Jared’s before agreeing to leave.
“I’ll leave. But not with you.” And before I could offer her a ride home or say anything, she turned to me and added, “And not with you either.”
Why the hell was I in trouble too?
Pre-Winter Break Party
Chance
The rest of the semester flew by, and I was honestly grateful for it. That night at The Bar was the last time I’d seen Danika in person—naturally, online stalking didn’t count. And aside from the single text she’d sent me, replying to my fifty asking if she was all right, I hadn’t heard from her since. She’d responded that she wasn’t okay, but that she would be, and then she asked me to give her space.
So, I did.
And it fucking killed me.
I felt like it took every ounce of willpower for me not to text her or call her or show up at her door like that jackass stalker from last year. I didn’t even let her know I’d passed my math final with flying colors. When I’d grabbed my phone to tell her because she was the first person I wanted to call, I’d remembered that she had asked me for space, and I forced myself to continue respecting her request.
I had no idea if her and Jared had broken up or not, but I figured that if they had, she would have at least told me that much.
Or shown up at my door.
Naked.
In a bow.
But since that never happened, I assumed that they were still fucking together and most likely always would be. I really needed to stop pining over someone who was choosing to stay in a crappy relationship with an even crappier guy, no matter their history or how disappointing it was. I was done chasing the girl who obviously wanted nothing to do with me.
“Still sulking?” Mac’s voice shot through the ones in my head, and I looked up from my bed to see him walking in my room with a glint in his eyes.
“I’m not sulking.”
“What do you call it then?”
I shrugged. “Fine. I might be sulking a little, but I was just telling myself to get over it.”
“Well, you know what they say,” he said as he plopped down on the edge of my bed, uninvited, per usual. “The best way to get over someone is to get under someone new.”
“You’re an idiot.”
I reached for the shirt lying next to my pillow, rolled it up, and tossed it at his head. He caught it easily.
“But I’m not wrong.”
“You are something else.”
The smile on his face grew. “Yeah? Tell me more.”
“I just mean that I’ve never seen anyone hook up with more chicks than you do. And there is never any drama. How the fuck do you pull that off?” I sucked in a breath before continuing my line of questioning, “Also, how do you never catch feelings for any of the girls you mess around with?”
His back stiffened, and the smile instantly dropped. “You remember what happened freshman year.” Mac’s voice was serious.
“Of course I remember. But that was two years ago, and you’re still—” I started before he cut me off.
“Still what?”
“I just thought the hook-ups were a phase.” I knew that his ex-girlfriend had done a number on him, but I’d figured he’d grow out of all the meaningless shit at some point. Get tired of it maybe or eventually want more.
“Nope.”
“So, you’re just going to do this forever?”
“I thought we were talking about you?” His eyes narrowed as his forehead creased. “But for the record, I’m not interested in getting my heart broken again.”
“Well, for the record, your ex was a bitch.”
“I know.”
“Do you?” I asked because it was rare that Mac even approached this subject, let alone spoke about it. He usually got defensive and pissed off. Rightly so, if you asked me.
“What do you mean?”
“I just want to make sure you know that you did nothing wrong. That was all her.”
His eyes roamed around my room, avoiding mine. “I know it was,” he said before looking at me, the pain still obvious, even after all this time. “It still hurt though.”
“I know,” I said even though I didn’t. Not exactly. Not even remotely. I remembered, at the time, being grateful that it hadn’t happened to me but feeling shitty that it had happened to Mac.
He clapped his hands together. “Enough depressing shit. You’re finally over Danika?”
“I want to be. There’s no point in wanting the girl who couldn’t care less.”
“Perfect! ’Cause I came in here to