Under the Same Stars(74)
My stomach somersaulted. “Oh.”
“You’re surprised?” he asked.
“A little,” I answered. “You’ve never made a move…”
“Neither have you,” he pointed out.
We looked at each other and laughed.
“You also never seemed interested,” he added.
“You never gave me the chance,” I countered. “You haven’t been single since freshman year!”
Connor chuckled. “I meant you’ve never seemed interested in dating period.”
I shrugged. “Field hockey remains my first love.”
He dramatically sighed. “And Olivia Lupo was mine.”
“Fair,” I said. “Although you are the boy next door.”
“And you are the girl next door.”
“Yes,” I joked. “I think it’s required we date at some point.”
“Strongly suggested,” he agreed. “I’d rather date you because you’re my best friend, though.”
“Same.” I grinned. “Same here.”
“Good.” Connor grinned back. “Now can I ask you a question?”
My smile was stuck on my face. “Shoot!”
Connor’s was not; his expression turned solemn before he said: “Marco…”
Marco is some dickhead guy, I thought, resisting the urge to roll my eyes.
“Just a friend,” I told Connor, the technical truth. “He was always just a friend.”
“That’s it?” he asked.
“That’s it,” I confirmed, wishing I didn’t feel like I was lying. Why tell him I once had a crush on Marco? Nothing had ever come of it. If anything, I had Marco to thank. He’d been something similar to a learning experience; flirting and confessing my crush on him and our fight this summer had actually given me the confidence to go for it tonight. No matter what, I could go after anything I wanted.
Connor nodded, and I suddenly worried he was rethinking everything. When he took my hand, my breath caught. “I want to give things a try between us, Mads,” he said.
“Me too,” I agreed.
His smile reappeared. “But I’d like to wait a few days if that’s okay. I don’t want this associated with my breakup with Lauren.”
“I understand,” I said, then gestured to the flatscreen. “Shall we?”
“Yes.” He squeezed my fingers before letting go. “We shall.”
***
My club team was thrilled when Connor made an appearance at our scrimmage on Saturday, and spent warmups checking him out. “Mads, does he have a girlfriend right now?” one of my teammates finally asked during shuttles.
“Yes,” I said matter-of-factly. “Me.”
And even though their hopes were dashed, they squealed like fangirls…which was exactly how Austin had reacted before his Jackson Hole flight took off yesterday. “Jeez, Austin!” I’d pulled my phone away from my ear. “You just gave me some serious heart palpitations.”
“Sorry. I’m sorry,” he quickly said. “But this is so great, sis. He’s your best friend.”
“I know,” I mimicked him.
“I have to go,” Austin said. “My zone is boarding now.” He sighed. “I’m so happy for you, Mads. This is the way it should be.”
Samira echoed him in her texts; funnily enough, she was also about to fly somewhere. That’s amazing, she’d written. I can’t wait to see you two together!
Meanwhile, Da and Dad had spent half the drive to my game explaining new guidelines now that Connor’s and my relationship had shifted from friends to more than friends. “No sleeping over unless you are in the guest room,” Dad said, “or on the couch with the dogs.”
“And if you’re in Mads’s room, Connor, her door must be at least halfway open,” Da added. “No more closed-door movie nights.”
Our first official date was that night; Natalie had invited Connor and me to her hockey game, and he asked if I’d like to get dinner nearby. The only reason I hesitated was because Natalie’s game was at Princeton’s ice rink. There are so many restaurants, I reminded myself as I tried on a third sweater. You aren’t going to run into him.
Slime suddenly coated the roof of my mouth. I hated that I worried about seeing Marco. Who cared? Who freaking cared? Connor and I had finally had our “You Belong with Me” moment. Even Marco himself had said that he thought we’d be good together. At least, I think he had.
Maybe.
I was also happy; I was happier than I’d been in a while.
We went to Winberie’s Tavern for burgers, and it was close quarters with all the Princeton students crowded around us. We were practically dining with the couple next to us. “Are you two freshmen?” a burly guy asked us.
Connor and I shared a silent snicker. “Yes,” he said, taking my hand. His palm was warm against mine.
“Cool, cool,” the guy said and then introduced himself and his girlfriend. They were juniors. “Where’re you living?”
“We’re both in Forbes,” I answered as Connor excused himself to go to the bathroom. I reluctantly let go of his hand, using it to ward away the midnight memory of me at Wawa—refusing to let Marco walk me back to Shelly’s room.