揇o you ever think about doing something big to apologize to Violet??
揑 don抰 think there are enough lights in the world for that.?
揑抦 serious. What the hell really happened with you two??
揈h.?He lifts the hat on his head and runs his hand through his black hair. 揑 fucked up. We had this really amazing night together. Ya know, those nights where you feel like the world has stopped, and it抯 just the two of you??
He抯 staring at her and not me, but it doesn抰 matter. My thoughts are on Daisy anyway. 揧eah.?
I swallow down a lump in my throat. Every day was like that up here in this tree house with Daisy.
揂nyway.?He drops his gaze to the wood floor. 揂 few days later I got roped into this date auction thing with her roommate.?
揂nd Violet assumed you were blowing her off for her roommate??
He rubs his jaw. 揕ittle worse than that.?
揧ou slept with her roommate??
The pained expression on his face tells me more than he does. 揑 was so drunk. I don抰 even remember it, but I woke up naked with her roommate, so yeah, I guess I did.?
揇amn.?
揧eah. There抯 no walking back from that. I抳e apologized a million times. She hates me. Almost as much as I hate myself for it.?
I finish hanging the last strand, and Gavin jumps down from the tree house.
揥here are we going to plug in the extension cord??he asks, holding it up.
I motion toward his house.
揑 should have known,?he says dryly. He hops back over the fence, dragging the cord with him.
揌ere we go,?he says. 揙ne, two, lights.?
34
DAISY
I was nervous about asking Violet to help throw a party when we were just coming off the failed Wallflower Ball that she put her heart and soul into, but she was completely on board.
It isn抰 like we抳e never had people over before, but I want to invite everyone梐 real blow out party like the ones I watched from the tree house. I抦 through wishing and waiting for my life to happen.
Over the next week, we transform our house together. Maybe other people can just invite people over and call it good, but not us. The four of us spend all our time working on it, from what alcohol to buy, to the playlist, and if we should clear out the living room for dancing. It feels good to have a hand in the creation of it instead of letting Violet do it all on her own. It feels more like something that belongs to all of us.
Tonight we抮e hanging lights from the living room ceiling like a canopy. We got the idea from Jordan and the lights he strung in the tree house.
I haven抰 had the heart to go up inside of it yet, but last night it looked beautiful from the window all lit up.
揂re we going to wear our dresses again??Dahlia asks as she stands on a ladder waiting for me to hand her another strand of lights.
揘o dress code,?Violet says. 揅ome as you are.?
揑抦 wearing my dress,?Jane says. 揑 got three numbers that night.?
揥hat about the green one??I ask.
She thinks for a minute. 揗aybe I抣l do a wardrobe change halfway through.?
Vi smiles. 揑抦 wearing my dress, too, but I don抰 want people to feel like they need to dress up.?
揟hank god,?Dahlia says, and we all laugh.
揥hat did Jordan send today??Jane asks as we finish and sit in the living room to admire our work.
揘othing,?Violet answers for me.
揘othing??Dahlia asks, a stunned expression on her face.
I抦 a little surprised, too, but trying not to show it. Ever since I ran into him at University Hall, the gifts have come daily. Monday was a drawing with daisies, Tuesday was the tree lights, and last night a playlist he made just for me.
I抳e started to look forward to them. Not the gifts so much as knowing I抣l have some interaction with him, even if it isn抰 directly. As much as I抎 like to hold on to the anger and betrayal I felt when I realized he deceived me, I can抰 deny how good it feels to hear from him every day. I抳e missed him.
I can抰 decide if that means I should forgive him and let him back into my life or if this sudden resurgence of apology gestures are just to assuage his guilt for breaking my heart. I抦 sure he could see it all over my face Monday梩he heartbreak that lingers since I walked out of his dorm.
Honking outside tears me from my thoughts. It抯 continuous and impossible to ignore.
Violet groans. 揥hat the hell are they up to now??
She moves to look out the curtains toward The White House.
The honking continues, as well as music blaring.
揢h, Daisy.?She jogs to the front door and pulls it open.
The music and honking get louder. Dahlia and Jane rush to join her. I抦 slower to my feet.
揙h. My. Gosh.?Jane punches each word and smiles as she looks back at me. 揑f you don抰 forgive him, you抮e crazy.?
I finally get to the doorway, where I can see the parade of vehicles slowly rolling down our street. Their windows are down, and they drop daisies onto the sidewalk in front of the house. The music is coming from the back of the line, which I can抰 quite see, but the Shawn Mendes song gets louder with every passing vehicle.
揑s that the entire hockey team??Jane asks.
I can only nod. Jordan抯 vehicle isn抰 among them, but I can see the last truck now桳iam抯。 I walk outside to the curb as he gets in front of the house. But it isn抰 Jordan in the passenger seat. It抯 some guy I don抰 recognize holding a handful of daisies.
Liam stops and turns down the music. The passenger hands me the flowers.
揧ou must be Daisy,?he says.
揥here is he??I ask.
揌e isn抰 here,?Liam says, and pulls a folded piece of paper from the dash. 揌e asked me to give you this.?
I take it, and he rolls forward slowly.
揊or what it抯 worth,?he says, 揑 think you two are great together. Maybe not what either of you expected, but that抯 how it goes sometimes.?He gives the guy in the passenger seat the briefest of glances and then nods to me. 揓ust thought you should know.?
揟hanks, Liam.?I step back, holding the paper in front of me.
The girls join me in the yard.
揥hat did he say??Jane asks.
揌e gave me this.?I hold up the note and then unfold it slowly. Jordan抯 small handwriting greets me.
Daisy,
I抦 so sorry. I know I don抰 deserve a second chance, but I抦 hoping you抣l give me one anyway. I wasn抰 lying when I said I love you.
x,
Jordan
揟hat抯 it??Jane asks when I show them.
揑 don抰 understand. Why didn抰 he come with them??Dahlia looks to me for an answer.
Violet crosses her arms over her chest and stares at the ground.
My friends might not understand, but I do.
He抯 giving me room to decide what I want.
No gifts come Friday evening, but I don抰 have a chance to worry about it. Well, not much time anyway.
The party is tonight. There抯 a chance of rain again all weekend, so we focused our efforts inside. We moved all the furniture upstairs, all by ourselves, thank you very much, and the living room is our dance floor and mingle area.
In the kitchen, we set up a serve-yourself station with cases of champagne that Jane bought for the event.
I抦 looking forward to it, but admittedly, I can抰 completely shake the memory of dancing with Jordan in my yellow dress. But I抦 determined to have a good time tonight with my friends.
The four of us gather in the kitchen for a drink before everyone arrives.
揑 have a little surprise,?Dahlia says. She grabs a bag from the counter and pulls what looks like four small notebooks from it.
She hands one to each of us. The booklet is small with only a few pages and has a small golf pencil attached.