You're the Reason - J. Nathan Page 0,19
that’s why you two won’t be friends.”
“We won’t?”
He shook his head. “She needs people she can walk all over. People who obey her. You’re not like that.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Was that some kind of twisted compliment?”
“Oh, don’t go getting crazy now.”
I snickered.
So did he.
I tapped my hand on the top of my jar. “My bucket list is inside.”
He examined the folded papers through the glass jar. “Looks like a lot of things you plan to do. You think you can do them all?”
I shrugged. “It would be a pity not to try.”
His eyes lifted to mine and something I’d never seen before flittered across his face. Admiration, maybe. “Tell me something in that jar.”
“Why?”
“Because now I’m curious,” he dead-panned.
I contemplated his request. As much as he rubbed me the wrong way every time we spoke, we were partners for the semester. We would be spending more time together. What was the worst that could come from opening up a tiny bit? “I want to drive in a convertible along the coast.”
His head hitched back. “That’s it?”
“What were you expecting?”
He shrugged his big shoulders. “I don’t know. Something crazy, like skydiving.”
“That’s in there too.”
“Why a convertible?”
“Why not? I’ve never been in one. And I love the ocean. I just thought it would be an amazing experience.”
“You need to aim higher.”
My brows hitched up. “I do?”
“That jar’s filled with wishes. And, you seem like a determined person. Why not aim for the stars?”
I said nothing as I stared back at him, more confused than ever before about who the real Chase Reed was. A frat boy with a chip on his shoulder? A protector of meek girls in libraries? A deep guy offering advice in a coffee shop? Satan?
“What?” he asked, subtle dimples digging in beside his lips.
I shook my head, smart enough not to tell him how confusing I found him to be.
He lifted his coffee cup and tipped it back like it wasn’t piping hot.
“You disappeared.”
He dodged my eyes, his latching on to something outside the window in the distance. “I do that sometimes.”
“You do?”
He nodded.
I tucked one of my waves behind my ear, stalling so not to appear too interested. “Where do you go?”
“Just got things to take care of.”
“You got a secret baby or something?”
Laughter burst out of him, a sound so unfamiliar but so smooth it hit places deep inside me I hadn’t expected. “No. Not even close.”
I smiled, grabbing my jar with both hands, like a safety net. Because any minute now, he could resort to his mean self and I’d need it.
He looked back to my jar. “What else is in there?”
I tipped my head to the side. “Do you really care?”
He shrugged.
“I want to be the reason someone else does something amazing.”
“Amazing is ambiguous. How will you know if you succeed?”
I smiled. “I’ll know.”
Chase’s lips twitched in the corners, but before he would allow himself to smile more than once in a conversation, he pushed his chair back and stood. “I’ll tell Chantel to play nice.”
“Oh, no you won’t.”
His eyes narrowed, caught off guard by my objection.
“I can handle her.”
A harsh, humorless laugh escaped his throat.
“Well, tell me then. How would that conversation go? Hey, Chantel. I had coffee with Sophia and she told me you went through her stuff—”
“She went through your stuff?” he asked.
I closed my eyes, cursing my big mouth.
“She went through your jar,” he said, the puzzle pieces falling into place.
“As I was saying,” I said, trying to distract his attention from what I’d just divulged. “Bringing up the fact that we’ve spent any time together, regardless of how innocent it’s been, seems like a horrendous idea—for both of us.”
“I’m not scared of her,” he assured me, before turning and walking in no hurry toward the door.
The girl seated by the door working on her laptop peeked up as he passed, staring at him as he walked out.
I understood the inclination to look at him. Too bad he had a split personality and you just never knew who you were going to get.
***
I unlocked the door to my room. I pause with my hand wrapped around the doorknob as my lungs expanded on a long, deep breath, preparing myself to face Chantel. I pushed open the door, only to find the room empty. I exhaled, more relieved than I expected to be. I hated conflict, but she’d started this, and I wasn’t sure it was something we could come back from. I couldn’t trust her now.
And down deep, I