揗ade it to class this morning, eh??Liam grins.
揃arely.?I didn抰 want to if I抦 honest, but a weekend of drinking hard didn抰 help me forget about Daisy, so I guess that just means it抯 time to get back to normal life. Whatever that is. Hard to imagine my days without knowing I抦 going to see her later to study together and make out until her lips are red and puffy.
But she hasn抰 texted, and I respect her too damn much to force my way into her life again. Or maybe I am just too chicken shit to put myself out there a second time. Liam was right about one thing （okay, fine, he was right about everything）， losing people sucks.
Cole holds the door open, and Liam steps through.
揟hanks,?I say to Cole as he continues to hold it for me to go before him.
Liam stops abruptly, and I run into the back of him.
揇ude,?I start and step around him. There抯 no one in front of him, so I look around to see what his deal is. Then I come up short too.
揇aisy,?I say her name out loud. She hasn抰 seen us, and the shock when she looks up mirrors my reaction.
I step out of the doorway, Liam and Cole behind me.
揌i,?Daisy finally speaks. She briefly glances at Liam and Cole and nods, but her gaze is drawn back to me.
揌ow抳e you been??I ask as I catalog everything about her. The pink of her cheeks, the tremble of her bottom lip, the way she clutches her sketchbook to her chest.
The dress she抯 wearing is new, or not one I抳e seen before, and for some reason this makes me angry. I want to be someone that knows everything about her. Even something as stupid as every item in her closet. One of my favorite things used to be looking forward to seeing what little dress or shirt she抎 picked out for the day. I bet I know her closet as well as I know my own. Except, maybe not anymore.
She removes one hand from her sketchbook and tucks her blonde hair behind an ear. 揙kay. How are you??
I consider lying, but since that got me into this mess, I just nod and redirect. 揑t抯 good to see you. Can I buy you a coffee or pastry??
揑 have to get to class,?she says.
揅eramics??
She inclines her head like she can抰 believe I remembered. I remember everything.
University Hall is busy this time of day, and people are funneling around us. Someone bumps her as they cut around her, and she steps closer to me. I place a hand on her elbow. Daisy flushes under my touch, and her chest rises and falls with quick breaths.
揑 better go,?she says.
Reluctantly, I drop my hand and step out of the way. She heads out, looking back at me once she抯 outside, then turns and power walks away.
Liam cuffs me on the shoulder. 揟hat looked painful.?
I forgot he was standing there. I blink at him.
揂re you okay??His brows pull together.
揧eah.?
揂re you sure? You look weird.?
揑 forgot you were there. She barely looked at you.?
揧eah.?He gives me a face that says, so?
A small grin pulls at my lips. I backhand him softly in the chest. 揝he didn抰 look at you. She was looking at me.?
揙-kay. She was talking to you, not me.?
揈xactly!?
揧ou抮e talking in riddles.?
揌er face was flushed, and her voice was trembling. She was nervous.?
揂nd you look so excited about that because??Cole asks.
揟hat抯 how she used to look at him.?I motion with a head to Liam.
They still don抰 seem to be following my twisted logic.
揝he likes me,?I explain. 揝he still likes me.?
I take off for the coffee line with a bounce to my step, brain spinning with this new knowledge.
揙f course, she didn抰 look at me. I抦 in a relationship,?Liam says with a hint of defensiveness as he gets in line behind me.
揧eah, but she doesn抰 know that.?
We order and take it to a table in the back of University Hall.
揘ow what??Liam asks.
揑 don抰 know. I guess I figure out how to get her back.?
揇on抰 ask me,?Liam says. 揑抦 old hat. She barely looked at me.?
Cole bites back a laugh. 揑t抯 okay, babe. I still want to look at you.?
Liam grumbles under his breath, but he smiles ever so slightly as Cole squeezes the back of his neck.
I spend the next hour brainstorming and bouncing ideas off Liam and Cole.
Knowing that she still likes me is awesome, but I don抰 know how I抦 going to make up for lying and breaking her heart.
Later that afternoon, I抦 sitting in front of my laptop with a blank sheet of copy paper in front of me, following some YouTube guy who boasted he could teach anyone to draw. Anyone but me, apparently.
Liam is playing video games on the couch next to me. He glances over and narrows his gaze. 揥hat is that thing sticking out on the side of your leg??
Yes, I抳e attempted to draw myself.
揑t抯 a daisy.?
揥hy do you have a daisy sticking out of your thigh??
揑抦 holding it in my hand. See??I put the pencil on the spot. 揑t抯 like I抦 offering her the daisy.?
揧yyyeah. I think real daisies might get that across clearer.?
揑 want to give her this with the daisies. Drawing is something that抯 important to her.?
揗aybe not when it抯 done like that.?He cracks a grin. 揑t抯 sweet.?
I sit back and look at it with fresh eyes. Yeah, it抯 terrible. I scribble along the top, I miss you. P.S. Maybe you could tutor me in drawing? x, Jordan 揂re you going to take it by her house??
揘o, I thought I抎 have the florist drop it with the flowers. She抣l probably be happier if it comes from someone else.?
揝ounds promising.?
I ignore him. 揃esides, this is just the first of many gifts. I need to show her I was paying attention. That it wasn抰 all a lie.?
Liam chuckles. 揙h, this is going to be fun. What do you have planned next??
The next night I recruit Gavin抯 help.
揌ey.?He opens the front door and eyes the boxes of lights in my hands. 揧ou were serious? I thought when you asked me to help you with a lighting project, you meant get high and stare up at the stars.?
I breeze past him to the kitchen, where I set the lights down on the island. 揟hey抮e for Daisy.?
Gavin pulls two beers from the fridge and offers me one. 揑 take it she still isn抰 talking to you then??
揑 ran into her at University Hall yesterday. She said hello, but no. Nothing after I sent the flowers.?
He scans the boxes of twinkling lights in front of him and picks up one. 揙kay then, what are we doing with these??
Out in the back yard, we stare over the fence to Daisy抯 house, looking for movement inside. The lights are on, but we haven抰 seen anyone in the five minutes we抳e been watching.
揋ive me a boost over,?I say.
He links his hands together and holds them out for me to step on. Then he helps me over. I land on the other side with a thud. I hunch down by the tree house to make sure no one heard me, then Gavin hands over the lights.
揙h shit. How are you going to get over??I ask.
He grins. 揝tand back.?
He walks backward and then gets a running start before placing his hands on the top of the fence and leaping over it.
揘ice hops.?
We hurry up into the tree house. My heart is racing being back here. Gavin hunches over in the small space. He hands me lights, and I hang them along the ceiling.
揧ou really like this chick, huh??Gavin drops to a sitting position as I wrap the lights down the ladder.
揥hat gave me away??
He laughs. 揟his is cool. I抎 forgive you.?
I glance up to find him staring at the house. I look over my shoulder and through the kitchen window. The top of Violet抯 head is visible in the living room.