Page 96 of The Odds of Happily Ever After
Spotting Kriz behind Chloe, I called out, “Kriz!”
Chloe gave an exaggerated eyeroll.
I could have hugged Kriz when she shoved her way between us. “Whew, glad I caught you guys,” she said. “This dude cornered me after class and had this long lead up to asking me out.”
“Couldn’t have been longer than Kai’s taking with Luna.” Chloe smirked at me.
Kriz gaped at me. “Hefinallyasked you out?”
“I told you guys, we’re just friends,” I stressed. “Also, we’re going to be late for class.”
They exchanged looks.
“You deal with her,” Chloe told Kriz. “See you after class.” Then she left with a backward wave, disappearing down the hall.
Before Kriz could say anything else, I led the way up the stairs to our lecture room on the third floor.
“Someone’s in a hurry,” she teased as she caught up with me.
“It’s a small class. Everyone’s going to notice if we’re late.”
The door was already closed when we got to it. Slightly out of breath, I grasped the knob and slowly opened the door, hoping our arrival would go under the radar. Why did they have to position the doors in front of the room instead of at the back?
I’d barely taken a step inside when I halted, my mouth slack.
Because standing in front of the class was Gabe. And he was frowning at me.
chapter thirty
gabe
Luna
So that was awkward. A heads up would have been nice.
Can we talk after you finish work?
My finger hesitatedover the call button. Every time I came close to pressing it, I remembered the shock on Luna’s face when she saw me in class.
The moment I entered the room, my eyes had automatically sought her out but didn’t find her there. My initial disappointment turned into relief at the possibility she’d chosen that exact session to skip a class. Then I’d worried that something was wrong, because she wasn’t the type to be absent for no reason.
I was about to introduce myself when she rushed inside the room. I hadn’t been prepared for her to be late or for the punch I felt in my gut when our eyes met and hers dropped to the floor.
Thank God Kriz had been there to break the tension. She’d apologized for being late and herded Luna to a pair of seats at the end of an aisle, putting them just in my peripheral vision. That made it easier for me to get through my lecture pretending that Luna wasn’t there.
It felt like the culmination of all the poker games I’d played in my lifetime.
Just call her. This is Luna.
Exactly. This wasLuna. Her opinions, her feelings mattered more to me than the sum of most people I knew combined. And I’d hurt her—again. How many mistakes could I make before she ran out of chances to give?
Steeling myself, I called her.
“You’re alive,” Luna answered.
I heard none of the usual lightness in her voice, and its absence weighed on my chest. “I’m sorry.”
“You need to be more specific there, Professor. I don’t want to assume you’re apologizing for something you aren’t.”
