Chapter 24 Close Calls
Close Calls
Harper
Maddie drags me out for lunch at a cozy pub near campus that’s always packed with students and faculty who want something more substantial than dining hall food.
She claims she “needs fries like she needs oxygen,” but I suspect this is really about getting me out of the dorm where I’ve been holed up with homework for the past two days.
I’m halfway through my soda, listening to her vent about her sociology professor’s impossible grading standards, when she casually drops, “Oh, I texted Cole to join us. You don’t mind, right?”
I nearly choke on my drink, carbonation burning my throat as I try to play it cool. “You did what?”
“Oh, I thought––”
“No. It’s totally fine.”
But inside, my stomach is doing gymnastics.
Not because I don’t want to see Cole—quite the opposite, actually.
It’s been three days since game night at his place, and I’ve been thinking a lot about his text message.
His asking of future girlfriend? It didn’t freak me out.
It actually made me giddy and excited, but he’s been busy, and we haven’t seen each other since.
“Good,” Maddie says, completely oblivious to my internal panic. “Because he’s already on his way.”
Five minutes later, Cole walks through the front door, and I swear the temperature in the room rises several degrees.
He’s wearing a dark gray t-shirt that fits just right across his shoulders, jeans that look like he actually tried today, and that easy smile that makes something flutter in my chest every single time.
His eyes scan the restaurant until they find our table, and when they land on me, that smile becomes something warmer, more personal. I feel it all the way down my spine.
“Sorry I’m late,” he says as he approaches, leaning down to give Maddie a quick hug before settling into the booth beside me instead of across from us. “Practice ran long.”
“No problem,” Maddie says, waving him off. “We were just talking about Professor Pyper’s reign of terror.”
Cole slides in next to me, close enough that I can smell his soap—something clean and masculine that makes me want to lean closer. His knee brushes mine under the table, and I wonder if it’s accidental or if he’s as aware of the contact as I am.
“The guy who teaches Intro to Sociology?” Cole asks, flagging down our server. “I heard he’s brutal.”
“Brutal doesn’t begin to cover it,” Maddie launches into a detailed explanation of her latest assignment while Cole orders a burger and beer.
I find myself watching him as he listens to Maddie’s story, noting how he gives her his full attention even though she’s clearly being dramatic for effect. There’s something generous about the way Cole interacts with people like he has all the time in the world for whatever they need to say.
When Maddie gets distracted by a text from Sirus, I lean slightly toward Cole, lowering my voice. “So, are you a burger and fries type of a guy?”
He nods. “Is there pasta on the menu for you, noodle girl?”
Our eyes meet and hold for just a beat too long, that familiar awareness crackling between us. This close, I can see the deep shades of his eyes, the way his mouth curves just slightly even when he’s not actively smiling.
“Don’t give me that nickname, please.”
“Okay,” he says smoothly.
I look at his face and say, “I think you would look good with a mustache.”
“You want me to grow it?”
I shrug. “Maybe no shave November? Do it for charity.”
He laughs at that as Maddie claps, batting her eyelashes. “God, you two are so cute. Please get married, so I can make my Maid of Honor speech where you both thank me and Sirus for hooking you two up.”
“Relax,” I scoff. “Who said you were going to be Maid of Honor?”
Cole laughs as Maddie scoffs and throws fries at me. “Who else would be your Maid of Honor! That’s not even funny!”
“I don’t know. Maybe he has a sister.”
Maddie stares accusingly at Cole. He puts his hands up and says, “No sister.”
Maddie looks at me and says, “You’re going to regret this. This isn’t even funny.”
I turn to Cole and say, “Why did Maddie invite you here?”
Cole laughs, scratching his face.
“Are you two texting behind me and Sirus’s back?”
Cole shakes his head as Maddie flat out denies. The bell over the pub door rings and in walks Sirus.
Maddie squeals and runs to him like she hasn’t seen him in years. She is being dramatic today. When she pulls Sirus over to the table, she sits and says, “We’re on a double date! Ta-da!”
I chew my bottom lip, holding in my smile.
“Oh my god,” I whisper to Cole. “She’s gone mad.”
When they start making out, I tune them out completely. “Do you need fresh air?”
Cole nods, scooting out of the booth.
Outside, I can’t help myself. I pull him around the corner and kiss him. He grabs my hair and kisses me forcefully, and my center rumbles with need. I wonder what he’s like in bed. He adds tongue, and now I’m desperate to know.
“Cole,” I laugh, pulling away.
He hovers above me and chuckles. “I know. I’m sorry.”
“No, I… I liked it. Just maybe when we’re in private.”
He nods. “I agree. Let’s get back inside and eat.”
I add, “On our double date.”
He chuckles, following me in.
As soon as we slide in the booth, Sirus says, “Did you invite her to the team dinner?”
Cole shakes his head. “No, man. Not yet.”
I look at Maddie who’s smiling at me.
Cole turns to me and says, “We’re having a team dinner. Maddie will be there. Other girlfriends will be there. Would you like to come?”
I look at the three of them and offer a smile, even as my gut is swirling. “Yeah, sure.”
Sirus says, “As a girlfriend, right?”
Cole says, “Don’t listen to him. I’m going to ask you properly.”
Sirus hoots and hollers, making me turn crimson. Maddie is lovestruck over this guy and doesn’t notice my reaction.
I grab onto Cole. “I would love to go as your girlfriend.”
Cole turns to me. “Really?”
I nod, smiling.
He kisses me, and Sirus and Maddie start shouting, whistling, clapping. I tune them out and kiss Cole back.
“Oh, wow. They’re going at it,” I hear Sirus say, so I flip him off. He laughs.
When we break apart, Maddie says, “I am so excited I got to witness that!”
I roll my eyes at her as Cole whispers, “Have I ever told you how beautiful your eyes are?”
I glance down shyly, but he pulls my chin up and says, “Don’t stop looking at me.”
Maddie claps. “You guys are so cute!”
The server comes and puts our food down on the table, and I’m so glad to be saved from another embarrassing moment.
Cole grabs my hand under the table and smiles. I squeeze his hand and smile back.
My phone buzzes against my pocket, so I pull it out and glance at it automatically. My stomach drops when I see Liam’s name on the screen.
Liam: There’s a team party. You should come.
I stare at the message, my heart frozen in my chest. I need to relax before everyone asks me what’s wrong. I take a quick bite of my burger, shoving my phone back in my pocket.
The smart thing would be to delete it without responding, to block his number and pretend this whole thing never happened. But I can’t ignore him. I need to end it.
I take a few more bites of food and say, “I need the bathroom.”
Cole scoots out of my way, watching me with a certain look that makes guilt eat at me.
When I get into the bathroom stall, I text Liam back.
Me: We made a deal, remember?
I hit send before I can talk myself out of it. If I’m going to end this, I might as well be direct about it.
Liam: Yeah, but I changed my mind.
My pulse jumps—part irritation, part unwanted thrill. The casual confidence of it, like he can just decide to override our agreement because he wants to, should annoy me more than it does.
Me: Why?
The typing indicator appears, disappears, appears again.
Liam: Because I want to keep seeing you.
It’s so simple, so unlike the usual Liam arrogance, that it completely throws me off guard.
No innuendo, no cocky pickup line, just straightforward honesty that I wasn’t expecting.
This is exactly what I was afraid of—that underneath all his player bullshit, there might be something real.
Something that could make me question all the smart choices I’m trying to make.
No. I steel myself, thinking about Cole. I like Cole. He’s never going to leave me wondering where I stand.
I actually use the toilet and think about what I should reply.
Me: I heard about you at the party Saturday night, Liam. You want to keep seeing me AND other people. You weren’t exactly acting exclusive.
I pause, then add.
Me: I’m not looking to compete. I’m looking for something steady.
My thumb hovers over the send button for a long moment. Sending this feels like closing a door, officially choosing Cole over whatever confusing thing Liam and I have been doing. It feels like the right choice—the smart choice.
I am Cole’s girlfriend now, and this is the right thing to do.
I press send.
The typing bubble appears immediately, flashing for several seconds. Then it disappears. Nothing.
I wait a few minutes, checking my phone twice. Still nothing.
I wash my hands and get back to the table where Sirus is talking about hockey. Cole stands to let me back in the booth. I start eating my food and joining in the conversation, waiting for my phone to buzz.
An hour later, when Maddie and I are back at our dorm, I check my phone. Nothing.
That lack of response sits heavier in my chest than I want to admit. I tell myself it’s better this way—if Liam’s going to disappear the second I set boundaries, then he’s exactly the kind of guy I thought he was. The kind I shouldn’t want anyway.
But there’s a part of me that expected him to fight back, to try to convince me he was serious. The silence feels almost worse than rejection.
I throw myself into homework for the rest of the day, determined not to think about either Liam or Cole or the increasingly complicated mess I’ve made of my love life. But every time my phone buzzes with a notification, my heart does this stupid little skip, hoping it might be Liam.
It never is.
By evening, I’m curled up in bed with a book, trying to lose myself in someone else’s story instead of obsessing over my own. But my mind keeps drifting back to Liam’s last message, I want to keep seeing you.
The wrong guys always make it sound so right, don’t they? They know exactly which words to use, exactly how much vulnerability to show to keep you hooked. Cole would never play games like this—if he wanted to keep seeing me, he’d say so clearly and then follow through.
That should make the choice obvious. Cole is steady, reliable, genuinely interested in building something real. Liam is... complicated. Unpredictable. The kind of guy who makes you feel like you’re flying right up until he reminds you that you don’t have wings.
So why am I lying here thinking about the wrong one?
I toss my phone onto the nightstand and try to focus on my romance book I swore I would finish last week, but the words blur together on the page.
Tomorrow I’ll text my boyfriend, maybe see if he wants to grab coffee or catch a movie.
I’ll invest in the thing that actually has potential for a future instead of wasting time on something that was probably doomed from the start.
But tonight, I can’t stop replaying those six words, wondering what would have happened if I’d said I wanted to keep seeing him too.
Wondering if I could be the girl that changes Liam, but I guess I won’t ever find out because I just said yes to Cole, and I meant it.