Chapter 18 The Middle of Things
The Middle of Things
Harper
I slip back into the dorm a little after eleven, still carrying the faint warmth of Cole’s kiss like a secret tucked into my pocket.
The room is dimly lit by the glow of the TV, and Maddie’s already curled on the her bed with her fuzzy throw blanket and her phone, looking like she’s been waiting for this exact moment.
“Well?” she asks without even looking up from whatever she’s scrolling through.
“Well, what?” I try for innocent, but I can feel the smile tugging at the corners of my mouth giving me away.
She lifts her head, dark eyes sparkling with mischief. “Don’t ‘what’ me. The date? You’re coming home late with that look on your face, so it definitely wasn’t just dinner and polite conversation.”
I grab a bottle of water from the fridge, using the few seconds to compose my expression. “It was just dinner.”
“Dinner and...?” She tilts her head like a curious bird, clearly fishing for details.
“And that’s all you’re getting,” I say, twisting the cap off my water and taking a long sip to hide my growing smile.
Maddie groans dramatically, flopping back against the couch cushions. “You’re no fun. I tell you everything about my dates. Remember when I gave you a play-by-play of that disaster with the guy who kept talking about his CrossFit routine?”
“That was oversharing, not sharing.”
“Details, Harper. I need details. How else am I supposed to live vicariously through your suddenly active love life?”
“Good night, Maddie.”
“I swear, I’m going to put a hidden camera in your purse,” she calls after me as I head toward my room.
“That’s illegal and creepy,” I call back, but I’m laughing as I close my bedroom door.
Thursday morning, I’m sitting at our tiny kitchen table with my laptop open, trying to focus on this police report case study when my phone buzzes with “Mom” flashing across the screen.
I glance at the time—8:47 AM, which means she’s been up for at least two hours and has probably already reorganized half the house.
“Hey, sweetie,” she says the second I answer, her voice bright with that particular brand of maternal enthusiasm that means she’s about to ask me a dozen questions I’m not prepared to answer. “Just calling to check in on my favorite daughter.”
I laugh. “That’s overused. I’m your only daughter, Mom.”
“Which makes you even more special.”
Maddie chooses that exact moment to walk past the table on her way to the coffee maker, and because she’s apparently incapable of minding her own business, she calls out loud enough for my mom to hear, “Tell her you’ve been busy lately!”
My mom’s interest spikes immediately. I can practically hear her sit up straighter. “Busy with what? Is there something you haven’t told me?”
I glare at Maddie, who’s making exaggerated kissy faces at me from across the kitchen. “Work. School. Life. You know, the usual. Maddie’s just being Maddie.”
“Hmm.” My mom doesn’t sound convinced. “You know, honey, it would be nice if you brought someone home for dinner sometime. Your father and I were just talking about how long it’s been since—”
“Mom.”
“I’m just saying. You’re young, you’re in college, you should be having fun. Meeting people. He doesn’t have to be serious. Oh, we could play a serious prank on him. I could get your dad on board, and––”
“Mom, mom,” I chuckle. “I’m not bringing anyone home, but I’m having plenty of fun.”
“Good. That’s what I want to hear.”
We chat for a few more minutes about classes and her latest garden project before she finally lets me go. The second I hang up, Maddie appears beside my chair with a cup of coffee.
“So,” she says, settling into the chair across from me. “Cole.”
“What about him?”
“Are you going to see him again?”
I take a sip of coffee to buy myself time.
The truth is, I’ve been thinking about Cole almost constantly since I left his apartment last night.
The way he kissed me back, careful but certain.
How he didn’t try to push for more, just let the moment be what it was.
The easy conversation, the way he made me laugh, the fact that Rex immediately loved me.
“Maybe,” I say finally.
Maddie grins like I’ve just confirmed her favorite theory. “I knew it. You like him.”
“I barely know him.”
“You know enough. And more importantly, he’s not that playboy Liam.”
The mention of Liam’s name sends an unwelcome jolt through my system.
After the call with my mom, I find myself opening my messages without really thinking about it. Cole had texted me a meme about people who cheat at board games, complete with a photo of a cartoon character looking guilty. I fire back a sarcastic reply about sore winners.
One exchange turns into a handful, which turns into an all-day thread that weaves through my classes and work.
Quick jokes between tasks, a picture of Rex sprawled dramatically across Cole’s entire couch like he owns the place, a casual “how’s your day?
” that somehow feels more personal than it should.
His messages are easy, comfortable. The kind of conversation that makes you realize you’re smiling at your phone for no apparent reason.
But underneath the warm glow of texting with Cole is the persistent buzz of unread messages from Liam that I keep meaning to answer and then... don’t.
Friday evening, I’m in my room attempting to make sense of a particularly brutal assignment when Maddie bursts through my door like a woman on a mission.
She’s wearing a short black dress that shows off her legs and she’s halfway through applying lipstick, which means she’s already made evening plans.
“Party tonight,” she announces. “You’re coming.”
I shake my head immediately. “Nope.”
“Sirus will be busy with the guys most of the night doing whatever hockey players do when they’re not actually playing hockey. I’ll be alone and bored. You can’t abandon me.”
“You have your sorority sisters,” I point out. “Remember last time when you ditched me for them after exactly three minutes?”
“That was different.”
“How?”
“I was drunk, and they were talking about rush week drama. And you know how much I love to hear gossip I’m not part of.” She perches on the edge of my bed, giving me her best pleading expression. “Come on, Harper. It’s not that I don’t want to go alone—it’s that I really don’t want to go alone.”
I laugh at that. “What?”
She sighs, giving me puppy dog eyes. I roll my eyes at her.
The truth is sitting heavy in my chest. I kissed Cole Wednesday night, and we’ve been texting like nonstop. Sweet, easy conversation that makes me feel like maybe I could actually like someone without it ending in disaster.
And Liam has been messaging me again. Not constantly, but enough that I know he’s thinking about me.
Asking if I want to hang out, sending me memes that are definitely not appropriate for public consumption, generally being the kind of charming trouble that I know I should avoid but can’t quite bring myself to block.
Maddie narrows her eyes, studying my face. “Is this because of Cole?”
“It’s because of common sense,” I say, but even as the words leave my mouth, I know they’re not entirely true.
“Since when do you have common sense about men?”
“Since I decided to start making better choices.”
She’s quiet for a moment, then leans forward with that look she gets when she’s about to say something I don’t want to hear. “Harper, you know you can’t hide from every guy who might actually be good for you, right?”
“I’m not hiding.”
“Then what are you doing?”
Before I can answer, my phone buzzes on the nightstand. I glance at it automatically and freeze when I see Liam’s name on the screen.
Liam: Party tonight? I promise to keep my hands to myself...
My pulse does that familiar skip, and I know my face must give something away because Maddie’s expression shifts from playful to concerned.
“What is it?” she asks.
I flip my phone face-down quickly. “Nothing. Just work stuff.”
But it’s not nothing. It’s the fact that I’m sitting here with Cole’s easy affection warming my chest while Liam’s dangerous charm makes my heart race, and I have absolutely no idea what I’m supposed to do about either of them.
I can picture Liam’s easy grin, the effortless way he moves through a room like he owns it, how being around him feels like standing too close to a fire.
And I can picture Cole too—steady and deliberate, the kind of person who doesn’t seem like he’d take games lightly, who kisses like he means it and texts back consistently and probably never leaves anyone guessing where they stand.
“So?” Maddie asks, still watching me carefully. “What are you gonna do?”
I exhale slowly, trying to project more confidence than I feel. “I’m going to stay home.”
I say it like it’s final, like I’ve made a decision and I’m sticking to it. But my phone is still face-down on the nightstand, Liam’s message glowing at me from the screen even though I can’t see it, and I can feel the pull of temptation like a physical thing.
“Okay,” Maddie says, but she doesn’t sound entirely convinced. “If you change your mind, text me. The party’s at the house on Maple—you know the one.”
After she leaves, I toss my phone onto the couch and try to go back to my marketing homework. But five minutes later, I’m staring at it again, thumb hovering over Liam’s message, still completely unsure which direction I’m about to step.
The smart choice is obvious. Cole is sweet and stable and genuinely interested in getting to know me. Liam is... complicated. The kind of complicated that usually ends with someone getting hurt.
But knowing what the smart choice is and actually making it have always been two very different things for me.
I pick up my phone, stare at both message threads, and realize I’m in deep, deep shit.