Page 47 of One Day

For a moment, I think she’s mad at me for being late. She has every right to be, especially since I overstayed my welcome with Sonya and purposefully took longer. I knew I needed to go home to get my stuff and change my clothes, but I was high on Sonya’s citrus scent.

“Are you just going to be smiling all the time?”

I bite down on my bottom lip to force the smile down, not even realizing it’s been plastered to my lips since I got here. Fuck, since I left Sonya’s, it’s like she shot life directly into my veins, brightening the dimming corners and bringing in new color.

“I’m not smiling.”

“Sure, and I’m not gay,” she says, a teasing look playing in the corner of her eyes. “You want to try that one again? Maybe the truth this time.”

Shaking my head, I reach for my glasses and pull them off to set them face down on the table before rubbing between my brows. “Maybe I might be smiling a little.”

She holds up her index and thumb, showing me the very thin space between them. “Yeah, maybe a little. It’s a good look on you.”

“Funny,” I say. “I am sorry I was late meeting you. We got a little distracted.”

The skin near her eyes crinkles as her smile widens. “I’m sure you were. I had some fun of my own last night.”

“Oh, yeah?”

She nods her head eagerly, a faint blush coloring her cheeks. The happiness is practically buzzing off her skin, and I’m not sure how I missed it.

“Yeah, Devon and me have a date on Tuesday. I’m kind of…really excited. I never thought I’d get to this point with her. I thought she was just going to be one of those people I think about but never work the nerve up to actually talk to,” she admits, a grin permanently pressed to her lips.

“I’m glad, Flynn.” Reaching across the table, I take her hand and give it a gentle squeeze. “It’s really good to see you happy.”

“I am. The happiest I’ve been in a while,” she confirms, gripping my hand back. “And you? You’re happy, right? With Sonya and everything?”

I nod my head. “I am.”

“Good, so that means I can bring your mom up again.”

I scrunch my nose up, untangling my hand from hers to slide my glasses back on and run my fingers into my hair. “Can we not?”

“Have you talked to her yet?”

Swallowing, I curl my fingers around the base of my neck and give it a firm squeeze. I can feel the unsettled feeling tightening my chest strings again, pulling them until they’re wrapped around the cage, protecting my heart. “No.”

“Then, we cannot.”

“Flynn, I’m going to talk to her. I will talk to her.”

“Good,” she says, grabbing my phone from the surface of the table and flipping it over so the screen is face up. She nudges it in my direction and then pulls her hand back, curling them together under her chin. “Call her now.”

“We’re in the library.”

She looks around at the empty tables around us. The only other students using the library are up on the second floor. There is no reason for me not to call, to just be honest and tell her what she needs to hear, but I can’t bring myself to do it. I feel suffocated by my own lies.

Thankfully, my screen lighting up with Sonya’s name saves me from having to brush it off for the millionth time. Flynn’s eyes drop to the screen and the picture of Sonya with her face scrunched up, a massive grin on her face in our booth at Adam’s. I still remember the day I took it. She had been excited about going home to visit her parents for the weekend for the first time since starting school her freshman year.

“I’m going to take this,” I say, sliding back in my seat as I swipe my phone off the table. Flynn doesn’t argue with me when I head for the stacks, dragging my thumb across the screen to answer and bring it up to my ear. “Miss me already, Sunny?”

“So much,” she teases, and I can almost hear the smile on her face as she says it.

I didn’t think it was possible to miss a person this quickly, but that’s exactly what this tug in my chest is. I miss her. I miss her warm glow. I miss the way I catch her staring at me, studying me. I’d call her out on it if I didn’t spend just as much time watching her. If I could make it my job, I would. I could easily spend my life looking at her.

“I’m sorry for calling. I know you’re studying with Flynn, but I got my hands on an extra ticket for Dylan’s game tonight, and I thought you might want to come.”

“You’re inviting me to a hockey game?”

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