Tutoring the Player (Campus Wallflowers #1)(74)

Violet and I have never had a fight like this. I’ve never had a fight with anyone like this. Now I’m not talking to two people that mean everything to me. It’s been a rough week.

I pull out a chair and sit on the very edge where I can make a fast getaway if needed. The pretzels soothe the hunger pains, but that only makes me more aware of the pain everywhere else. Obviously, I’ve never minded the quiet, but this type of heavy silence is unbearable.

Grabbing the biggest handful I can manage, I murmur my thanks, stand, and start back to my room.

“I’m sorry.” The words are spoken quietly. So quietly that I’m not sure she really said them.

I glance over my shoulder and find her watching me. She repeats it. “I’m sorry.”





We talk all night, sitting at the kitchen table while we finish off the pretzels and then the crackers.

“I can’t believe you’ve been going through this all week, and I wasn’t there for you. I selfishly assumed you were upset about us.”

“I was. I am. You’re my best friend, Vi. I hate fighting with you.”

“I want to murder him for doing that to you. All those nights, he was over pretending to need help with school stuff.”

My throat tightens. “I didn’t really want to talk about it anyway. I’m such an idiot. I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you.”

“You’re not an idiot.” She reaches across the table and takes my hands.

I drop my forehead to the cool wood.

“Come on,” she says. “It’s late.”

I follow her upstairs, and she climbs into bed next to me, where we sleep until noon the next day.

When I open my eyes, she’s sitting up, looking at her phone. “Jane poked her head in a few minutes ago. She and Dahlia are going over to the rec center for yoga. Do you want to go?”

“Yeah.” I stretch. “Maybe it’ll help me find my center, or whatever.”

There’s still a lingering awkwardness between us. We talked about me and Jordan, even a little about us, but there’s one topic we steered far clear of last night.

She starts to get up, and I stop her.

“Wait, one more thing.” I sit up. “I’m sorry about Gavin.”

Her mouth opens like she might interrupt.

I keep going. “I didn’t realize how much he hurt you, and I should have. It’s just that you always seem so strong. I admire that about you so much.”

“You didn’t know because I didn’t tell you.” She wraps a finger around a piece of hair and twirls it. “I… I slept with him. I’d held out all of high school, waiting for the perfect guy. Then a month into the school year, I thought I’d found him. Two days later, I woke up to him in bed with Bailey.”

“You were a virgin?”

She laughs. “Is that so hard to believe?”

“Well, yeah. Even I gave it up before college.”

Smiling, she says, “I had opportunities. I just wanted it to mean something.”

“And then he screwed your roommate.”

“And then he screwed my roommate,” she confirms. “We weren’t a couple or anything.”

But she wanted them to be.

“Do you want to egg his house?”

She laughs. “Maybe later.”





I spend the whole day with the girls. I think we all needed it, Vi and me especially. Jane treats us to brunch after yoga, and then when we get back to the house, all four of us stay downstairs.

Jane doesn’t run off to her room, Dahlia doesn’t even mention practice or workouts, and we just sit and talk all afternoon. It’s so much fun hanging with my friends that for minutes at a time, I forget Jordan and how much I miss him. It hits me randomly, stealing my breath and making my stomach dip.

As the day fades into night, we break out the alcohol, and Violet and Dahlia bring out new pieces they’ve been working on. It’s almost like being transported back in time. Like nothing has changed.

But, when Violet pulls out the infamous red dress, my heart stops. Everyone’s too busy to notice as I slip away into the kitchen. I grab a glass of water and go over to where my phone is charging on the counter.

Jordan hasn’t sent any more texts since Tuesday. His sudden silence is as annoying as the candy bomb he dropped on me. It isn’t like I expected him to keep apologizing forever, but now it really feels over.

“Are you okay?” Jane steps into the kitchen in a green dress that makes her eyes pop. She’s pulled her hair up into a high ponytail, and it sways from side to side as she walks. She looks like a movie star.

“Yeah. Fine. I just needed a drink.”

She grabs a glass, fills it, and stands next to me. “You miss him?”

I nod, and then because I don’t want to talk about it, I motion toward her dress. “That fits you perfectly.”

She stares down at the emerald material. “It really does. I wish I had somewhere else to wear it. Do you think my professors would mind if I wore it to class?”

We laugh, but then I think, why do we need to wait for a special occasion? So, I say, “We should throw a party.”

“What?”

“Yeah. Right here with all our friends.”