Never Have You Ever (The Love Game #1)- Elizabeth Hayley Page 0,94
the front door close that my body sagged and tears began to leak from my eyes and stream down my face. I could taste the saltiness of them on my lips, but I didn’t wipe them away. Instead, I let myself embrace the pain of this moment. These were the only tears I was going to give Drew Nolan.
Because, seriously, fuck him.
Epilogue
D R E W
Four weeks later…
I wiped the bar down for the thousandth time since my shift at Rafferty’s started two hours ago. The place was a ghost town due to the forecasted snow. Even Max had stayed home.
I tried to busy myself behind the bar, cleaning bottles and straightening things up to keep my mind occupied, but it was no use. And as had been the case anytime my mind had wandered over the past few weeks, my thoughts immediately went to Sophia.
What was she doing? How had everything worked out with the sorority? I felt bad that I hadn’t asked how all that had gone. I hoped it worked out for her, however that might have looked.
Unable to resist, I pulled out my phone and pulled up a picture of us—one we’d taken at the costume party. It was pathetic, but whatever. Jesus, I missed her.
I expected the ache of losing her to have started to dull by now, but there was no lessening of the intensity with which I missed that girl. But I’d made my choice, and now I was stuck with it, for better or worse.
Funny how I’d been convinced it was for the better when I’d walked out. I wasn’t so sure anymore.
“Hey, Drew.”
Sean’s voice startled me, and I slipped my phone back into my pocket before turning to look at him.
“Hey. How’s it going?”
Sean blew out a breath. “Snow’s starting to come down heavier. If no one’s here by now, I doubt anyone will show up. You might as well take off.”
“For real?”
“Yeah, I’ll hang out for a while in case anyone shows. I know you only have that damn bike. Might as well get home before the roads get too bad.”
I couldn’t deny it—the fact that he was concerned about me felt nice. “Thanks, man. I appreciate it.”
“No worries. Get out of here before I change my mind.”
“I’m going,” I said with a laugh. The fact that I was going home to a crowded house wasn’t the most silver of linings I could’ve hoped for, but I’d deal. I had a few leads on cheap places I could rent or people who were looking for a roommate. In another week or two, staying at my parents’ place should be a distant memory.
And maybe once I was back on my own, things would start to feel more normal again. Maybe I’d be able to start getting over Sophia and forget about all the things I couldn’t have.
S O P H I A
“Merry Christmas!” Carter yelled as he stood in my doorway with a Santa hat on, thrusting a present at me.
“What’s this?” I reached out to take the poorly wrapped package from him.
“A Christmas gift for the best tutor a guy could’ve asked for.”
I toyed with the ribbon as I looked at him. “Well, now I feel like a jerk. I didn’t get you anything.”
“You got me through psychology. That’s gift enough.”
I smiled, one of the only real ones I’d managed since Drew left. “Still. Thank you. Come on in,” I said as I opened the door farther.
He walked over to the couch and sank back into it, and I joined him after I closed and locked the door. Giving the box a little shake, I asked, “What is it?”
“What are you, five? Just open the damn thing.”
“Okay, okay.” I slipped a finger between a gap in the paper and tore it open. Then I lifted the lid on the box and peered inside. “What…is this… Did you make me a collage?”
“Yup. You like it?” Carter’s eyes were wide, and he seemed to be close to bouncing on the sofa. The fact that he seemed to care so much whether I liked his gift warmed me.
My eyes drifted over the pictures he’d taken over the course of the semester and had printed onto a canvas. My breath caught when I saw pictures of Drew on there.
I’d left out the details of what had happened between Drew and me. It was too painful to rehash and, quite frankly, a little embarrassing too. I had no idea if Carter had spoken to Drew since