Page 51 of Learning Curve

Reece: California is bullshit, as it turns out. I miss New York. Every time Jack or Trav texts me about some fucked-up thing they’re doing while I’m powerless to stop it, one of my fairy brain cells loses its wings. I’m transferring to Dickson next year, and you can’t change my mind. The paperwork is already filed.

Reece doesn’t know anything about my dad’s other kids—fucking middle-aged adult kids, as it were—none of my siblings do. But if he’s going to be here next year, I guess I better get busy bringing it all to light.

After all, what’s a fucked-up family reunion without the whole fucked-up family?

Scottie

“Mind if I borrow your curling iron? I need to fix a few curls.” Julia says, leaning out from my half bathroom and shaking her blond hair side to side.

I laugh at her cute little dance and pull it out of the drawer in the white vanity at the side of the room that holds all my hair products, accessories, and devices like my hair dryer and straightener.

I hand it to her, and she smiles gratefully.

As she plugs it in and goes back to getting ready in the bathroom, I step back up to the vanity to continue working on my makeup.

All thanks to Tonya’s elbow today at practice, my nose took an accidental hit. It hurt like I suspect any fist to the face does and started bleeding instantly—and hasn’t stopped yet. I swear, it’s been trickling on and off for hours. Even worse, though, I’ve got bruises forming under my eyes from the force of the blow, and they’re an absolute bitch to get covered.

Julia holds a curling iron to her head at the front of her crown and peeks over her shoulder while still tethered to the cord.

“Did you get it to stop bleeding?”

“Yeah,” I respond, pulling the wadded-up paper towel from under my top lip and throwing it into the garbage can under my desk. I go back to hiding the bruises under my eyes with concealer. “I thought I had it under control before you got here. I don’t know why it started up again.”

“Nosebleeds are so finicky.”

“Where’d you learn that paper towel under the lip thing anyway?”

“One of my mom’s best friends is the doctor on staff for the New York Mavericks. She knows all sorts of tips and tricks for sports-related injuries.”

I bark a laugh. “You say that so casually.”

Julia giggles and shrugs, taking the curling iron out from the back of her head now and letting a spiral piece of hair drop. “I grew up around all these people, so I don’t even think anything of it, I guess. It’s pretty cool, though, huh?”

“That your dad is a billionaire with a bunch of billionaire friends?” I mock with a wink. “Yeah, it’s pretty cool.”

Julia rolls her eyes. “Trust me, you’d never think my dad was a billionaire. It took my mom my entire childhood to convince him to drive something other than a Ford Edge.”

“Honestly, I think that might make it even cooler.”

Julia nods. “He’s the best.”

It takes everything inside me, but I somehow manage to ask my next question without a shaky voice. “What do you think Finn’s deal is? Like his family and stuff?”

“I don’t know, actually. Ace is normally such a blabbermouth, but he hasn’t said anything about Finn or his parents.” She laughs. “Probably hedging his bets to keep from getting beat up.”

I force a laugh of my own. “Yeah. Finn’s a pretty good fighter.”

“Do you think that’s what’s happening tonight?” she asks about the Double C text we got about an hour before she got to my dorm. “Another fight?”

My lungs seize at the thought, but I play it cool, dabbing powder under my eyes.

“I don’t know.” What I want to say is Yikes, I hope not, but I’m afraid that’ll give me away. And I’ve got a promise going to myself that we’re not going to give in to the Finn Hayes feelings anymore.

Still, here I am, getting ready to go find out anyway. I’m not entirely sure if it’s just fear—that I won’t be able to bear not being there if there’s another fight involving Finn—or if I’m stupidly hoping it’ll lead to another kiss.

And yes, I’m aware. I’m hopeless.

I hear my phone ping with a new text message, but I’m too busy applying mascara to my lashes to check it immediately. It’s on the other side of the room where Julia is curling her hair, and mascara application is a delicate process.

---