Page 106 of Wanted You More

I bump his shoulder. “Oh, come on. You two are good now, right?”

Lincoln nods. “Yeah, we’re good.”

“And I promise I won’t drink,” I swear, mocking Scouts honor with my hand. “You won’t have to babysit me or worry that I’ll barf on your shoes.”

We push open the glass doors and walk outside into the sunny day. I’m grateful May has been good to us. The grass is green, the flowers have bloomed, and I can wear T-shirts comfortably without needing a jacket.

Eventually, Lincoln sighs. “Yeah, I’ll come. I can meet you girls at your room at eight if you want to walk together.”

Beaming, I grab his arm excitedly. “It’ll be our last hurrah before the semester ends. Can you believe we made it a year?”

I can’t. After a rocky fall semester, I stuck to my word to do better in the second term. I got an email from the head of the school newspaper offering me an official writing gig starting in the fall. Before then, I hadn’t planned on re-enrolling because I swore college wasn’t for me. But my journalism professor submitted a few of my pieces to the paper that got me noticed and inevitably got me a paid gig.

I’m excited for once.

Playing with my coffee cup, I glance at Lincoln and make a face. “Did I tell you that Professor Kamala wants to see me tomorrow?”

“What for?”

I shrug. “I don’t know. I’ve been passing everything and trying to participate in class discussion since that’s thirty percent of our grade, so I doubt it’s about class.”

The face he makes matches mine. “Do you think it’s about your dad?”

What else could it be about? “Probably. I don’t know much about them. She keeps tight-lipped, and Dad isn’t much better. I know they’re still seeing each other. My brother just complained that she was at our house the other night cooking dinner and made him eat spinach.”

Lincoln chuckles. “I bet that’d be weird.”

It’d be weirder for me, which may be why she wants to talk to me. “If they’re getting serious, she may want me to prepare. I’ve tried being nice, but we both know my face gives a lot away when I don’t want it to.”

All my friend does is grin.

I shove him, knowing he’s probably thinking of all the times I’ve looked like a real-life Grinch. “What are your summer plans? I know you said you were looking for a job last time we talked about it.”

He groans. “Dad wants me to work with him and my brothers at the garage.”

My brows go up. “Doing what?”

“I don’t know. Knowing Dad, he’s going to want me to learn the trade. I know how to change a tire and the oil, but that’s about it. Car stuff has always been my brothers’ thing.”

He’d mentioned that his family owned a small automotive shop but never talked about being part of it at all. “Maybe you could find something there that you could use what you’ve learned here. Like advertising or something. Every company needs good marketing. You could design some of it.”

Lincoln looks at me with raised brows. “That isn’t a bad idea actually.”

I tap my temple with a smile. “I do have them on rare occasion.”

He nudges his shoulder against mine. “I know you have them more than you admit. Don’t dumb yourself down.”

I snort. “Yeah, because my genius idea to put you and Kennedy together worked out so well for you two.”

He’s quiet. “It could have been worse,” is his reply. His voice is quiet but still reassuring. He perks up a little. “Like I said, everything is fine now. We can go back to how things were, right?”

His eyes are hopeful, making it easy to nod and smile back at him. “Right.” A text message pops up, bringing my attention down to Noah’s name.

My smile grows.

Noah:Managed an A on that exam

Noah:Thanks for putting up with me

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