Page 64 of Level Up

Jay swallowed loudly, looking almost as if he were at a loss for words. “Why the library?” he asked.

“Because if we go back to our dorm, I know I’m going to have you naked and on top of me in five seconds flat.”

“Touché,” Jay said. “Touché.” He gave a yawn that he covered with the back of his hand.

“Actually… it’s been a long night. Let’s go back and cuddle? We can plot and plan in the morning. I’m already meeting Maddy and Colt to talk about it.”

“That sounds great to me, too.”

We got back to the dorm, and we did, in fact, only take five seconds to get naked again. But this time, we weren’t as ravenous and primal as earlier. Exhaustion already caught up to us. Jay and me got into my bed under the covers, Jay tucked himself against me (and my boner), and I held him until we both went to sleep.

The last thought in my head that night being, This must be what finding paradise feels like.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Jay

Maddy, Colton, and I sat on the comfortable blue bean bags set inside the busy coffee shop. The sweet scent of cappuccinos woke me up through osmosis. The sound of coffee beans being ground mingled with the chill music that played in the background. I stretched my arms over my head and let out a contented sigh.

Things were good.

No, scratch that, things were actually great.

Three weeks had passed since Ryan and I had our big dramatic scene, and each day after had been filled with more reaffirmations that being with Ryan was the right choice. I woke up in his arms feeling a kind of lightness I hadn’t felt in so, so damn long. I’d walk around the FU campus with a permanent smile on my face, my sneakers feeling as if the soles had been replaced with clouds.

Best of all? I wasn’t hiding my relationship with Ryan anymore. We’d hold hands walking to our dorm, and we’d kiss hello when we met at the food hall. Maybe people were talking shit (Timothy, I was looking at you), but it didn’t bother me as much as I feared it would.

Not only that, but the planned protest was being received with a lot of enthusiasm. Dating the son of Redpine Global’s CEO didn’t hinder me or stop people from showing their interest in the cause and RSVPing for the protest.

It was coming up fast, and there was still a ton of shit to figure out before.

“What if we hire catering?” Maddy suggested as she chewed the cap to her pen, a notebook open on her lap with mostly doodles filling the page. “Everyone loves free food.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Colton said. He took a loud sip from his nearly finished vanilla latte.

I shook my head. “Unless we get sponsors, I don’t see that happening. I don’t have the funds to get people free sandwiches and drinks.”

“My cousin works for a catering company, actually,” Colton offered. He had a knee resting on Maddy’s. It wasn’t just Ryan and me who had recently decided to take the leap into “official” territory. They’d apparently been talking nonstop since they met, and Colton had asked Maddy out in one of the most romantic ways ever: through a scavenger hunt that took her through all of their fave spots, leading Maddy to a field of roses, where he was waiting with a bouquet in hand. I teased them both, wondering what a proposal by Colt would look like.

“Reach out to them,” Maddy said as she jotted it down in her notebook. “That’d be cute.”

I cracked my knuckles, still stuck on one major part of the protest. “Okay, we have the food, but how are we going to draw the eyeballs? I’ve got a good amount of RSVPs but I want to go bigger. I want to reach people all across America. And I want to get the media’s attention, too.”

“What about putting on some kind of show?” Colton asked. “You’re a big theater star, and Maddy, you love musicals. I think that could be cool. And if we film it and throw it up on social media, it could blow up.”

“That’s not a terrible idea,” Maddy said, arching a brow. ”…Do you think it’s a good idea?”

Colton flashed his girlfriend some puppy eyes, batting his long dark lashes. They made a really cute couple. Colton was like the all-American boy next door, and Maddy was the edgier and—frankly, a little cooler—girl who fit him perfectly. It was cute to see. And I was glad that both I and my best friend happened to snag two guys who were also really good friends. It made double dates much more fun. It was like we’d quickly formed this little family together, and it was really, really nice.

“I think it’s a great idea,” Maddy said, leaning in and giving Colton a kiss on the cheek. “But we also already talked about it. Not many people are going to watch a play on their phones. It would have to be amazing, and we don’t have that kind of time.”

Colton turned his green eyes to me, smiling with a slightly crooked but overly charming grin. “Well, whatever it is, I’m sure you can be the main star, of course.”

My gut instantly did a somersault. He was only being sweet, but he didn’t know about my past.

“No, no,” Maddy quickly said. “You know you don’t have to be there, Jay.”

Colton cocked his head, clearly confused. “But you’re the main organizer. Why wouldn’t you be there?”

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