Page 2 of The Dating Coach
Karen abandoned the kitchen disaster immediately, curling up beside me. "No fucking way. You don't fail things. You're Gemma Spears, pre-med superstar and butterfly stroke champion."
"Apparently not anymore." I explained about the makeup exam, the deadline, the threat to everything I'd worked for. Karen listened with widening eyes, occasionally interjecting with colorful curses that would have made my mother faint.
"Okay," she said when I finished, her tone shifting to business mode. "You need a tutor. Someone who actually understands this shit and can explain it in human terms."
"I don't need—"
"Stop." She held up a hand. "This is not the time for your 'I can do everything myself' bullshit. You help every pre-nursing student who asks, volunteer at the free clinic, and still manage to captain the swim team. Let someone help you for once."
I wanted to argue, but the F stared at me from the coffee table, undeniable proof that my usual methods weren't working.
"Fine," I conceded. "I'll check the tutoring center tomorrow."
"Good girl." Karen patted my head like I was a well-behaved dog. "Now, want to help me figure out what I actually made in there? I think it might be achieving sentience."
Despite everything, I laughed. "Only if you promise to let me do the cooking from now on."
"Deal. Though technically, I was trying to meal prep for you since you keep forgetting to eat."
My heart squeezed at her thoughtfulness, even as I surveyed the disaster zone she'd created. This was why I lovedKaren – she showed her love through chaos and questionable cooking experiments.
We spent the next hour cleaning the kitchen, and for a while, I could pretend my life wasn't falling apart. But my phone kept buzzing with texts from Mia, each one a reminder that I wasn't the only one struggling to stay afloat.
That night, I lay in bed staring at the ceiling, my mind racing through chemical structures and reaction mechanisms. But every time I tried to focus on chemistry, I saw Mia's terrified face, heard my parents' voices quoting scripture about abominations and sin.
Six weeks to save my academic career. Six weeks to figure out how to protect my sister. Six weeks to pretend everything was fine while my carefully controlled world threatened to implode.
I pulled my covers up to my chin and closed my eyes, trying to remember a time when my biggest worry was shaving seconds off my butterfly stroke. Those days felt like a lifetime ago.
Tomorrow, I'd swallow my pride and find a tutor. Tomorrow, I'd start fixing this mess. Tonight, I just let myself feel the weight of that F, the first real failure of my life, and wondered if this was how drowning felt when you finally stopped fighting the water.
Chapter 2: Liam
The beer in my hand had gone warm twenty minutes ago, but I kept lifting it to my lips anyway, needing something to do while my teammates celebrated around me. Maverick's bar was packed for a Thursday night, the bar sticky with spilled drinks and loud with the kind of laughter that came from winning a crucial game against our conference rivals.
I should have been happy. We'd destroyed Boston College 6-2, and I'd notched two goals and three assists. Coach had pulled me aside after to tell me the Providence scouts were impressed. My path to the AHL was practically guaranteed, each goal bringing me closer to the future my father had mapped out since I first learned to skate.
Instead, I found myself staring at the corner booth where my friend Gabe sat with his fiancée Hailey, her left hand catching the bar lights every time she tucked her dark hair behind her ear. The engagement ring – a classic solitaire that Gabe had stressed about for months – seemed to mock me with each sparkle.
"Earth to Delacroix!" Henry's voice cut through my brooding. My roommate dropped into the chair beside me, his own beer sloshing dangerously. "You're doing that thing again."
"What thing?" I asked, though we both knew exactly what he meant.
"The thing where you stare at Hailey like a kicked puppy while pretending to celebrate." He lowered his voice, even though the bar was too loud for anyone to overhear. "Dude, you've got to let it go."
"I'm fine," I lied, taking another sip of warm beer. "Just tired from the game."
Henry snorted. "Right. That's why you've been 'tired' since they announced their engagement last week."
The memory of that moment still felt like taking a slap shot to the chest. Gabe had stood up at our team party, tapping his beer bottle for attention, that stupid grin on his face that I'd known since we were freshmen. Hailey had beamed beside him as he announced they were getting married after graduation. The team had erupted in cheers while I'd stood frozen, my congratulations coming out wooden and forced.
"She's happy," I said, watching Hailey laugh at something Gabe whispered in her ear. "That's what matters."
"You're an idiot," Henry said, but not unkindly. "You had a year to make a move, and you just... didn't."
He was right, of course. I'd met Hailey the same night Gabe had, at a mixer for student athletes. She'd been there with the field hockey team, complaining about the cheap beer and making sarcastic comments about the décor that had made me laugh harder than I had in months. We'd talked for hours about everything – her environmental science major, my secret architecture obsession, our shared love of obscure indie bands.
But Gabe had asked for her number. Gabe had pursued her with the single-minded determination he brought to everything. And I'd stepped back like I always did, watching from the sidelines as my best friend fell for the girl who made my chest tight every time she smiled.
