“Some might say that’s disgusting.” I handed him back the chocolate and stole his Coke. “I say it’s disgustingly romantic.”
Watching the squirrels, Hunter snickered and bit into the bar. “Get used to it.”
“Because you love cheesiness?”
“Because I love”—he glanced at me then instantly back at the offices—“cheesiness.”
The air throbbed with intimacy. Feelings from last night bubbled in my chest so hard, I was about to puke.
I sat on my shaking hands and reached deep for all the bullshit I could use to shield me from the hope and the dumb aching need . . .
When Kyle left his mansion offices, we trailed him to a French restaurant. Hunter manned the getaway van while I cut our K off before he reached the frosted-glass door.
Kyle snapped to a startled halt.
“Mr. Gable Green,” I rushed out, aware I should get to the point quickly. “I’m Marc from the Scribe. I would like to ask you a few questions about the removal of Lover’s Loop Gazebo.”
He rocked back in his loafers and clasped his hands behind his back. “Excuse me?”
“I’m part of a large, growing number of students and alumni that are actively working to stop the dismantling of this historic landmark.”
“I’m about to meet investors for lunch.”
“I’m only asking for your voice to reverse this decision. The Gazebo holds immeasurable sentimental value.”
He slammed his eyes shut and I read the pain wracking his body. “I have lunch to get to.”
I caught hold of his crushed soul and decided to take a risk. “I found your letters to Victor Albacore.”
He staggered back and I instinctively grabbed his arm, worried he’d stumble into the gutter. “You okay?”
He pulled free. “You pop out of nowhere and rip into my past. No, I’m not okay.”
I was losing him. My voice grew desperate. “Why are you insisting the Gazebo be removed?”
“The university is updating outdoor campus facilities.”
I blurted after him, “It hurts, doesn’t it? To walk by and remember the past, how much you loved him.”
He froze. “I have to ask you to please leave.”
I stepped back, heat prickling my eyes. “You need to do something.”
He looked sad. Older, and gray with emotion. “I am. I’m having it taking down.”
When he pulled open the frosted door, I called after him, “You’re making a mistake.”
Hunter and I parted ways on campus to our respective lectures, and I ended up planting myself in the front row of History 321 alongside Tyler. Fidgety and frustrated, I wanted company.
He jerked his head up. “You look like a walking natural disaster.”
I shoved a hand through my hair to tame it. “Kinda true. Hey, did you take econ notes?”
Tyler opened his email on his laptop. “What’s your address?”
“Could you send them to Hunter, too?”
He stared at me. “Oh. Are you two . . .?”
“If I play my cards right?”
A flash of disappointment hit his eyes. “Okay, sure. Your addresses?”
I told him and he sent them to us. After class, we had coffee at the union café and I realized there was a lot more to Tyler than I’d once thought. We shared a love of football that had a dreamy look crossing his face, and he used to run cross country, too. Maybe I could get back into running, save my abs. We could run together maybe. He was working with Uncle Ben on sports writing, too. Ambition. Interests.
“I’m not just an IT nerd.”
Even though the day had kinda sucked, I smiled. Tyler was a good guy I could be friends with. I imagined Hunter’s parents and their tuna sandwiches, and it gave me stupid fuzzy feelings.
“Know any kind, single guys?” Tyler tossed out there.
“Not really.” I took a gulp of coffee.
“No distant cousin or neighbor—or hey, lonely uncle?”
I spat my coffee on the table.
Tyler laughed. “I take it that’s a yes to the uncle?”
I wiped up the coffee mess. “Yes, but no. You and Chief Benedict? Never in a million years.”
“Wait. Chief Benedict is your uncle?”
“Why is this so shocking to everyone?”
Tyler frowned. “Sorry, say that again?”
I spoke more clearly, and Tyler grinned. “He is hot.”
“He’s taken.” Maybe. If I hadn’t ruined that.
We agreed to have coffee again soon. Tyler happily suggested Hunter join us, and the invitation had a weird effect on me. I couldn’t stop grinning and I moved quicker too. I was itching to do something. Change K’s mind.
I wrote my article and sent it for Hunter’s approval before I sent it to editing.
He replied quickly that he loved it, and could he pass it on to his parents?
I rolled my eyes. “Of course.”
Hannah shot quirky sideways glances at me from her desk, like she’d been doing all afternoon.
I hung up, leaned back in my chair, and caught her eye. “You all right, Hannah?”
She blushed and slung herself at Hunter’s desk, pen and paper in hand. “So, you and Hunter are boyfriends?”