Page 88 of More Than Chemical
We?
MOM
Yeah, your dad and I.
Is there any way you could drop Dad off first and then come get me?
I just couldn’t stomach it. Dad in the car in the parking lot of my dorm. Dad walking with Mom and me from the car to court.
MOM
Oh. Sure. I guess that would work. How about 8:30a?
Sounds good.
Whew.
Next stop: Dallas’s door and a knock that went unanswered.
Where the hell was he?
Thirty-Two
Boy Is Back
It wasn’t until Tuesday night that I finally saw Dallas in the dining hall. His back was to me as he ate dinner with some guys from his floor.
Before that moment, I’d been fine, maybe a little nervous about going to watch the trial, but fine. After I’d noticed him, even the noise echoing off the high ceiling made me cringe.
He’d come back, and hadn’t told me.
Ishouldbe okay with that. We weren’t an item. There was no understanding between us. So I tried to stay positive while sitting with Priya, Emma, and some of the girls from my floor, but it was hard. When I’d last seen him, something had felt off between us. A tectonic shift in plates. I hoped they were back in alignment.
I bussed my tray, and just as I was setting it on top of all the others, a hand snaked around my waist and pulled me close.Dallas.He smelled like spring, like planting ornamental grasses in a rain garden.
“Hey, hot stuff.” His breath tickled my ear. His chin brushed my shoulder.
And just like that,poof.I was back to good. I sort of hated myself for it. It shouldn’t be so easy for me to change my feelings about him. But I couldn’t help it. I’d missed him. I wanted to be with him.
“How was your weekend?” I tried to stop my smile from stretching too far.
“Good.” We walked out of the cafeteria together. “Great actually. I qualified for the semifinals.”
“Awesome. Congratulations.” Oh, how I wished I’d been with him instead of sulking here.
“I didn’t get any further than that, but it was a blast, that’s for sure. Met some other athletes in the sport. What did you do this weekend?”
“I went to a movie with my mom.”
“Cool.”
I supposed it was best that he hadn’t invited me along, but at the same time, I’d give practically anything to have been there to see him get as far as he had in the competition.Ugh.This wasn’t good. I was falling hard. And I didn’t like how it was making me feel. Lonely. Desperate.
“I didn’t make it to classes yesterday.” He changed the subject.
“Yeah, I know. Your usual seat was empty.”
“Did you take notes in chemistry?”
