Still nothing.
I expected it, but it was still a heavy blow. I hesitated a little, but it wasn’t like it mattered. No one else had ever reached out to me, even the few that I sent messages to, and the one guy I did ask to meet then stood me up.
“Seriously,” Dana said from behind me. “What’s up? You look upset.”
I let out a bitter laugh. “Don’t tell me you care that I’m upset now?”
She sighed. “Sophia, I never stopped caring. I know I’ve been acting a bit like a bitch recently, but I’m, sorry, okay?”
I turned around slowly to look at her. She was frowning, looking genuinely apologetic, and I sighed as my shoulders slumped.
“Well, it’s not like I have anyone else I could tell,” I muttered. “I went out to meet a guy today.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “That was unexpected. So, what? Did you not like the guy? Date went wrong?”
I laughed bitterly. “He never fucking showed up.”
“So, call him,” she said with a shrug.
I sighed. “It’s not that simple. I don’t have his cell number or anything.”
She tilted her head to the side. “I think you better explain.”
I pursed my lips but decided there was nothing wrong with confiding in Dana. When she wasn’t an ass, she was a good friend. I remembered Jennifer’s words and wondered if this relationship with Logan was finally losing its shine. I hoped so because I would love to have my friend back.
“Do you…remember a while back when someone at the dorm told us about a campus dating site?”
Recognition flashed across her face, and also something else, but it was gone before I could look at it too closely.
“Yeah.”
I sighed. “I know I act like I’m okay not dating, but I do want to. But I don’t want some guy that wants to get in my pants. I want someone that’s going to care about how my day went, about what I’m interested in, and if it’s someone with similar interests, then better. I guess you could say I’m trying to find love. Especially once you started hanging out with Logan, I just realized how alone I really was then.”
I bit my lip and looked down, wondering if she would call me lame or whatever. At this point, I didn’t even care. But, she surprised me.
“I’m sorry,” she said, and when I met her eyes, she looked completely sincere.
“It’s fine,” I said with a sigh. “I did meet someone, and we’ve been chatting. We were supposed to meet today, but he never showed up.”
She pursed her lips. “Is that so…”
“Mh-hm. I waited a couple of hours then I gave up. I guess it was pointless.”
“No, it wasn’t,” she said, peering up. “If a guy gives a promise to you and takes it back, without telling you a thing no less, then he’s just a jerk, okay? I downloaded a new romance movie on my computer and I have some snacks I bought yesterday. Do you want to watch with me?”
I pursed my lips. “What about Logan?”
“What about Logan?” she countered. As if on cue, her cell vibrated. She picked it up and read her text, then froze. After a second, though, she put her cell aside and turned to me. “It’s fine. He was busy when I had free time, and I wanna stay with you today so that he can deal. Come on; I think you’ll like this one.”
I watched as she jumped off her bed to get the snacks and her computer, moving them all to her bed. Then, she closed the curtains and scooted over to make space for me, patting the space beside her.
My lips tiled in a smile as I remembered why Dana and I were such good friends before Logan. She was even blowing off her boyfriend to spend time with me, and with how clingy she’d been acting toward him, I couldn’t help but feel a bit touched. I turned back to my computer. I was still on my profile page on the dating site. I hesitated for a moment, then made a decision.
A minute later, I closed my computer and let it shut down as I moved to sit with Dana on her bed. The movie was already starting, and she handed me an open bag of chips as we settled back into the pillow. She even let me use most of the pillow so I wouldn’t be uncomfortable, and I couldn’t help smiling as I bit down on a chip.
My eyes stung a bit, and my throat felt irritated from my upset earlier, but I ignored it. Because I realized that the day wasn’t so bad. Maybe Dana and I could reconnect, the way that we used to. As they say nothing should come between friends. I let her off the hook a little too easy, but then I suppose I should have talked to her instead of just biting her head off all the time. All I know is that I don’t want to be alone right now and Dana’s the only friend that I have, even if things haven’t been that great between us lately. I was just hoping that it really was a thing of the past.
Chapter Nine
Elijah
At the end of the game, both Logan and I got caught up in the celebrations after our win. I’d played extra aggressively, and just barely managed not to injure someone, so things worked out well. But I couldn’t leave immediately like I wanted to, either, and Logan got surrounded by girls from the cheerleading team, looking completely happy to be in that position.
By the time I could get my hand on my cell and open the dating site, quite a while had passed. Sophia had messaged me a few times, letting me know she was waiting for me.
Shit.
I sat down in the empty locker room and held my face in my hands as I tried to think. Sophia wouldn’t be happy, and it had been hours already so I doubted she’d still be there waiting for me. I cursed myself over and over in my head for being so careless. After a long moment, I got up and picked up my stuff.
I didn’t have much hope, I still passed by the main entrance of the library on my way to my dorm room. Of course, she wasn’t there, and I just moved faster. I had my cell in my hand and it kept vibrating, probably the guys calling me to the after party, but I wasn’t interested.
In the room, I tossed my hockey stuff aside. I turned my computer on and logged into the dating site, then searched for Sophia’s account. I frowned when I didn’t find it, and it took me a moment to figure out what was going on.
Dammit! She’s closed her account on the site already.