Chapter 28 Cecily
Cecily
The ocean waves roll in slowly and steadily, white foam crawling up the sand every so often. I crouch low, camera angled just right, tracking the way the morning light hits Will’s shoulders as he turns.
“Hold that,” I say, stepping back.
He does. Easy. Professional. No questions.
The shutter clicks again and again. The light is perfect. Soft. Clean.
We wrap quickly. Will thanks me, heads off, and I sit in my car, my phone in hand. My notifications have been going off.
Alix’s name fills the screen.
Paragraphs. Missed notifications stacked on top of each other. I scroll.
Alix: I’ve been texting you nonstop, and you’re ignoring me.
Alix: Dane told me everything. Are you seriously still screwing Dylan? I don’t understand you sometimes. Do you like him?
Alix: You blew Dane off, and now I need to know if it’s because of Dylan. Dane is insisting it’s because of Dylan.
I sigh, dropping my head back against the seat.
She’s not wrong. I have been ignoring her.
Not because I’m hiding. Not because I’m guilty.
I just… don’t have the bandwidth. I have deadlines.
Work. Homework. Campaigns stacked back-to-back.
I don’t have time to explain my emotional life to someone who wants answers I literally don’t have.
She would laugh, knowing that I’m not even talking to Dylan, and then she’d shove Dane in my face again.
I scroll farther back. More messages. Concern wrapped in frustration. Loyalty to her brother bleeds through every word.
She has a point, though.
I always liked Dane. I always wanted him. There was a version of me that could’ve said yes, that could’ve bent my no-boyfriend rule and tried to date Dane.
But rules exist for a reason.
Dating takes effort. Emotional maintenance. Time.
And right now, every ounce of effort I have goes into my work.
That’s the part I don’t say out loud.
I don’t reply.
Instead, I start the car and drive home.
The rest of the weekend blurs into productivity.
I sort photos. Flag favorites. Edit until my eyes ache. Upload content. Respond to emails. Schedule posts. Catch up on homework late at night with my legs tucked under me on the couch.
I don’t think about Dylan on purpose.
That doesn’t mean I don’t think about him at all. This is the same thing that happened after we had amazing sex. He just disappeared for a week. And today makes a week.
Monday morning, I waltz into the gym ready to take on the day. Gavin at the front desk greets me, and I give him a high-five.
“You should reconsider the social media job we have. We need you, Ce.”
I smile. “I’m so sorry, Gav. I’m just too busy.”
Gavin leans down. “What if you taught a class once a week?”
My smile tightens, and then Marina walks over with two of her friends.
“Hey,” Marina says. “I brought company if that’s okay.”
I look over at Madeline and Rose and nod with a smile. “Yeah, totally.” And mentally, I’m trying to calculate how much of my time it’s going to eat if we’re all working out together. “Madeline and Rose, right?”
They nod.
Madeline says, “I hope it’s okay that we’re here.”
Rose adds, “We don’t want to intrude.”
I shake my head. “It’s no problem at all. Ready to get started?”
Gavin taps the counter. “Have fun, ladies. Cecily, think about what I said.”
We walk over to the mirrors and begin warm-ups. I mentally plan a full-body workout, rotating through each of us. I help them with form and guide them verbally in a professional voice.
My mind flashes to the time when Dylan asked me to encourage him by putting him down. The thought makes me want to smile. The month was brief, but it was fun while it lasted.
Halfway through, Marina wipes her forehead and says, casually, “Did you watch the game this weekend, Ce?”
I shake my head. “What game?”
She smiles. “You’re funny. Hockey.”
“Oh,” I say. “No, I didn’t.”
“Dylan…” The sound of his name reminds me that he still exists, that what we had was just in passing, and that it clearly didn’t mean anything more. “––was benched on Friday but played on Saturday.”
“Why was he benched?” I ask. The idea of him being benched doesn’t make sense.
The girls look at me like it’s strange. I don’t know. And then Marina shrugs. “I don’t actually know. I thought you would.”
I grin. “I have no idea.”
“So,” Marina says, glancing at Rose and then back at me. “You don’t even talk to him anymore?”
I busy myself with the dumbbells, putting them away.
“He’s busy,” I say.
“Yeah, but I thought you guys were…” She makes a gesture with her hands. “Tight-knit.”
“Yeah, I mean, we are. We’re just friends, and he has a lot going on, so I’m not going to bother him.”
She nods, and then the gym door opens behind me. The loud sound fills the gym. All three of the girls look over my shoulder, but I keep putting the weights away.
“Ready to finish? We can run or bike.”
Marina immediately says, “Bike.”
I nod, turning to follow them. And the person who just walked in is Cory. My heart races at the thought of Dylan walking in here, but why would he?
Cory waves, and I follow the girls to the bikes.
The rest of the week flows easily. I attend my classes, submit my assignments, and by Wednesday, my hefty paycheck from the UK finally goes through.
Seeing the large sum of money in my account makes my stomach tickle.
This is what real freedom feels like. I feel like I can do anything, be anyone that I want, and live a full life.
I submit a payment to the college that covers the rest of the semester, then sit on my couch in my apartment, watching a movie while scrolling endlessly on social media, jotting down new content ideas.
On Friday morning, I’m in the gym with Marina when the loud front door squeaks open, and Scott walks through.
“Weird,” Marina says while we’re on the bikes. Rose and Madeline have joined us for each session this week.
Scott says something to Gavin, and then his eyes catch mine.
“I’ll be right back,” I say to the girls, hopping off the bike.
I walk up to Scott as he walks over to me. “Hey, Scotty.”
“Ce,” he greets. “Thought I’d find you here.”
My eyes stay on his, confused. “You’re looking for me?”
“You’re not answering my messages.”
Shit. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were texting me.”
“I sent you a message on Instagram.”
I snap my fingers, pointing at him. “That’s why I didn’t get it.”
He looks at my hand, then at my face again. “You left me on read.”
I scoff, laughing. “I did not.”
He smiles. “So, what’re you doing after this?”
I feel like this is a trick question, so I keep my guard up. “What?”
He looks behind me at the girls who are cycling. “Are you training them now?”
I nod. “Yeah.”
“Replaced Dylan fast. Why didn’t you call me? I thought I was second in line.”
I tilt my head at him, waiting to hear why he’s really here. “Should I just read your message?” I ask, pulling out my phone.
He says, “There’s a party tonight after the game. You should come.”
Marina and the two girls walk up behind me and say hi to Scott.
“All of you should come.”
“Where?” Marina asks.
“There’s a party tonight at Rocky’s after the game.”
The girls all look at each other. “Yeah.” They echo each other. “Sounds like fun.” “We’ll be there.” “Okay.”
“Ce?” Scott says.
I shrug. “Sure, okay.”
Scott takes a step back. “See you all there.”
The girls huddle around me the moment he steps out of the gym.
Marina says, “He’s doing that for Dylan.”
I roll my eyes.
Madeline and Rose widen their eyes. “He totally is.”
Rose says, “Do you think Dylan sent him?”
I shake my head. “No, there’s nothing going on. Scott’s just––”
Marina deadpans, “Wants you there for himself? No, he’s up to something. Either Dylan sent him, or he knows that Dylan misses you and he’s trying to set him up.”
I blink. “Funny theories, but I doubt it.”
Madeline grabs my wrist. “Scott came all the way over here to invite you. He literally drove here––” she’s mimicking the motions, “walked in, and talked to you and left. He’s up to something.”
I put a hand on her shoulder. “Even if he did, Dylan and I are only friends. And nothing major happened, besides hockey. Dylan’s just focused right now.”
“So, call him,” Marina crosses her arms, testing me.
I scoff. “No.”
Marina grins. “Knew it. I knew it. Let’s get ready at my place tonight. We need to make sure you look hot.”
Rose nods. “Like hot hot.”
Madeline says, “That’s going to be easy.”
I question all of the life decisions that have led me to this moment because, somehow, I am standing in Marina and Rose’s dorm on campus, feeling envious that I decided not to live in a dorm, and allowing them to do my makeup, which, to my surprise, isn’t as bad as I thought it’d be.
“You are so pretty,” Madeline says as she grabs my hair and curls it with the hot iron.
I feel like I’m getting hair and makeup down for a campaign right now, but the fact that it’s my friends–– I have real friends–– doing it out of generosity makes me feel loved in a way that I’ve never had before. I’ve never had girlfriends like this.
I pull out my phone and take a mirror selfie with their smiling faces, laughing. “Can I post that?”
“Oh my god,” Rose blurts. “How many followers do you have?”
I chuckle. “I don’t have to post it.”
“No, post it,” Marina says. “Tag us so we can repost it. Actually, let’s take more pictures.”
The dorm turns into a photoshoot as we stand in every corner and take candid photos of each other, but my favorites are the self-timer photos where we’re laughing our heads off because Madeline jumped on Rose and made her fall to the ground.
I hit record, not wanting to miss a single moment of this.
Marina gets into the camera’s lens and says, “We’re going to make sure Dylan drools when she walks in. ”
I shake my head. “No, no, no.”
Madeline scoffs. “Yes, yes, yes, girl! Look at you.” She steals my phone and films me.
I do a twirl in the knee-length skirt with knee-high boots and long-sleeve crop top.
Eventually, I stop recording and help with their makeup and outfits.
All of our hair is curled, our faces smothered in makeup and glitter, and if I’m being honest, I don’t want to leave this dorm room.
This is the most fun I’ve had in a while.
When we reach Rocky’s, we all link arms and walk up the lawn.
“Thank you, Marina,” I say, leaning into her. “This has been so much fun.”
“The night’s only begun.” She leans closer. “I just needed to stop being a jealous bitch. I’m glad to have you as a friend, Ce.”
That almost brings tears to my eyes. Her admitting she was jealous and letting her guard down around me finally. This whole time, I didn’t exactly like Marina, but how could I, when she’s been jealous the entire time? I pull her into a hug and say, “Thank you,” again.
She hugs me back, and it’s healing every piece of me that keeps my guard up. I’ll never underestimate the power of being honest because it’s what helps us grow.
“I needed to hear you say that.”
She grabs my face, confused. “One week of you, and I finally get it. You have a good heart, and you deserve to be happy. Now let’s get in there and show Dylan what he’s been missing!”
I shake my head. “It’s never been about Dylan. This is what I want. I want a group of girlfriends like you guys.”
“Aww,” Madeline and Rose say as they all pull me into a hug.
I hug them back and linger for a moment.
When they pull away, I wipe the small tears from my eyes and say, “Are you guys drinking?”
Marina asks, “Are you?”
I shake my head.
They shrug. “Maybe just one. Come on.”