The Senior (College Years 4)

Fine. Two can play at that game.

I wander around the house, my gaze searching as I seek out a guy. Any guy. Preferably one I find attractive, which shouldn’t be difficult.

I spot my friends and I wave but don’t stop to talk to them. I feel like a shark swimming in the ocean, searching for my next meal. Diego makes eye contact with me when I enter the kitchen and I wave at him but otherwise don’t stop to talk to him either. He’s with Caleb and Tony and all three of them are looking at me with pity in their eyes.

No thanks. The last thing I need is Eli’s ‘boys’ watching out for their bro and telling me I need to leave him alone.

“Ava.”

The voice is deep. Male. He says my name like he knows me and when I glance over my shoulder, I see a guy standing there, leaning against the wall, surrounded by friends. They’re all laughing and talking, except for him.

He’s watching me.

I turn to fully face him, squinting at his familiar face. Dark brown hair. Handsome, rugged features. Pretty sure I went to high school with him.

“You remember me?” he asks, sounding amused.

His name comes to me from out of nowhere. “James, right?”

He nods and smiles, revealing deep dimples bracketing each side of his mouth. His hair flops in front of his forehead and he sweeps it away, his blue eyes sparkling as he takes me in. He’s really cute. “You do remember.”

“We went to school together, of course I remember you. You’re a year younger than me, right?”

“Yeah. You’re not gonna hold that against me, are you?” His smile widens.

I’m actually blushing, and I immediately feel guilty. Why, I don’t know. Eli and I are not together. We haven’t been for months. Who cares if we just made out in a bathroom? He’s the one who wanted to do this in the first place. But why? To test ourselves? To see if what we really want is each other?

God, sometimes he’s so frustrating.

“I’m definitely not holding that against you,” I tell James, my tone extra flirtatious as I slide in closer to him. I can feel eyes on the back of my head, and I guarantee Eli’s friends are staring me down. I hope they go report me talking to this dude. “How are you? I didn’t know you were going to Fresno State.”

“I didn’t know you were going here either,” he says, his gaze eating me up, not hiding it whatsoever as he sweeps those blue eyes up and down my body.

“Oh, I don’t. I go to San Diego State,” I correct him.

“Here visiting for the weekend then?” He lifts a brow.

“I was in a study abroad program over the summer that ended in September, so I’m taking the rest of the semester off. I’ll go back to San Diego in January,” I explain.

&n

bsp; “Ah.” He nods. “You’ve been hanging out with Bennett then?”

Everyone knew we were together my senior year of high school. I made it super obvious and told anyone who would listen that he was my boyfriend, proud of the fact that I was dating someone older, someone in college. If anyone followed my social media, they’d know I was involved with him the last few years as well. I posted him—and us—constantly. James’ assumption makes sense.

“Actually, we broke up,” I admit.

“Really?” His expression changes. As if everything just got a little more interesting. “Just to warn you, he’s here tonight. I saw him walk in.”

“I know,” I say with a little shrug, playing it off. “It’s fine. We share a lot of the same friends, so I knew we’d run into each other. It was bound to happen eventually.”

I’m not about to admit to James that I kissed Eli in the bathroom. He’d walk away so fast my head would spin. And this is what I’m supposed to be doing, right? Flirting with someone else? Testing myself?

I hear familiar laughter coming from behind me and my heart pangs. I know that laugh anywhere. It’s Eli. And it is followed by a female laughing too, which makes my heart ache even more.

“You don’t have a drink,” James says, inclining his head toward my empty hand. His voice is really deep. “You want something?”

I shake my head. “Thanks, but no. I’ve had enough already.”