3. Audrey

CHAPTER 3

Audrey

“ E lla!” I shouted, spotting my twin standing off to the side.

She’d always been more of a wallflower, desperate to blend in even though she was the best person I knew. I wished she saw herself the way I saw her.

“Did you see Sutton?” Ella yelled over the music.

Sutton was our friend who had initially rushed the sorority with us, but dropped out because it wasn’t her thing. She was dating Forest Carter, a baseball player, and they seemed so happy together. That was all that mattered. He swept her off her feet like a true Prince would. Not that I’d know anything about that.

“I did!” I grinned. “Her fishnets are awesome. I dig it.”

She had a bold style that would never flatter my complexion or golden hair—dark hair, pale skin, and red-as-sin lips that looked sultry and sexy simultaneously.

I wasn’t sure sexy was even in my DNA. Cute? Sure. I knew how to be cute. I liked to think I was beautiful, too. But I’d never felt sexy.

But maybe that was just the way I felt after Duke had taken my confidence and stomped all over it. God, I hated that I’d ever thought he was the right guy for me.

He was nothing like Parker. We’d only been talking for a few minutes, reminiscing on our childhood memories, but all the reasons I’d loved being friends with him had come right back. Parker made me feel safe. Protected.

“You’ll never guess who’s here at CU,” I said, still raising my voice over the music.

“Um…” Ella fidgeted with the strap of her blue dress as she struggled to come up with a guess. Not that I’d expected her to have one.

“Parker!” I exclaimed. “Parker Maxwell!”

She blinked. “The boy who lived next door to us when we were younger? Wasn’t he like… your best friend until his family moved away?”

“Yes!” I gushed, looking across the room and catching Parker’s eyes. He smiled at me, and I raised my fingers in a small wave.

He’d followed me back inside after I’d mentioned needing to tell Ella where I was. I didn’t want her to be alone or worry about me. And I knew she would. But I hadn’t expected Parker to ask me to keep talking, either.

“He must have been, what, thirteen when they moved?” Ella asked, and I nodded. “And now he’s going here ?”

It was a crazy coincidence that I’d run into him here after all this time. That he’d ended up transferring to the same university as us.

“You don’t mind if I ditch you to catch up with him, right? Am I a terrible sister?” A wince slipped out of me. “I’m a terrible sister.” After all, I’d practically forced her to come with me to the party, and here I was, ready to leave her behind.

Ella shook her head. “No.” She just laughed. “ Go.” I raised an eyebrow, ready to protest, but my twin just waved me off. “Seriously, I’ll be fine. Maybe I’ll go hang out with Sutton.”

I nodded. Sutton was currently on the couch, chatting with a dark-skinned girl wearing a flapper costume, but I knew she’d welcome Ella. “I think I’m gonna go grab another drink,” my sister added, heading towards the kitchen.

Blowing out a breath, I turned to find Parker standing in the corner, his hands shoved into his pocket. His eyes were focused on me.

Heading back over, I smiled at him, still holding my hat in my hands. “Alright. Where to?”

Parker’s face lit up with a grin. “Tacos?”

I groaned at the thought. “Hell yes. I know just the place.”

“Oh my god, I’m stuffed.”

We’d both shoved into a booth at the local Mexican restaurant that mostly served college students, especially at this time of night. It wasn’t much more than a hole in the wall, but the food was good, and given that the only thing I’d had since dinner earlier this evening was a few drinks, I had desperately needed this.

“This was fucking amazing,” Parker agreed.

We slipped back into friendship so easily. Our entire dinner had been filled with laughter and grins. It was comfortable. Easy.

For a second earlier, when he’d asked if I wanted to get out of there, my body had heated. Like I’d thought he was asking if I wanted to hook up.

Of course he didn’t. There was no way we’d ever be together, anyway. He was my friend. Even if I’d thought for a moment that he’d looked at me with heat in his eyes… that had dissolved when he’d realized who I was.

And, god, he looked like that. He could probably get any girl he wanted. That thought made me feel strangely possessive, and I didn’t know why.

He was my friend. He’d probably slept around a lot during the last few years. It wasn’t like I expected Parker to wait for me .

There was no way he knew of my childhood crush. That I’d wanted to marry him when I was younger.

I ran my hands over my pink poofy dress. My witch hat was sitting on the bench next to me. “So, lacrosse, huh?”

“Yeah. I started playing in High School. Got lucky enough to get a scholarship to play, so thankfully, I had a full ride to my school up in New England.” He shook his head.

“Had ?” I asked, not sure if he wanted me to pry.

Parker ran his hands through his hair, not answering my question. “I was lucky enough that Castleton offered me the same scholarship. And I was a red shirt my first year, so I still had two years of eligibility left.”

Part of me wanted to ask why he transferred here, but I couldn’t find the words. Instead, I finally asked, “So you’ll be here for two more years?”

I didn’t want to get my hopes up, but Parker had always been a grade above me. I’d already been preparing myself to say goodbye at the end of the year. It would have been just my luck, the universe putting my childhood best friend back in my life only to take him away from me again a year later.

He nodded. “Architecture is a five-year degree, so it just worked out that way.”

Oh. I couldn’t help the happiness that flowed from me. “That’s great.”

A laugh sprung free from his lips. “Rosie Girl, attached to me already?”

I blushed. “I already said goodbye to you once. I’m hoping I don’t have to again.” Looking out the window, I hoped I hadn’t said too much. Hadn’t revealed how desperate I was to have his friendship back.

“You won’t,” he promised, nudging me under the table with his sneaker. “You can’t get rid of your best friend that easily, after all.”

“Ella might be offended you’re taking her position.”

“Nah.” Parker flashed me a smile. “She was just keeping it warm for me.”

There were butterflies in my stomach, and he had no idea. God, I needed to control myself. My childhood crush was coming back to life too easily.

Friends, I reminded myself. We were just friends.

“Come on,” Parker said, extending out a hand. We’d already paid for our meals, so we were free to go.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

He smiled. “You’ll see.”

Our bedroom was still empty when I entered it. It was late—past three in the morning. Parker and I had stayed out late, catching up. Where was Ella? I frowned, going into the bathroom and doing my skincare routine. There was no way I’d be falling asleep with all this glitter on me, after all.

Grinning at myself in the mirror, I couldn’t stop thinking about my night with Parker. How after tacos, we’d gone to the middle of campus, lying on the grass and staring up at the night sky. How he’d asked me to sing for him, and surprisingly, I’d agreed.

But what was more surprising was the way I’d kept going. How when I’d started singing a duet, he’d joined me.

In the quiet of the campus, our bodies pressed against the slightly damp grass, the moment felt almost sacred. His voice was deep, much deeper than I remembered it. But the last time I’d known him had been before puberty changed him into the man he was now.

God, he was talented. Did he even know it?

I hummed to myself as I washed my face.

The only thing that would have made last night better was if he had wrapped me in his arms and danced with me. I blushed at the thought. Friends, I scolded myself. I’d let myself have one last night of dreaming about him, and then I’d be good. Because Parker was my childhood friend, and there was no way I’d mess that up.

Still, when he’d hugged me tightly after walking me back to the sorority house, I’d buried my nose in his shirt, inhaling his scent. He smelled clean and crisp—all man. Like woodsy spice that I wanted to bottle up or burn as a candle.

God, friends didn’t sniff each other like that.

Good night, Rosie girl, he’d said, his beautiful amber eyes keeping mine captive. Sleep tight.

Night, I’d whispered back, not wanting to break the moment—the night.

It was like something out of my dreams. He’d always been my Dream Boy . The one I’d written letters to in my diary growing up. I never wrote his name, but it was always him. His face I’d see. His heart I was wishing for.

“You’re hopeless,” I said, pointing a finger at my reflection in the mirror as I brushed my teeth. “Stop pining over your childhood best friend.”

He’d never acted like anything other than my older brother. And why would he? We’d been kids. Twelve and thirteen since he’d moved away. If his dad hadn’t gotten a job, if he’d stayed for high school, what would have happened?

I sighed. No point lingering in the past. “No more dreaming about Parker,” I told myself.

Even though I knew I couldn’t keep that promise.

“Ro?” Ella whispered, waking me up. As much as I loved sleeping, I hadn’t been able to fall into a deep sleep last night. Partially because Ella hadn’t been there. Instead, I’d tossed and turned for the last few hours.

It wasn’t even dawn yet.

Sitting up, I stared at her. Usually, she was the responsible sister. I never had to worry about her. Until last night. “Where were you? You didn’t text me to let me know you were okay or anything.” We had a pact—we always told each other we were okay. That way, the other person didn’t worry all night.

Ella made a sheepish face, holding up her phone. “It died, and I forgot to plug it in.” I took in her appearance. Same dress as last night. No shoes. Ruined makeup. Her hair was a mess. One look and I had a damn good idea what she’d been up to last night. Damn girl. At least one of us got some last night. “Did you have fun catching up with Parker?”

I tried to ignore the fact that she was changing the subject. I’d let her for now, but I’d get answers out of her, eventually. “Yes. Can you believe I found him again after all these years?”

She just hummed in response, and I raised my eyebrows at her as she changed out of her dress and into a large sorority t-shirt.

“So we’re just not going to talk about you?” I asked, still waiting.

“Nope.” She flopped onto her bed.

I rolled my eyes before climbing out of my bed and into hers, snuggling against my twin.

“Ella,” I whispered, holding tighter when she sighed. “Are you okay?”

She opened her eyes, looking at me. I was worried about my sister. I didn’t want her to keep secrets from me. “Yeah,” she croaked out. “I’m fine.”

“If you’re sure…” I’d get it out of her later.

For now, I just stayed where I was, holding my sister.