Page 76 of From Now On

“Smart, to run early,” he comments, flipping the wipers to their highest speed. “I’m going to have to wait until later.”

“We could go surfing again,” I suggest.

“Fuck no,” Hart replies instantly. “And don’t you dare suggest that to Phillips.”

I laugh. “He was talking about bowling this week too.”

“I’m good with that,” Conor says as he pulls out of the parking lot. “Hayes and I haven’t been since, uh, you know.”

I do know. He went bowling with Harlow, one of her friends, and Clayton last semester, which set off a series of unfortunate events that put me smack-dab in the middle between my first friend at Holt and one of my closest friends. I know Hart feels bad about that, but Clayton wasn’t entirely innocent either.

“Did you consider asking Harlow out sooner? Like, sophomore year, after she broke up with Williams?”

Bringing up Harlow’s past with one of our teammates is a risky decision. But it’s the closest comparison I can come up with for my current situation. Harlow and Jack dated for a couple of months, not three years, so I’m not sure it’s much of one, but I’m sorta desperate for advice.

Conor looks more confused than annoyed about the question.

“No,” he finally answers. “I wish I had. Wish that we’d had more guaranteed time together. And I know it makes me a hypocrite, but I hate the thought of her being with anyone else.”

I’m well aware of that last part. There’s a hole the size of Conor’s fist in his bedroom wall that our landlord is going to throw a fit about when we move out.

“But I wasn’t ready,” he continues. “I needed to grow up. Figure some shit out.”

“Yeah, that makes sense.”

“Why are you asking?”

“Just…timing, I guess. We’re so close to the end of college. I keep thinking about ways some things might have worked out differently.”

“Is this related to your recent interest in dating?”

“A little. I thought I’d meet someone, at some point. Not everyone blinks twice and realizes their soulmate is the girl they spent the past three years avoiding, you know.”

“That’s notexactlyhow it happened,” Conor says wryly.

“You get what I mean, though.”

He exhales. “Yeah. I do.”

You probably don’t remember.

I sigh too, in response to the echo of Eve’s voice in my head. “Even if I met someone soon, it’d be shitty timing with graduation coming up.”

Rather than agree, like I’m expecting, Conor laughs. “Morgan, there’s no ideal time to fall in love. It just fucking happens, and then you’ve got to figure the rest out.”

CHAPTER TWENTY

EVE

The Bowl-a-Rama is completely empty when we walk inside. And silent, aside from the eighties pop song playing.

“Huh,” Aidan says, glancing around. “Guess this spot is another hidden gem.”

Harlow snorts as she pulls her hood down. It’s pouring out today, making any outdoor activity unpleasant, which is why bowling was suggested.

I glance at Hunter. He’s nodding along to something Rylan is saying to him.

I haven’t had a chance to talk to him today—not that I’m sure what I would say, aside from thanking him for the soy milk that mysteriously appeared in the fridge. Harlow knows my preference for it too, but Conor said Hunter was the one who went grocery shopping with him. He was in the shower when I ate breakfast, and didn’t reappear downstairs until we were all ready to leave and head here.

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