Chapter One
El
I’d never done the deed on the beach before, but if it was anywhere close to as good as the drink version, then count me in.
I was already on my second sex on the beach of the night, and it most definitely wouldn’t be my last. To celebrate the end of finals— my last round of finals as an undergrad— my close friends: Dina, Hadley, and I were planning on getting smashed tonight.
It was our semi-annual tradition that we did after each semester ended, and sadly, since I’d be heading to grad school, it would be the last girl’s night we would have for a while.
Sitting in a booth in the far corner of The Drunken Burger, our favorite local bar and grill, we spent the first hour recapping our finals week and talking about celebrity drama, AKA our favorite kind of drama since it didn’t actually involve any of us and we could just enjoy it from afar.
Raising her Coors Light in the air, Dina smirked. “I propose a toast,” she said. “To the three of us for getting through another round of finals. And also,” she tipped her head, raising a displeased brow at me, “a congratulations but also a fuck you to El for graduating an entire year early.”
“Yes!” Hadley clinked her glass of pina colada to Dina’s. “Congrats and also, go fuck yourself,” she smirked.
“Guys,” I chuckled, tapping each of their drinks. “I’m sorry, okay? I don’t know how many more times I can apologize!”
“A million more,” Hadley responded.
Sighing, Dina rested her elbows on the table. “No, no. In reality, we are very happy for you. And proud of you. Just sad you’ll be leaving us.”
The hopeful glimmer in Hadley’s eye reflected off the harsh light above our head, nearly blinding me. “Unless you decided to stay?”
I’d been in Illinois my whole life, but I knew I didn’t want to stay here forever. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign was an incredible university, that was for sure. But the thought of being here for even one more year made me cringe like no other.
I worked my ass off to pass the LSAT with flying colors and graduate in just three years, studying relentlessly and even taking summer courses to earn my credits faster. UIUC had a great law program, but so did a lot of other schools.
Honestly, when it came to building my future, it felt like there was just nothing left for me here. Aside from my friends, of course.
Dina, my purple-haired, Puerto Rican, fiery bestie just happened to sit next to me freshman year in economics.
For the first three weeks, we didn’t speak.
We were completely in our own worlds, silently hating our shitty professor until one day, she tapped me on the shoulder and asked if I ‘understood a single goddamn thing that idiot was saying?’.
The answer was no.
Our professor sucked and spent every lecture talking about his own problems with the economy and why we should just move to another country.
Needless to say, we built a bond pretty quickly from our struggle to get through that class.
On the other hand, my friendship with Hadley didn’t start at UIUC. Rather, it started in sixth grade at McKinley Middle School, when a young and rambunctious blonde girl moved to town and sat next to me during lunch one day.
We’d been inseparable ever since.
When I started bringing Dina around, our trio fell perfectly into place.
Every time I thought about leaving, I swore I could feel a small prick to my heart, and the only thing strong enough to make it go away was the reminder of where I was heading next.
“No,” I sighed, shrinking away. “Sorry, guys.”
Only half-listening as they started to give me more shit, my phone buzzed perpetually on the table.
“Ugh, is that Evan again?” Hadley asked.
“Yeah,” I responded, sending the call to voicemail and shooting him a text instead.
“He’s always trying to crash girl’s night.”
Nudging Hadley in the shoulder, Dina scolded her. “That’s because he’s obsessed with her, Had. It’s a good thing.”
Scrunching her face together in disgust like she usually only did when she took a shot, Had’s judgement floated around the table like thick smoke from a campfire that you desperately tried to dodge. “Is obsession ever good?”
“Oh,” Dina scoffed, “so it’s only okay when Matt does it?”
As if Matt entering the conversation made sunshine and rainbows appear, Had’s disgust vanished, replaced by nothing but a sugary smile. “Yes. Exactly.”
Instinctively, my eyes rolled so hard that they nearly got stuck in the back of my head. I leaned back against the booth and crossed my arms. “Not this again.”
“Oh, c’mon!” Had whirred. “Evan is so not for you. Everyone knows Matt’s the right guy for you.”
I knew I was going to become a lawyer in a few years, but honestly, I was starting to run out of rebuttals anytime someone brought this subject up.
Evan and I had a few classes together over this past year, and whereas I considered him a good friend, he made it clear that he wanted more.
Dina wanted me to date him. Hadley wanted me to date Matt.
I wasn’t sure how many more times I could tell them I wasn’t going to date either.
“Had,” my voice sharpened, “it’s not happening.”
Pushing herself backwards to match me, her dark brown eyes wandered off, voice becoming muddled. “It will happen. I’m going to manifest it.”
Presumably, she was a witch with powers, because Matt’s name lit up my phone screen, accompanied by his contact photo of him sticking his tongue out at the camera.
“Well, will you look at that,” Had’s smirk grew so wide that it was taking up half her face.
I shrugged. “I’m not answering it.”
“Why the hell not?” she shrieked.
I wasn’t going to lie— I was fighting the urge to snatch the phone off the table and bring it to my ear. It was taking a conscious effort to keep my hands at bay, heartbeat quickening bit by bit with each ring.
“Because it’s girl’s night,” I replied as sternly as I could manage.
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Hadley had no hesitancy, reaching across the table for my phone. “Hey, Matt!”
Underneath my breath, I growled. Eyes flicking over to Dina for backup, a second growl scratched my throat when I caught her blushing at her phone.
Dina and her new girlfriend, Shaela, had been together for two months now, meaning they were still in the beautifully annoying honeymoon phase.
So, apparently, the “no phones tonight” rule didn’t matter anymore.
I was happy she was dating Shaela though. Drake, Dina’s rowdy, insufferable, jackass of an ex-boyfriend was one of my least favorite people on the planet.
“Yeah, it’s Had... I’m good, Matt! How are you?”
These two.
Having gone to separate schools that were a town over from each other, Matt and I had had our own respected friend groups.
But often, we’d make plans together and would each bring a friend or two.
Nine times out of ten, Hadley was my plus one, which meant that her and Matt had known each other for years.
It also meant she’d been trying to get us together for years, a repeated failed attempt at playing Cupid.
There was a devious smirk sitting on Hadley’s face as she talked nonchalantly into my phone. The way she was keenly watching for my reaction was making me want to smack her. And she knew it.
It was taking every little bit of self-control not to steal my phone back, but I could feel myself slipping.
“Yeah, El’s here... Oh, you wanna talk to her? I’ll—”
“Gimme that!” I finally squealed, diving across the table. With a huff, I sat back, watching Hadley’s arrogance double. She gave a light giggle under her breath, sliding her own phone out of her pocket.
“Hello?” I sighed.
“Hey, El,” Matt greeted me. I could hear the smile in his voice, and the sound calmed me through and through like some strange lullaby.
“Hey, Mattie. What’s up?”
“Yeah, uh, I had a question,” he muttered. “So, like, who’s this guy on your Instagram?”
Immediately, a grin consumed me. He must’ve been referring to the photo I posted earlier on my Instagram story of Evan and me from his business fraternity’s formal.
Evan asked me to attend as his date, and I agreed on the condition that I was only accompanying him as a friend. But we had taken some nice photos together, so when he posted one, I wasted no time adding it to my Instagram story.
“Why do you care?” I taunted, lazily smirking.
With a light scoff, Matt panicked. “I don’t, I just—”
“You don’t? Is that why you’re calling and asking me?”
Another scoff. “Ugh, I was just curious. Don’t be getting all smug like that.”
Doing my best to hold back laughter, I responded, “What are you talking about?”
“I can envision your face right now,” Matt said, full of attitude. “All smug and shit. No, Eleanor Abigail, I’m not calling because I’m quote ‘jealous’ or anything like that.”
Nodding to myself and still fighting an everlasting smile, I avoided Hadley’s occasional glances, staring at the ceiling instead.
Matt Gallagher, the six-five, hot-headed, secretly mushy hockey player, was my absolute best friend. He was still that same outgoing, but occasionally shy boy I met at the age of five, and the more our parents had brought us around each other growing up, the closer we got.
Disbelief tangled into my voice as I responded, “Okay, okay. Does that mean you want to hear all about him?”
“You can tell me what he’s like and shit like that, but I don’t want to hear a single thing about his dick.”
Choking on a sip of my drink, I caught my breath. “How about his ass?” I joked.
“Eleanor,” he spoke through clenched teeth.
“Balls?” I snickered.
“Ew. Goodbye.”
The phone went dead, and I let out a screech of laughter.
I’d admit, Evan and I did hook up one time when we were both plastered, but there was nothing more to it. It had been a one-time thing, and I had made that clear. Playfully teasing Matt was one of my favorite pastimes though.
After the three of us regrouped, only ten minutes passed before my phone sent a single vibration through the table.