Chapter 2 #3
Yeah, because that didn’t sound verbatim… As if in confirmation, I saw Oliver’s lips twitch out of the corner of my eye. He looked like he was trying not to laugh.
“All right,” I said, narrowing my eyes at Drew, “if you’re so smart, what’s quiche?”
The smug smile on his face faltered. “Ahh…”
“Yeah,” I said, shooting Oliver a knowing look. “That’s what I thought.”
While we waited for Stella, the boys talked about a college football game I had zero interest in.
I picked at a hangnail and tried to ignore the way Oliver’s cheeks dimpled every time he smiled.
And that laugh. I’d listened to it so many times before, during interviews and in video clips, but something about hearing it from three feet away made my heart pound.
Good Lord. This stupid, futile crush was going to be the death of me.
When Stella finally returned, she had a manila envelope clasped in her hand but no packing box.
“Did you get lost?” Oliver teased. I couldn’t help but notice the way his eyes lit up at the sight of her.
“No, a courier delivered this for you.” She handed over the envelope, then turned to me. “I taped the box together and left it outside your door. Will one be enough? That’s all we have left.”
“One’s fine, thanks.”
“Whaddya get?” Drew asked as Oliver lifted the metal prongs of the envelope’s clasp.
Oliver shrugged, opened the flap, then dumped the contents of the package onto the floor. A rectangular piece of plastic attached to a lanyard fell out, along with a handwritten note. “Ah,” he said as he scanned the message. “It’s your access pass for tomorrow night.”
He tossed it to Stella.
“Wow, this brings back memories,” she said, inspecting the badge.
Before starting college, Stella had briefly worked for the Heartbreakers. She toured with the band for a few months, photographing their daily life and posting the pictures to a blog called The Heartbreak Chronicles.
“I miss you being on tour with us,” Oliver replied, sounding somber. “I can’t remember the last time you came to one of our shows.”
She nodded in agreement. “It’s been a while. Since the last time you guys played Minneapolis, I think.”
That was a show I remembered well. It was my first time seeing the Heartbreakers perform live.
The boys had organized a charity concert to help raise money for cancer—every penny of profit was donated to research—and it was all because of me.
Oliver had previously introduced himself, but I’d never met the entire band before, so the night had easily been one of the best of my life.
“Was that the one you all were at?” Oliver asked, glancing between the three of us. As soon as the question was out of his mouth, he slapped a palm to his forehead. “Shit, I totally forgot to ask if either of you two wanted tickets for tomorrow night.”
Drew waved him off. “I can’t go anyway. My fraternity is throwing a stoplight party.
Attendance is mandatory for those of us who are back on campus or, in my case, close enough to drive,” he explained.
“Besides, I’d get shit for the rest of eternity if I told the guys I was skipping to attend a Heartbreakers concert. No offense or anything.”
The smile Oliver offered Drew was surprisingly good-natured considering he’d just insulted him. “None taken, but what’s a stoplight party?”
“Eh, you’d think it’s stupid.”
Oliver cocked his head and waited for Drew to continue.
When he didn’t, Stella sighed and answered for him.
“Basically, it’s a party where people wear different colors to indicate their relationship status.
Green for single, red you’re dating someone, and yellow means it’s complicated.
Because apparently having a conversation with someone to figure out if they’re available is too much work nowadays. ”
Drew did a double take. “How’d you know that?”
“You’re not the only one in college, dumbass.”
“Yeah, but you go to an art school.” He said art school like it was a foreign entity.
“What’s your point? That we think we’re too cool for parties, so we spend our weekends at art galleries sipping martinis instead?”
Grinning, Drew raised his shoulder in a languid, nonchalant shrug. “Pretty much.”
Stella’s nostrils flared. She always got touchy about anything art related.
For a split second, I thought she was going to snap at him, but Oliver reached out and took her hand.
“I’ve never been to a frat party before,” he remarked, his voice amicable as he ran his thumb over her knuckles. “It sounds like a good time.”
Drew hesitated, an unsure expression on his face. “Well, if you want to come after the show…”
Oliver beamed as if he’d been angling for an invite all along. “Can we?” he asked Stella. “Please, please, please? You never take me to college parties when I visit you.”
“Yeah, for obvious reasons,” she said, shooting him a duh look. “I’ve witnessed the kind of chaos your presence causes firsthand, and it’s terrifying.”
This made Oliver grin. “But kinda hot, right?”
Yes, very.
Stella snorted and rolled her eyes.
“If you’re really serious about coming, we could put together a guest list to control any potential crowd,” Drew suggested. “That way, you won’t have to worry about things getting out of hand. We’ve done it before when some of the more popular athletes on campus plan to swing by.”
“You sure your friends won’t shun you if I show up?” Oliver asked through a smirk. “Wouldn’t want to damage your image, bro.”
“Hilarious,” Drew said, giving him the stink eye. “And if I’m being honest, I’m pretty sure they’ll see a huge difference between me going to one of your concerts and you coming to our party.”
The smirk on Oliver’s face stretched into a grin. “Ah, a double standard at its finest! I love it. Count us in.” Then, to my utmost astonishment, he turned to me. “What about you, Cara?”
It took me a solid three seconds to reply. “You’re asking if I want to come?”
He nodded. “The more the merrier.”
“I’ve been asking you to visit me all semester,” Drew added when I didn’t immediately respond. “This would be the perfect opportunity.”
Crap, crap, crap!
How had I gotten it into my head that completing a bucket list was a good idea?
When I turned to Stella, she released a theatrical sigh, like she thought Oliver and Drew were wasting their breath. Normally, she’d be right, but I had to say yes this time, didn’t I?
“What the heck?” I said, shaking my head in disbelief at the words about to leave my mouth. “I guess I’m coming too.”