Page 74 of Dare to Fall

The excitement in her voice made my heart beat faster. Maybe she was right. Maybe there was a chance that the gallery owner would like my work and offer to have my pieces displayed. There was no way I would know unless I sent the email.

I looked down into those beautiful eyes, the words of appreciation lost from my tongue. So instead, I pulled her into a deep kiss and showed her exactly how I felt into the brimming light of the early morning hours.

37

Eva

If there wasa heaven on earth, it would be in the warmth of Garth’s arms. It felt like torture, leaving his loft last night to come back to my apartment. But I’d spent four days with him, and I needed to have some girl time with Drema. Although, she didn’t seem to mind that I was gone for so long after she told me she’d spent multiple nights with Lucas.

Apparently, she was feeling about the same way toward him that I was feeling about Garth.

Drema still couldn’t believe that I was dating one of her idols. She asked so many questions about his artistic approach that I finally told her she would need to have her own coffee date with him because I had no idea how to speak their lingo. Not that she minded the idea of having coffee with him since he already offered to help get her connected with the artistic community in our area.

I lifted the collar of his t-shirt up to my nose and breathed in deeply. It still had the scent of him from last night after he dropped me off. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever be able to take it off. The reminder of him was intoxicating, in the best way possible.

Goosebumps rose on my skin as flashes of memories played out in my mind of us tangled in his sheets for hours on end. If I had it my way, I’d still be there right now, pressed against his naked body with his lips against mine. Unfortunately for me, there was a ton of life I still had to figure out, which meant I couldn’t spend every second of my existence in his bed.

As I poured myself a cup of coffee, I heard Drema’s soft footsteps as she walked into the room. Spirals of her red hair poked out in all directions as she took a seat on one of the stools at the kitchen counter.

“Want some?” I asked as I gestured the pot of coffee toward her.

“Yes, please,” she hummed.

I filled up a mug for her and added a splash of creamer. All the while, my phone buzzed with three different alerts.

“It’s still that bad?” she asked.

I nodded. The story had blown up since the first night I’d spent at Garth’s loft. The professor’s name had been revealed, and the university had declared a press release stating they were still undergoing an internal investigation and the professor was asked to take paid leave until the investigation was complete.

Once that part of the story released, my phone hadn’t stopped going off with texts from Connor, his parents, Paulina, and even Caroline who sent a disgruntled text or two. Out of everyone, the messages from Paulina still stung the most.

It was so confusing how quickly she had turned on me. A decade of friendship before we even really knew Connor and she ended up taking his side, completely unwilling to hear anything I had to say. To her, it didn’t matter that he had been cheating on me for over six months. Thinking back to all the times she flirted with Brent when Caroline wasn’t around, I couldn’t help but think that cheating wasn’t completely out of her wheelhouse.

It was funny how clearly I started to see the reality of who Connor and our friends truly were once I was out of the ring. All it took was a subtle shift in values, and now four of my most prominent relationships were fractured. And I doubted anything would bring us back together again.

With my cup of coffee between my hands, I propped my elbows on the counter and blew over the hot liquid.

“They’ve already started making posts about me in the comments of the articles. They didn’t use their real names, of course, but I know it has to be someone from the group because no one would know the details of Connor’s and my relationship like they do.”

Drema’s eyes grew wider. “What are they saying?”

I let out a long exhale. “Nothing, really. Just that I’m the jealous ex-girlfriend who didn’t want Connor to move on without me, so I sold the story to the news so that he wouldn’t be able to date the professor. If I couldn’t have him, then no one could.”

“That issuchbullshit, Eva. I’m so sorry they’re saying that. Do you have any idea who it might be?”

I shook my head. “At this point, it wouldn’t surprise me if it was any one of my old friends. Or maybe even Connor himself. It’s just so crazy to me that, within just days, the people I spent years of my life being friends with would just toss me to the side. It’s really made me realize how vulnerable relationships are when there seems to be something to gain.”

The warmth of the coffee slid down my throat, and I relished in how the taste reminded me of Garth and the fresh smell of ground espresso beans wafting through his loft.

I turned toward Drema and smiled. “It’s also made me realize just how importantgoodfriendships are.” I reached across the counter and gave her hand a squeeze. “I seriously doubt I would have made it through all of this without you, Drema. You’ve been such a rock for me when I needed it most. Thank you.”

She gave me a smile over the rim of her mug. “I know you would do the same thing for me if I needed it. That’s what friends are for.”

So much change was happening all at once. If I thought about it too hard, it made my head spin with fear and doubt. So, I let myself lean back against the counter with my hot cup of coffee and chatted the morning away with the truest friend I’d ever had.

Two days had passed since I last saw Garth. He told me he was hiding away in his loft to finish a project he was hoping would land him a spot at Studio 628.

My mind longed for the peace it felt when he was around, and my body yearned for his touch. It felt like an awakening, being with Garth. He showed me all the possibilities that life could hold if I just opened myself to them.

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