Breathe, Annie, Breathe
Page 77

“Yes.”
“I slept over in Colton’s room on Friday. That’s why he got so pissed I was talking to my TA.”
I slap the table. “What? How did we not know this? How did Iggy not let it slip?”
“I told her that gossiping goes against the Baha’i faith.”
I snigger. “Is it?”
“I have no idea.” Kelsey laughs and sips her Diet Coke.
“So you slept over with Colton? But you’re not together?”
She shakes her head.
“Have you kissed?”
Another shake of the head. “I don’t want to lose him as a friend…not like I lost you.”
“I don’t think you’ll lose him,” I say quietly.
“But it’s a big risk.”
“I know what you mean. I never thought I’d lose him…”
“Kyle?”
I nod slowly. “But I’m glad I didn’t miss any of the time I had with him. If I’d been worried I’d lose him, maybe I wouldn’t have dated him. And I never would’ve had all those other moments.”
Realizing this, my body feels lighter, feels stronger, like I could go out and run a marathon right now.
“But you aren’t with Jeremiah yet?” Kelsey asks. “I can tell you like him.”
“I do…but he does all these adventure races and goes bungee jumping and does other crazy stuff…and I’m worried something will happen to him.”
“So you’re telling me to risk being with Colton, even though it could ruin our friendship, but you won’t give Jere a chance? Why not enjoy what you have now?”
“Why don’t you enjoy what you have with Colton?”
We laugh together.
“I’m sorry…” Kelsey says. “I shouldn’t have spread that rumor that I liked Kyle.”
“Forget about it. We’re starting over.”
•••
Sunday night, Jeremiah shows up at my dorm room.
I let him in and the door clicks shut behind him. He’s wearing a white button-down shirt, a skinny plaid tie loosened at the neck, and gray pants, aka the nice outfit he bought for fraternity meetings. He’s carrying a box of mac ’n’ cheese, a stick of butter, and a carton of milk.
“What’s going on?”
“I thought I’d cook you supper.”
A smile breaks out on my face. How cute is this? A guy cooking me mac ’n’ cheese.
I lead him into the kitchen, where he gently pushes me against the counter and drops a kiss to my lips. “You think one box is enough for us?” he asks, looking at it dubiously.
I run my fingers over his slim hips. “I’m sure that’s enough.”
“But normally I eat a box all by myself…I don’t share.”
“Well, I’m honored you’ll share your macaroni with me. Maybe I’ve got something we can pair with it.”
“Maybe we can pair it with kissing.”
How cheesy, I smile to myself. But I can do cheesy as long as it involves kissing.
He steals one, and another, and butterflies flutter around in my stomach. I really get into it, and I’m fixing to pull Jeremiah out of the kitchen into my bedroom and under the covers when Kelsey and Colton stumble out of the bathroom together. Neither is wearing a shirt.
“Uh, hi,” I say. Kelsey and Colton burst out laughing. Jeremiah and I stand there, wide-eyed. I figured they might get together soon, but this is soon soon. It’s only been a few hours since Kelsey and I spoke about her taking a risk. At least she has a bra on.
“What happened to the drought?” I ask with a sly smile.
“It’s over!” Colton says, making Kelsey laugh again, and then they start kissing like there’s no tomorrow.
“Y’all want some macaroni?” Jeremiah asks, raising his eyebrows.
“Maybe later,” Colton says. “I’m not done with Kels yet.”
She laughs and I say “Blech” because that is way too much info.
“Did you talk to him yet?” she asks me, and I shake my head. “Get to it.” She grabs the jump rope and ties it to her bedroom door before they disappear inside.
“Well then,” I say.
Jeremiah stares at the jump rope for several seconds, then shrugs. “I’m glad we don’t have to share our macaroni with them,” he says in his drawl. “I was getting worried about portion sizes.”
I grin, shaking my head. I leave Jere to watch the water boil and start searching through my fridge for something to pair with the macaroni. “How about we boil these hot dogs too?”