Page 5 of Love on the Ice

LORELAI

Taking my book upstairs to my bedroom, I try to study there. If I don’t pass this test, I won’t get my certificate. If I don’t get my certificate, then I can kiss my rented room and food goodbye. I want to eat. I like those amazing but expensive Alter Ego truffles. They’re like ten bucks for a box of ten.

A dollar a piece for chocolate, and I could eat the whole box in a single sitting. It’s insanity, and I can’t even afford them, but it doesn’t stop me from buying at least one box a week, which is probably not helping my nonsupermodel-body status.

“The guys are coming over for dinner tonight. There are five of them. I cannot believe how lucky we are. They are hot and our age. I have a feeling we’re all going to have a ton of fun together,” Brooklynn announces from the living room.

Her voice carries up the stairs. I decide I don’t want to hear them talking excitedly about something that is just going to, ultimately, make me feel bad. I don’t know why it’s bothering me so much. Maybe it’s because I saw him first, and I’m having a bit of a finders-keepers moment about it.

I’ll get over it.

I won’t have a choice because those five guys are going to be putty in those five girls’ hands. Once again, me being the odd woman out. I bite the inside of my cheek and roll the skin between my teeth as I continue to attempt to study. I don’t have the luxury of partying and having a good time.

No, that’s not fair. That makes me seem like a petty, jealous bitch. I’m only one-third of any of that—a bitch. I don’t want to be a bitch, but sometimes, I just have those thoughts. Maybe it’s jealousy after all.

The girls in this house are all beautiful, and they are also finishing up their certificates in different areas of cosmetology. Their plans are to open a salon together. It may seem frivolous, but they are completely serious about it and dedicated to making their dreams a reality.

They aren't stupid by any means. They’re smart and beautiful. And they’ll probably always stay that way because of their genes and the fact they’ll be in the beauty industry.

Their certificates are also much less than mine, and their parents pay for their tuition plus room and board. I don’t understand how I ended up with these women who seem to have everything when I feel as if I have nothing.

There is a knock on my door, what feels like a few seconds later, but it could be hours. I don’t even know for sure. I’ve been trying to immerse myself in studying but instead have been lost in thought.

I call out for whoever is on the other side to come in, not surprised when Sky walks into the room. She leans against the doorjamb, her eyes focused on mine before she speaks.

“The guys are supposed to be here in, like, twenty minutes. Are you going to come down?”

There is no excuse that she or any of the other girls would buy, so I decide not to give any. Instead, I tell the truth or at least part of it.

“I have my big test on Monday. I need to study,” I say.

Sky doesn’t respond immediately, and I don’t look at her, but I can feel her gaze on me. “They’re really cute. I think it would do you some good to come down and hang out, even for a few minutes.”

I’m sure she thinks that because it would certainly do someone like her some good. However, she is not me. But instead of making her feel guilty for something that neither of us can control, I turn to her, my lips curving up into a grin.

“I’ll see if I can take a break.”

“Good, yay,” she says, clapping a few times, then she turns and walks away. Her mission complete.

Shifting my attention back to my book, I continue to stare at the words as I hear the party begin downstairs. I stay in my room for as long as possible, wearing a pair of jean shorts and an oversized T-shirt. The other girls will be dressed to the nines, but I don’t plan on partying long. My hair is up in a messy bun, not one of those cute, styled ones either, and I’ve got absolutely zero makeup on.

When the music progressively grows louder and louder, when they’re drinking, and all their voices start to carry upstairs, I decide to give it up. I’ve actually read a possible ten words in the hours I have been holding a book and attempting to study.

It will be a miracle if I pass this test at this point. Tossing my book to the side, I stand up and brush the pretzel crumbs off my shorts before I make my way down to the party. It’s not just that I can’t think with all the music playing.

It’s also the fact that I’m starving.

None of the girls would bring food up to me because they would say that I was being antisocial. Which, to their credit, I am. They do know me well, and they are not wrong at all. If I could stay locked in my room with food, drinks, and a bathroom, I wouldn’t even attempt to come out.

Moving through the side of the room, I try to hug the walls and sneak into the kitchen completely unnoticed. When I step into the space, I am surprised to see a man’s back to me. I’m a bit shocked, not expecting to see anyone in here.

He’s tall.

Really, really tall. He has to be at least a whole foot taller than me. As if he can sense my presence, he slowly turns around to face me. He’s got bright-blue eyes, a chiseled jaw, and dark hair.

My entire body trembles at the sight of him from the inside out.

It’s the guy from earlier, the one I thought saw me through the window. The beautiful one. And he’s more than just beautiful up close. He’s breathtaking. I feel stupid for thinking a man is beautiful, but this one is.

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