Page 78 of Nothing Like the Movies

“You want to send Liz?” I asked. “To Omaha?”

She nodded, and I wondered what that would look like.

Because even though I couldn’t imagine having her—and probably Clark—following me around while we moved out the last of my mom’s stuff, the idea of Liz being nearby while I said goodbye felt right somehow, or at least thethoughtof it did.

“Uh, can I think about it and get back to you?” I asked, wanting to talk to Sarah and figure out why I wasn’t totally opposed to the idea.

Because I should be, right?

“Of course,” Lilith said, and I didn’t miss the way she looked directly at Ross with a smug smile. “Just let me know as soon as possible so I can book flights if it’s a deal.”

“Sounds good.”

I left the building a little weirded out by the fact that I felt calm. It was surreal that this was happening, that Liz and Co. would be joining me in Omaha, but I felt pretty okay about it. Although to be fair, I was a Liz junkie, always looking for my next fix, and this scenario assured me that one would be coming soon.

I forced myself to go straight to the library because I had a paper to write, and I didn’t trust myself at home anymore. Lately, every time I went back to my dorm room, I ended up hooping with theguys instead of studying. It was great living right next to basketball courts, but not so great for my studying.

I slid into a spot at a table, flipping on the table lamp before pulling out my computer. I put on my headphones and got to work, but two things were messing with my concentration.

The first was the guy at the table across from me, who appeared to be attempting to completely gnaw off his fingernails. I didn’t know why he’d caught my eye, but I couldn’t stop checking every few minutes to see if he was still doing it.

Read a paragraph, then look over—yep, still chewing.

Write some sentences, then check to see—yep, still chewing.

Focus, Bennett.

But the other thing was Liz.Of course.She was all over my brain, stuck in multiple scenarios and places, and I couldn’t shake her. I was either thinking about the way she’d looked ready to cry during our interview, the way she’d run down the steps outside the library (in the dark) to avoid me the other night, or the idea of having her with me in my dad’s house.

By the time I got back to my dorm, I’d decided to give Lilith the green light. And when I talked to Sarah about it, she was all in. I suspected it was still her trying to get Liz and me together, but she also made a lot of sense.Since you’ve already given them the interview, what’s the big deal about letting them get a couple pictures at the house?

I punched in the code and opened the front door.

“Hey, we’re getting pizza.” Wade and AJ were each in front oftheir gaming setups, on opposite sides of the living room, playingThe Show. Wade said, “Order it, bitch.”

“What if I don’t want pizza?” I did, I mean who didn’t want pizza, but my suitemates all had way more discretionary income than I did. Their parents loaded their debit cards with all kinds of fun-money, whereas I was holding tight to the money I’d worked my ass off to put into savings.

When it was gone, I was out.

“It’s free,” AJ said. “Brooks complained last time that he found a long hair in his cheese, so they gave him a coupon. It’s on the mini fridge.”

“You want to order from a place that has hairy pizza?” I asked Wade.

“I think it might’ve been mine, but I wasn’t sure.”

“You’re an idiot,” AJ said, laughing.

“I know,” Wade agreed. “Which is why I’m willing to give them another chance.”

“Big of you,” I said, dropping my backpack on the couch and grabbing the coupon from the front of the mini fridge.Free XL one-topper.“Pepperoni?”

“Nah—just cheese,” Wade said. “Their pepperoni tastes like fungus.”

“Because you know what fungus tastes like,” AJ muttered.

“Are you sure we should order from a place with hair and fungus problems?” I laughed, pulling out my phone because it was free.Of coursewe were going to order it.

Their attention was on the game until the pizza arrived, but assoon as the box was open, they were at the table and back to being aware of their surroundings.

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