Out on the Serve (Out in College 7)

“Honestly, I haven’t done it yet, but I will. I’m hoping to leverage this opportunity into a job with Burtons. They’re a cool, progressive company. I’d love to join their marketing team!” she gushed.

“What happened to becoming a star of the stage and cinema?” Phoenix asked.

“I need a Plan B, Nix. I’m good at making something from nothing. I think I could do well in PR. And the painful truth is…I need a real job. Sadly, I haven’t found a wealthy prince online who wants to whisk me off to his castle in the forests of Bavaria.”

I chuckled at her dramatic delivery. “That is sad.”

“I know. I’m pretty good at arranging mergers for others. Although Braden has been a tough one for me. I hoped that date night would be a nice two-for-one deal.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“I figured you might click with either Anna or Drew or—”

“Whoa! Wait a sec. You wanted to set me up with both of Elliot’s exes? Why?”

“Because you’re all single,” she replied matter-of-factly.

“Geez, Soph! That’s not how it works!”

She scowled. “Don’t be so dramatic. My night was worse than yours. My date didn’t show, you and Anna are clearly only friend material, and Elliot is obviously trying to get back together with Drew. And before you say anything, don’t worry…I learned my lesson. I have to concentrate on this party and the play. The job I hope to snare and the passion that will never fade.”

“Oh, brother.” Phoenix snorted, stealing one of her fries.

Sophie smacked his hand and pushed her chair from the table. “I’m off to the ladies’ room. Don’t eat all my fries.”

Phoenix gave me a wicked grin when she walked away. “I bet you a hundred bucks there was no online date.”

“Yeah, I know. She’s doesn’t even try not to be obvious, but she means well,” I said.

“Sometimes I’m not so sure. I think Sophie looks out for number one. I hope she finds a job that gives her the creative outlet she needs to make up shit as she goes. She’d be brilliant at it.”

I chuckled. “You’re right. As long as she keeps out of my business, I fully support her new PR idea. It could be good for her.”

Phoenix stole a few fries from her plate and shook his head ruefully. “I still think you need to beware—Elliot is the one she wants. And something tells me that sappy smile on your face means you want him too. You don’t have to say a word. Have fun, Bray.”

I started to deny it, but instead, I said, “Don’t tell her.”

He made a zipping motion across his lips and smiled. “Never. Summer is short. Enjoy it.”

Losing my part at the theater initially felt like a new low. Not only did I not get cast in the play, I couldn’t even manage to hold on to a volunteer position that required nothing more than ordering daily iced mochas. I was prepared to wallow in a heavy case of self-pity and drown my sorrow in mega pints of ice cream. But my newly free schedule turned out to be the best thing ever.

It went something like: wake up, BJ, workout at the beach, sex, lunch, gym on my own, dinner, Netflix, video-game chill time, sex, bed. In other words, I spent almost every free second I had with Elliot. It was a simple plan that led to the best few weeks of any summer I’d ever had.

Ever.

There was something incredibly special about being with someone who lit you on fire when he walked into a room. I loved waking up next to him, sharing meals, and hanging out with him at the beach. Being with Elliot was the easiest thing in the world. He was fun, irreverent, and silly. But he was smart too. And he had a gift for finding the positive side in any given situation that I hoped was beginning to rub off on me, even though I couldn’t stay in Long Beach.

I had commitments in LA, and once grad school started, my free time would be limited. Our lives would be on completely different tracks.

I just didn’t want this to end.

“Dude, I’m gonna roast you. Get your guy out of the way,” Elliot warned me, tilting the video game controller as he leaned into my side.

I corrected course on the game, then tousled his shaggy hair. He looked slightly disheveled, and damn, he was sexy. I shifted on the sofa and tried to concentrate on the split-screen action on the television.

“Your hands are huge,” I blurted.

Elliot did a sideways double take and chuckled. “Well, you know what they say about big hands.”

“No, that’s feet.”

“As you know, my feet are gigantic,” he boasted, nudging my elbow.

I barked a laugh. “So are mine.”

“I know. Have you ever had foot sex?”

“That’s not a thing,” I replied primly.