Page 57 of Game Changer
“Hey, just a quick thought here, but can you both go fuck yourselves?” The two of them together are insufferable. A part of me wishes I’d never introduced them, but I also appreciate that they care so much about my relationship. It means they care aboutme, and it’s rare to find friends with good intentions nowadays.
Cameron stops laughing and takes a few deep breaths to calm down. “Bullshit aside, I’m happy you’re happy, man. You’ve wanted her for a long-ass time, and it’s good to see you like this.”
“You don’t think it’s too premature of me to celebrate, right? After what happened previously?”
He shrugs. “Any relationship is a risk, but after what I witnessed on Halloween, I’d say she’s just as obsessed with you as you are with her. You should enjoy it, Ethan. You deserve this.”
Maybe he’s right. Maybe I deserve this, but as much as I thought I let my reservations go, there’s still a lingering worry that she’ll ghost me again, leaving me high and dry. It’s like I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop.Somethinghas to go wrong because what we have between us is too perfect. Too right.
I’m growing used to our yoga sessions and forming a domesticated routine with her. We spend our mornings in the gym, then study in the library for a few hours or go to the common area to binge a new reality series she’s obsessed with. Our conversations are never dull. There hasn’t been a moment when I’ve wondered if I’m with the right person because, in my bones, I know she’s the one for me. I’ve always known it. There may have been times I didn’t want to admit it and times I tried to deny it, but at the end of the day? She’s the center of my fucking universe, and I’ll always be stuck in her orbit.
“In that case, things are good, then.Reallygood.”
Leo snorts with a mouthful of burger. “You can say that again.”
“Oh, shit. I gotta go. Maddie’s calling,” Cameron says.
“And you can’t tell my sister to wait a damn minute?”
He gives me a look as if to say,What kind of idiot do you take me for?“Part of making a long-distance relationship work is comparing schedules to find available times to talk. Hate to break it to you, but your sister is more important. Bye.”
My mouth is hanging open when the call disconnects, and Leo doesn’t help by throwing a french fry at my head. “That look really isn’t becoming on you. Close your mouth.”
I blow a breath up at the ceiling. “Fuck me,” I mutter to myself.
“Couldn’t even if I wanted to. Maya doesn’t give me an opportunity.”
“Oh my god. If you’re going to be annoying, at least give me some of your fries.” I want to be upset, but truthfully, I fight a smile the entire time. This is exactly what I wanted my college experience to be like. I found the girl I’m meant to be with, made more friendships along the way, and on top of it all, I’m accomplishing what I set out to do. I wanted to find myself, and isn’t that what I’m doing?
The realization sends a sensation of warmth shooting through my chest.
“Thought you’d never ask,” Leo says, reaching across the tiny space between us with a carton of fries. “I know you’re hungry from all the calories you’re burning now.”
This time, rather than roll my eyes, I tip my head back and release a full-blown belly laugh. For the first time, I’m loving my life, and I refuse to let anxiety get the best of me anymore. I’m going to enjoy myself to the fullest and focus on the present, not the future or my past.
I’mhappy, and it’s about time I start living like it.
Twenty- nine
Ethan
Afternoon sunlight filters through the window behind my bed, streaks of golden hues passing across Maya’s face. She’s lying between my legs with her chin propped on my chest, her hair mussed and lipstick smeared after a couple’s yoga position got a little too personal and led us back to my dorm. Leo was in biology class, and my door came before hers, so . . .
“Your bed is more comfortable than mine.” She rolls onto her side, tucked beneath my arm now. “It’s not fair.”
“You’re welcome to sleep with me anytime, you know.”
She scoffs. “And listen to Leo’s snoring all night? He sounds like a bear.”
Good point.
Her soft breasts press against my abdomen, and when she rubs her fingers along my small line of chest hair, I grab her wrist and inspect a tiny heart tattoo. “What’s this for?” My thumb brushes against the black ink, causing a shiver to run through her body.
“I got it on my eighteenth birthday just because I could do something for myself for once without my parent’s permission.” She shrugs, inspecting the design. “I guess because I wear my heart on my sleeve?”
I bend down to kiss it and inspect her other tattoo—a tiny cross on the other arm. “And this one?”
We just got finished having sex, but my lips on her skin have already made her breathless again. I shouldn’t find it such a turn on, but I do. “My family is Catholic. It’s a tribute to my faith.”
