afternoon, my phone beeps with a text.
Damian: What are you doing? I’m bored.
My mind immediately conjures up the memories of his mother’s party. How much fun we had, and of course the dance we shared. I stayed up all night thinking about it.
Sophie: I’m watching a TV show with my friends.
Damian: Nice. Is it any good?
Sophie: It’s a teen romance, so I doubt you’d find it interesting.
Damian: Hmm…you’re probably right.
Sophie: Unless you remove that stubborn part of yourself and give it a shot. You might be surprised.
Damian: Hmm…
Damian: …
Damian: Nope.
I scoff and roll my eyes.
“Mhmm,” Carly says.
When I lift my eyes from my phone, I realize that all of them, including Ryder and Caleb, are watching me. The TV show is paused.
“Oh, sorry,” I say as I lower my phone on Carly’s bed. “Did you guys pause the show because of me?”
“It was hard not to watch you eagerly texting your boyfriend,” Addie says.
I give her a look. “He’s not my boyfriend, Addie! Neither of us is looking for a relationship. That’s why just being friends is perfect for us.”
She frowns as she folds her arms over her chest.
“Anyway, are we continuing the show?”
“Are you sure you want to?” Raven asks. “Because from what it looks like, you’d prefer to text Damian.”
“Of course I want to watch the show with you guys,” I insist.
“But?” Carly prods.
“No buts. Damian just texted me that he’s bored. I would offer him to hang out with us here, but I’m not sure if he’d like that. Plus, he’s not a fan of a teen romance show.”
“So do something else with him,” Addie says.
My brows rise. “You want me to ditch you guys?”
“It’s not exactly ditching,” Carly muses. “We’ve been binging this show for hours, and that’s not healthy. We all should probably go out and get some fresh air or something.”
Raven stretches her arms over her head. “Yeah, my muscles are too stiff.”
“Okay,” I say as everyone starts to get up from the beds. “Where are you guys going?”
Carly and Ryder tell me they’re going out for ice cream, Caleb and Addie plan to stop by her grandfather’s place, and Raven says she wants to take a walk around campus for inspiration.
I head back to my room and take out my phone to text Damian.
Sophie: My friends and I are taking a break from the show. You want to do something?
Damian: Sure, like what?
Sophie: Watch another one of my favorite romance movies and convert you into a romance lover?
Damian: You’re making hanging out with you sound less and less appealing.
Sophie: You’re breaking my heart here.
A few seconds pass before he responds.
Damian: Okay. We can watch one of your romance movies. Where?
Sophie: You want to come to my room?
Damian: The dorm? That doesn’t sound appealing either. Hmm…do you want to come to my apartment?
Sophie: Really? Would your mom be upset, though?
Damian: She won’t be home until later tonight. She’s attending a charity event.
Sophie: That does sound tempting. I’ve always been curious about the apartments on campus. Are they super luxurious?
I only saw a glimpse when I stopped by to tell him about that jerk Axel.
Damian: Come over and I’ll give you the grand tour.
Sophie: Okay. Be there soon.
After dropping my phone on my bed, I check my reflection in the mirror to see the status of my appearance.
My outfit, which is a pink shirt and white pants, looks fine, but my hair appears as though it went through a storm.
I quickly run a brush through it and then grab my jacket and make my way out of the dorm.
The apartments aren’t that far from the dorms, so I make it to Damian’s in only a few minutes. I immediately notice the guard standing out in front. Shoot, is he going to let a student just waltz in?
I take out my phone and shoot Damian a text.
Sophie: The guard is outside. How do I get past him?
Damian: I’m allowed to have friends over.
Sophie: Even if your mom is not home?
Damian: You plan on doing something bad, little rebel?
My cheeks flame.
Sophie: No! Of course not! I just don’t want to get in trouble.
Damian: I know. I’m just teasing you.
Sophie: Yeah, because you love teasing me.
Damian: I sure do. Okay, I’m coming out.
Thirty seconds later, the door to the apartment opens and Damian peeks his head out. He motions for me to come over. I do, glancing at the guard who watches us carefully. But he doesn’t say anything.
Damian closes the door behind me and gestures toward the inside of the apartment. “Want the grand tour now?”
“Sure.”
The apartment is fancy enough, with beautiful furniture and exquisite paintings on the wall. Everything is spic and span with not a single thing out of place or a speck of dust anywhere. The walls are white with intricate designs and there is a great view of the landscape.
Damian’s room is a different story, though.
He also has a nice view of the gorgeous landscape, but everything is not super tidy like a robot’s room.
There are some clothes strewn around, a pile of snacks on his desk, crumpled pieces of paper near the garbage bins—probably his artwork—and his school tie is slung over his desk chair.
His desk is much larger than the ones we have in the dorm rooms, and his bed is larger, too. And he has two closets, although it appears as though only one is full of clothes. He also has a large TV on the wall across his bed.
“Sorry about the mess,” he says as he scoops up his clothes from the floor and walks out with them. “I didn’t have a chance to clean up before you came.”
“It’s okay,” I assure him when he returns. “You should see my dorm room.”
He lowers himself on his bed and motions for me to sit down next to him. As soon as I do, I basically sink in. “Geez. Your bed is so soft. It’s like sitting on a cloud.”
“Yeah. It took some time getting used to it.”
We sit in silence. I wring my hands in my lap. Why do I feel so nervous?
There are only a few inches between us, our shoulders almost touching. I can feel the heat bouncing off his body.
“So…the movie?” he asks.
“Yep.”
We scoot back on his bed, and he hands me the TV remote to choose the movie. There are so many options, but I want to pick one that he will enjoy, not one that I am salivating to consume again. But before I narrow down my selections, I glance at him. “Do you want to pick the movie instead?”
“Why?”
“Well, we watched something I love at the theater. Now we can choose something you love.”
“I wouldn’t say I ‘love’ any movies. They’re just something I watch sometimes to pass the time.”
“Really? There’s not a single movie that moved you? One that had a huge impact on your life?”
He thinks for a second. “Nah.”
“That’s so going to change after these next two hours,” I say as I flip through the options.
I don’t want to choose another romantasy because I want the focus of this movie to be on the romance and not the fantastical elements.
So I choose a contemporary adult romance where the hero and heroine have a second-chance romance.
This one is particularly painful as it is romantic because forces outside their control are trying to keep them apart.
They need to risk a lot in order to be together.
I haven’t watched this movie in a very long time and am excited to be diving into it again.
Damian grabs some of the snacks from his desk before we start the movie.
Then, we sit in total silence for the next two hours.
The ending of the movie is so sad that tears are seeping out of my eyes.
I cry during this movie every time. It’s a sweet but sad ending.
Now I remember why I tend to avoid watching this movie.
Because it reminds me of Gina and Adam. The heroine lost her twin siblings in a car crash as well, and she was very reluctant to open her heart and let in another person.
But she eventually did, and they had one of the most epic romances in the world.
At the end of the movie, they get married and have twins, which they name after her lost siblings.
“You good?” Damian asks as he passes me a tissue box.
“Yeah, sorry,” I say as I wipe my eyes and nose. “It’s been a while since I watched this movie. I forgot I always cry at the end.”
I can see the question marks in his eyes. The movie is sad, sure, but to cause someone to cry? He must sense that something else is up. I open my mouth to tell him what I’m feeling, but then I force my lips shut. I’m not sure I want to talk about my brother and sister.
But as Damian passes over my favorite candy, it dawns on me that I do want to share what I’m feeling with him.
I’m not close to a lot of people, just my parents and my friends, and I have this need to be close to him for some reason.
Maybe because I sense he experienced loss, too?
I have a feeling he would understand me.
“My brother and sister died when I was three,” I whisper, staring at my knees. “They were sixteen. Our age.”
“I’m so sorry,” he says as he lowers his hand over mine, which rests on the bed. “We should have stopped the movie. I didn’t realize you were hurt.”
I shake my head. “No, it’s okay. It’s a really amazing movie and I wanted you to experience it.”
“You didn’t have to go through with it just for my sake, Sophie,” he says as he gently pushes some hair away from my wet cheek. “I wouldn’t have minded either way.”
“But I wanted you to see the romance play out. Wasn’t it the most epic thing you’ve ever seen in your life?”
He doesn’t say anything as he studies my face. Based on his expression, it seems like he doesn’t like seeing me cry. Not because he gets uncomfortable when a girl cries, but because it hurts him to see me upset.
“Sorry,” I say with a light laugh. “We were supposed to be enjoying a movie and I ruined everything.”