I want to quit my job so I never have to leave Avery again, but I need to support us. I drive back to campus slowly, and Avery gives me directions to the building for her next class. I park out front and shift in my seat, turning to face her.
“I know you didn’t feel comfortable driving my car, so I hired you a driver for the week.”
She opens her mouth to protest, but I wave her off.
“It’s going to rain, and while I know you love dancing in the rain, I can’t have you catching a cold while I’m gone.”
She bites back a smile, and my heart flips over in my chest. “Thank you. When will you be back?”
“Friday night.”
It was supposed to be Saturday, but I switched it. I won’t get in until about 9 pm, and I’m sure Avery will be tired from her week, but I feel better knowing I’ll be sleeping in the same apartment as her. I don’t think I’ll be able to breathe right until I’m in the same country as her again.
“Okay, I’ll see you Friday then,” she says as she glances at the clock.
I know her next class starts any minute and we have to say goodbye, but the words don’t want to come.
“Have a safe trip,” she says, leaning over the center console and giving me a quick hug.
I want to hold her to me. I want to turn my head and brush a kiss against her lips or cheek, but I force myself to let her go. “Be safe, love.”
“I will,” she promises before opening the door and climbing out.
I watch her head inside the building before I let out the breath I didn’t realize I was holding and start to shift into drive. My phone buzzes in the cupholder, and I pick it up, smiling when I see it’s from Avery.
AVERY:Miss you already.
OLIVER: Miss you more.
EIGHT
Avery
“So we can finishup next week then?” I ask Steven.
He’s my partner on the class project, and we spent the last few hours working on it. We’ll need to write our report this weekend, and then we can get together next week to practice the oral report part of the project.
“Yeah, sounds gr—” Steven’s sentence breaks off when the front door opens.
I grin when I hear Oliver call out my name. “Avery, love. You in?”
“In the living room!”
Oliver comes around the corner with a smile on his face. It falls when he sees Steven sitting next to me on the couch, and my normally sweet and charming roommate turns into someone else. He glares at Steven, who clears his throat, hurrying to clean up his papers and stuff them in his bag.
“I’ll see you later, Avery,” he mumbles as he practically sprints for the door.
“No. You won’t,” Oliver says with a scowl, watching him leave.
“What the heck was that?” I ask, bewildered by his change in attitude.
“Why was there a boy in our home? Alone with you?” He stresses.
I want to squeal at how he called it “our home” and how possessive he’s being, but I push those feelings aside. It was harmless, after all. It’s not like he has anything to be jealous of.
“He’s my project partner, and we were just working on it.”
Oliver runs his hands through his hair roughly, squeezing his eyes shut tight.