He left the coffee shop and Felicity let out a little sigh of relief. “You can stop glaring now.” She chuckled.
“Do you ever wish—”
“Don’t even say it. I don’t want Darcy, he’s my tutor.”
“Yeah, but he gets all that stuff you love so much.”
God, why was everything so fucking messed up? It was like we took one step forward and two steps back.
“Jason, I love you.” Felicity shuffled forward on her chair. “I guess I just underestimated how hard all this would be.”
“I know and I wish it could be different. But—”
“I get it, I do. I would never ever want you to give up your dream. You’ve worked too hard for it.”
“I love you.”
The words were fast becoming a stitch for the frayed seams of our relationship. But I didn’t know how to fix it. I didn’t know how to make Felicity believe I needed her.
Her green eyes fluttered closed and when she opened them again, all I saw was a girl desperately trying to cling onto her dream.
She gave me a sad smile and said, “I know.”
Felicity
“Hello, do you mind if I sit here?” I said to the girl meticulously unpacking her supplies onto the small desk.
“Sure.” She barely glanced at me.
After breakfast with Jason on Monday, I’d decided to brush myself off and revert back to my old habit of making a list. Back in high school, it had helped me feel in control of my life, so why not here?
But instead of writing a college bucket list, I’d decided to keep it simple. One task a day.
Today’s task: make a new friend.
It sounded simple, and yet, it was something I’d struggled with. Even in my classes full of likeminded students, I’d failed to really connect with anyone. But I’d noticed Elodie and she was always alone, always sitting at the back of lectures. So I’d decided that maybe she was like me; maybe she also found it hard to connect.
“I’m Felicity,” I said. “Felicity Giles.”
“Oh. My. God,” she breathed. “I thought it was you.” Her whole face transformed. Gone was the shy, quiet student I’d seen around classes, replaced with a starry-eyed girl who stared at me like I was the second coming.
“I mean, I’ve heard your name around... but I didn’t know... wow. You’re like dating Jason Ford. That is... wow. I’m a huge fan.”
My lips pressed into a thin line. I couldn’t escape. No matter where I turned, who I talked to, I would always be Jason Ford’s girlfriend.
“That’s me.” I gave her a weak smile. I didn’t have the heart to ruin her morning since she seemed so excited to be talking to me.
“I’m a huge fan... huge. Followed the Quakers my whole life. My dad played for them... he’s kind of Quaker royalty. That’s why I keep myself to myself.” She glanced around conspiratorially. “And oh my god, I’m doing it, aren’t I? I’m totally being that weird obsessed fan that I try so hard to avoid.”
“Yeah, you kind of are.” Strangled laughter bubbled in my chest.
“I’m sorry, it’s just... damn, girl.” She clutched the edge of her desk and leaned closer. “You’re dating Jason Ford, one of the best quarterbacks the NCAA has seen in at least a decade. That’s go
t to be something.”
Oh, it was something all right.
“Hey, would you like to get a coffee after class? In a totally non-creeper kind of way. I’m Elodie by the way. Elodie Faltham.”