The Sophomore (College Years 2)

“How kind of him to offer,” Gracie says, waggling her eyebrows.

“It was nothing like that. He was kind of nerdy in a cute way. He wears glasses.”

“I love a cute boy in glasses,” Gracie says with a wistful sigh.

“He’s in my sociology class too,” I add. “Hopefully I’ll see him tomorrow.”

“If you see him tomorrow, you should invite him to our party,” Hayden says.

I slowly shake my head. “No way. I’m not going, remember?”

“Ellie!” Hayden sounds completely frustrated with me. “You’re going. Who cares about Jackson? Ignore him the entire night. It’ll piss him off.”

“That’s my plan with Caleb,” Gracie adds. “I love nothing more than to piss him off. He makes it so easy.”

“I don’t think I’m as strong as you two,” I say morosely. “Besides, you’ll have Franz wi

th you.” I point at Gracie.

“And you could have your cute, nerdy Carson with you,” she says with a smile. “That will make Jackson so jealous, he won’t be able to see straight!”

“He doesn’t get jealous of anything I do.”

“Because you haven’t given him a reason to be jealous yet,” Hayden says, ever so logical. “Your boy shows up at the party tomorrow night, just for you? Jackson will lose his mind.”

“Doubtful,” I say, though maybe…

Maybe they’re on to something? I don’t know. Jackson doesn’t give a crap about me. That much is clear. I gave him clear stay away from me vibes and he did exactly that. If he really cared, he would’ve reached out by now.

Right?

And I don’t want to use Carson to get back at Jackson. That’s mean. I like him. He seems nice. I need to move on with my life and try to actually live it, versus sitting around, waiting for Jackson to notice me.

Forget that. Forget him. I’m going to move on from Jackson.

Even if it kills me.

“Ellie, please go. Invite whoever you want. All of your friends. Let’s make this thing a rager,” Gracie says, her voice soft and pleading. “You need to let loose and have a good time. You’re so uptight, worried about a guy who clearly doesn’t care.”

Ouch. Her words hurt. But they are also the slap of reality I need. Jackson has proven he doesn’t care. It’s been a month. No calls, no texts, not even a glimpse of him on campus. I don’t hang out at his apartment anymore since Ava left. I’m not hanging out at Tony and Caleb’s condo either because I know I’ll run into him. Plus, I’ve been busy with work and school. My new job at the restaurant near campus is practically full-time, because I need the money.

It’s a lot. I don’t have time for him. Though he haunts my thoughts still.

Constantly.

Ugh. Whyyyyy?

“Fine,” I say, sitting up straighter. “If I run into Carson again, I’ll invite him to the party.”

“Good,” Hayden says with a firm nod. “Come over early and we’ll glam you up.”

“Glam me up?” I ask cautiously. “I don’t like wearing a lot of makeup.”

“Don’t worry about that. We want you to look your absolute hottest. You’re so cute, Ellie, but you don’t emphasize it.” Gracie points directly at my chest. “You have good boobs. You should show them off.”

I glance down at the front of my very plain, very boring T-shirt. “How do you know?”

“Look at them!” Gracie rolls her eyes. “Girl, you need to work it, and work it right now. You will have two men potentially vying for your affection tomorrow night. Give them something to think about later when they’re jerking off in the shower.”