Chapter Nineteen #2
I want to tell her this situationship or whatever it’s labeled is making her miserable.
Thad is never there for Maddie. Never. And she’s worried about him and whatever it is they have, and experiences at OCU are passing her by.
I’m just glad she’s required to do stuff with the sorority, so she’s not totally shut up in our room or at the library, while she painfully waits for Thad to magically show up on her iPhone.
He’s never going to show up for her. Thad only does the barest minimum, and it’s just enough to keep Maddie hanging on.
What is even the point of that?
My brain flicks back to Wyatt. He would never treat a girl like that. He puts very distinct boundaries in place. Hookups only, no emotional attachments. Wyatt would make that line clear to any girl he wanted to be with, so to speak.
My chest hurts again. But why? I reach up and touch my necklace. Wyatt made our boundaries clear, right down to how he kisses me. I swallow hard. That’s the only way Wyatt is going to kiss me—for this arrangement we’ve agreed to.
If I were in my room right now, I’d be banging my head on my vanity tabletop. Who am I to give advice to Maddie? I’m the one with the FAKE BOYFRIEND.
But I trust Wyatt. I’ll ask for his advice. I trust his judgment even if I don’t trust my own.
And I’ll try not to get too excited knowing I’m going to see him tonight.
***
As soon as the meeting ends—a painful two hours later—I open my phone. I haven’t even moved from my seat as my friends begin to gather up their things. I see Wyatt has already sent me a message:
Done. Let me know when you’re finished.
I smile as I see that is followed by a few more messages:
How long do you guys meet? Are you planning the Met Gala?
Are you impressed I know what the Met Gala is? You should be.
WRONG. The Met Gala wouldn’t take this long to plan.
I AM SO BORED PLEASE RESCUE ME.
I smile at the last one and text him back:
Just finished. Are you still across the street? Or did you give up on me?
Wyatt sends me a note right back:
I’m here. You still want to study?
Why yes, I do still want to study with you, WYATT FREAKING JACOBS, I think with a grin as I text him back:
Yes. I just need to run upstairs, change, and get my stuff.
He replies:
I’ll meet you on the front steps of your house. See you in a few.
Excitement rushes through me. I drop my phone into my bag and smile up at Maddie.
“Are you still studying with Wyatt?” she asks.
“More like studying Wyatt,” McCall says, her green eyes sparkling at me.
I blush. “I’m ignoring you,” I say to her. Then I turn to Maddie. “Yeah, he’s coming over here to pick me up.”
“I think it’s great that you spend so much time together,” Sofia says as we all get up to head back upstairs.
My stomach churns uncomfortably. These girls are my closest friends, and I have to keep lying to them about Wyatt. Maybe it won’t feel as crappy if I just stick to saying things that are true.
“We’re spending a lot of time together,” I say, pausing as we head out the doors of the chapter room to get one of the Beachy Shimmer swag bags. “We’re still getting to know each other.”
We walk up the sprawling staircase with the girls who live here, and the sound of chatter echoes through the mansion.
When Maddie and I reach our room, I make a quick change into a preplanned outfit—jeans and an off-the shoulder red top.
Maddie carefully hangs her tote up on a hook, kicks off her heels, and gets up onto her bed.
I’m slipping into my sneakers when I look up at her.
She looks so sad, I feel like I need to be here with her or have her come with me.
I know if I filled Wyatt in on her situation, he wouldn’t care.
Besides, it’s not like he wants to spend time alone with me for any romantic reason, so Maddie tagging along would be no big deal.
“Maddie? Want to come with me? We can all study together.”
She looks appalled. “What? Erm, no, I do not want to crash your date!”
Guilt gnaws at me. “Trust me, you aren’t crashing a date. We’re just studying.”
“Studying each other!”
“Okay, if you won’t join us, I’ll cancel on Wy. I’m not leaving you.”
“No! I mean, I love you for it, but I’ll be okay. Thad must have something going on.”
I grit my teeth together before I say something that will upset her. Like “Thad is a dickhead” or “Oh my God, Maddie, you can do so much better!”
“I think you need me,” I insist. “Let me just run downstairs and tell Wy I’ll see him tomorrow.”
She practically flies off the bed like Glenda in Wicked and grasps me by the arm. “Please don’t. It will make me feel worse than I already feel,” she begs, her eyes filling with tears.
There’s a knock on our door, and Maddie quickly yells, "Come in!” to whoever is on the other side.
Sofia pops open the door. “Hey, Maddie, McCall and I are going to get matchas, wanna come?”
“Yes,” she immediately replies, and I know she’s saying yes simply so she won’t interrupt my date with Wyatt. “Just let me change, okay?”
I give her a side-eye as she goes to her side of the room, retrieves a pair of shorts and a tank top, and makes a beeline to the restroom down the hall before I can say anything.
I turn to Sofia. “I’m worried about her. Thad no-showed again tonight.”
Sofia makes a face. “I hate that guy. I know that’s a strong word, but I really do. He’s just playing with her for his ego.”
“I think so, too. I was going to cancel my study date tonight to be with her, but you knocked on the door with a convenient out for her.”
“I’ll see if McCall and I can get her to talk,” she says.
“Thank you.”
“What’s a sister for?” Sofia smiles warmly at me.
Again, I’m reminded of why I went through recruitment. Why I’m here. I don’t love everything about Phi Mu Phi, but the good far outweighs what I don’t like. I met Sofia and McCall in our pledge class last spring. And I can’t imagine my life here at OCU without them.
I pick up my backpack. “Tell Maddie I love her and if she needs me, message me.”
“I will,” Sofia says. “But McCall and I have got her, I promise.”
I wander back down the hallway. Bedroom doors are open, and I can hear conversation and music floating down the halls, punctuated with an occasional burst of laughter. I trot down the stairs and go out the front door, stopping when I spot Wyatt.
He’s sitting on the brick steps that lead up to our house, a backward OCU baseball hat covering his thick dark hair, a white T-shirt stretching across his muscles.
His backpack is next to him, and he’s leaning back on his hands.
As soon as he hears the door, he glances over his shoulder, and he smiles broadly when he sees it’s me.
My pulse quickens immediately. He stands up, unfolding his large body, and moves toward me. The door opens again, and some of my sisters walk out, so Wyatt puts his hands on my hips. “Hey, baby,” he says, dipping his head toward mine.
OH MY GOD, HE’S ACTUALLY GOING TO KISS ME AGAIN.
And I’m going to enjoy it.
Wyatt drops a quick kiss on my mouth, and the second I feel his warm, soft lips on mine, a million butterflies take flight in my stomach.
His mouth lingers there for the briefest of moments, and I instinctively move my hands to his chest. It’s hard and muscular.
Wyatt wraps his hands around my back, and I can’t get over how beautiful his brown eyes are as I gaze up into them.
“Ready to go study?” he asks.
Study? I blink. Right, study. For history class.
Not him.
“Yeah. Where do you want to go? See if we can find a study pod?” I ask as we begin walking down the endless steps, his hand wrapped around mine.
“Study pod? What are you talking about?”
“Wy! Have you not been inside the new media building?”
“Erm, since I’m not majoring in anything with media, no. But why were you in there?” he asks, quirking a brow.
“I have a class on AI ethics,” I say.
Wyatt stops walking. “I feel like I should have known this. I’m a crap boyfriend.”
“You’re an A-plus boyfriend,” I boldly declare.
He stares down at me, and I’m afraid I’ve gone too close to my real feelings, so I quickly jump back to talking about studying. “They have these study pods. You can even choose the type of lighting you want, the temperature, your environment, control the noise—”
“Hold up. We have new study pods with this kind of crap, but you don’t have ceiling tiles in your locker room?”
A surge of happiness rushes through me. I love that Wyatt has not only remembered my locker-room story but is still outraged by it.
“Well, yes, but—”
“I’m still pissed about that, Gracie. Maybe I need to get you some ceiling tiles and put them in myself.”
I glance up at him. From the set in his jaw, I seriously think he’s debating going to a home-and-gardening center to get some.
And right here, walking hand in hand down Clark Street, I know I’m starting to fall for him.
I swallow hard, anxiety gripping me. I can’t fall for him. I can’t get any more feelings than these because nothing is going to come of this.
Ever.
We take a turn, heading to the campus. It might be a Monday night, but you can still hear music and laughter spilling out of fraternity and sorority houses. Really, at OCU, you could go out every night of the week if you wanted to.
“How was chapter?” I ask, hoping to redirect my thoughts from anything but him wanting to put new ceiling tiles above my locker.
“Painful. Oh, but I did have a nice chat with Rob,” he says, swinging our joined hands playfully between us. “He wanted to make sure we were good. I told him as long as he stayed in his lane and acted like a decent human, we had no problems.”
I nod. I remember how scared Rob looked when Wyatt talked to him at the party last week. I have complete faith the females on this campus will be spared his bullshit as long as Wyatt is at OCU.
“What about yours?” Wyatt asks.
“Also painful. But we got a partnership with a makeup company, so we have to shoot a promo video for them on the beach next week.”