35. Isla

35

ISLA

“ T hanks for coming over this way,”I tell Selene as I drop my body on the worn-out couch with a dramatic sigh. This is one of the few times I didn’t walk over to her place so we could hang. Instead, she came to me. Because of that, we are currently in one of the common areas of my dorm. I took a risk telling Selene that we could hang out here before her shift at the library. The living space is empty, thank goodness. It gives us the opportunity to chat, but I don’t know how long it will stay empty, though it also allows me to get away from my asshole of a roommate.

Selene does her best to get comfy on the old couch, tucking her feet under her butt before she responds.“Um, you sounded like you were about to fall asleep from pure exhaustion. Of course, I needed to come over and see how you were doing.”

She’s not wrong.“It’s been a long week trying to keep up with all the things, and I feel like I’m just sitting down to catch my breath. Classes are well... my classes and I’ve still been trying to keep up with work. Asher told the guys about us this week, which was nerve-wracking enough on its own. I was so anxious about how they would react, no matter how many times I told myself it was going to be fine. And on top of that, I’ve been worried that one of them might end up telling Dad before we are ready. It’s been... a lot.”

“I can only imagine…”Her voice trails off as if she’s still trying to think of the right words to say given the situation.“Telling the team about your relationship with Asher, especially given your dad’s position, is a bit diabolical, I must admit.”

My lips twitch because of her usage of the worddiabolical. People have been tossing it around more because of social media. I know she threw it out there to lighten the mood a bit. My face loses the war I’ve been fighting with myself, and I let out a humorless chuckle.“Diabolical is the perfect way to describe this, because what the hell?”

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, I think Asher going all out like this is super romantic. You’re living the life in a forbidden love romance novel… I can list all of the tropes right now if you like.”

I can’t help but roll my eyes.

“I love romance novels just like everyone else, but I think you’ve taken a deep dive into one. It’s not as glamorous as you make it sound.”

“It could be worse. You could be living in one of the true-crime podcast stories you love so much.”

Selene - 2. Me - 0.

“Yeah, that’s not even something I want to joke about. Some of those stories are… whew.”I shake my head just thinking about it.

“That’s valid, but let’s go back to what’s going on with you and Asher and telling his teammates. It went well, I assume?”

I tell her what Asher said about how his conversation with the guys went.“Knox took him aside to confirm that he was okay with all of this.”

I tilt my head as I watch Selene’s reaction when I mention Knox’s name. Her eyes grow wide when I say his name, and now I’m curious. I know they’ve hung out before at one of the hockey parties we attended, but nothing came of it as far as I knew.

“What exactly did Knox say?”she asks.

Although this part of our conversation only takes a few seconds to occur, the wheels in my head are spinning faster and faster. I didn’t expect this scenario when I asked if we could chat in person, but now I’m very intrigued. However, I can’t let my eagerness show too much, or Selene might try to play it off.

I know her way too well.

“He just wanted to make sure Asher was certain about going public with our relationship. If this explodes in our faces, it will hurt Asher and me and affect the team. He had some experience in that arena when he was in high school. But I don’t have any more details.”I watch for her reaction.

Selene’s gaze drifts a bit as if there is something on her mind that she’s not sharing with me. Then she lifts her eyes and tucks a piece of red hair behind her ear.“That’s interesting. It’s a lot of pressure, having your personal life out there for everyone to see and judge. I wonder what happened to Knox in high school, though.”

There’s the opening I want.“I’m not sure, and if he did tell Asher, Asher didn’t share it with me, which I’m completely fine with. I don’t tell him all the things we talk about. Why are you so interested?”

I keep my tone light and teasing because I don’t want my best friend to think I’m grilling her. There’s a time and place for that, but right now, isn’t it. She pulls at some imaginary lint on her sweatshirt, and I know she’s trying to think of a way to evade the question.

“Just curious,”she shrugs, trying to play it off.“Knox seems like a private guy, so it’s surprising he’d open up about his past like that.”

That’s true; I can confirm that from my interactions with him, but how would she know that, having only met him briefly at a party? It’s time to push her more here.“How do you know all this when you’ve only met him once, when we went to the hockey party? I get that he gives off that vibe, but what are you hiding?”

She stares at me for a moment, and I see a mix of emotions cross her face. First surprise, and I assume it’s because she’s shocked. And Selene is never caught off guard. Then there’s some nervousness as she refuses to look me in the eye. There’s no doubt in my mind that she can feel the beginnings of a blush appearing on her face, and she has to know that I can see it, given her pale skin. Finally, a soft, nervous laugh leaves her lips as if, once again, she might try to play it off as if it’s nothing serious.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m not hiding anything.”

“Bullshit. I know you way too well for that, and you know it.”

“Okay, fine,”she says, giving in.“We may have talked a bit at the last party. And maybe texted a little since then.”

My brows lift in surprise.“Texted? About what?”

“Nothing major. Just, you know, random stuff. Memes. Recipes he wanted to try.”

My mouth opens and closes a few times before I can get the words I want to say. I wish I had a bag of Skittles with me because this is pure entertainment.“What in the actual fuck? Since when have you texted anyone recipes?”

“I’ve texted you recipes!”she exclaims.

Doth the lady protest too much and all that, I can’t help but think. Thank you, high school English class, for my being able to recallHamlet.“Yes, but I’m your best friend, not a hockey player that you met at a party.”

Selene opens her mouth, then closes it again.“Fine. I might be a little into him. But it’s not a big deal. I don’t think he’s that into me, anyway.”

I narrow my eyes, and it only causes her face to become more red.“Not into you? Selene, when has a guy ever not been into you?”

She shifts her body so her feet are on the ground, and her leg bounces up and down.“I don’t know, Isla. Maybe I’m just imagining it. He doesn’t want anything serious, and neither do I.”

This whole thing is new territory for us because, as I said before, what the fuck?

Before I can say anything more, the door leading from the living room common area upstairs to the first floor of dorm rooms swings open with a loud creak, startling both Selene and me. I look up to see Tessa standing there, her eyes narrowing at the sight of us.

Just my damn luck.

“Ah, there is my lovely roommate,”she says, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

She is going to start something and has no issue doing it in front of Selene. I should take the polite approach, although the urge to snap at her is growing by the second.“Tessa, did you need something?”

Her eyes shift between Selene and me, and I can see the calculations she is making in her head. The corners of her lips flip up into a smirk, and I brace myself for what she is about to say.“Oh, don’t mind me. I was just heading out. You should keep your side of the room cleaner, though, because it’s rude to have to be stepping over your shit to get what I need to get done.”

Although I’m glad she didn’t hear what Selene and I were talking about, Tessa’s comment raises every red flag in my body. While I’m not the neatest person, I know for a fact that I left my side of the room in decent shape before I came down to meet Selene. I take a slow, deep breath, trying to stop the anger that is rising in my chest.“I’m not sure what you’re talking about, Tessa. My side is clean.”

Tessa snorts.“Really? Because from what I saw, it looks like a tornado blew through. Clothes everywhere, makeup scattered across the floor. It’s a pigsty.”

Selene grabs my hand to stop me from lashing out, but it’s too late.“Did you touch my things?”

“No, of course not. Why would I do a thing like that?”

Tessa is lying, even if she hasn’t said another word. The smirk on her face is a telltale sign. And I’ve had enough.“Don’t touch anything that belongs to me ever again.”

She raises an eyebrow, and I can tell my warning did not faze her at all.“Or what? You’ll tell your daddy what I did?”

Her mocking tone makes my blood boil. What are we, in high school? This is obscene, and I don’t want to get school officials or anything like that involved because I don’t want the drama surrounding that. Hell, I don’t want the drama from Tessa anymore, either. This needs to be settled here and now.

I pull my hand out of Selene’s grasp and stand up.“I can forgive and forget that you’ve done this, and we can stay out of each other’s way for the rest of the year. But stop pushing me.”

“Pushing you? Oh, girlie, I haven’t even started yet.”She takes a step closer, invading my personal space. The scent of her sickly sweet perfume slams into me like a boulder and makes my stomach churn.“You think you’re so special, don’t you? With your perfect little life and your secret hockey player boyfriend. Does Daddy know about that? Or does Asher know how often you have to shave to control how hairy you are?”

I freeze. How does she know about Asher? We’ve been so careful outside of when he came to my room that one time, and I didn’t think she would be there. He could have been there for any reason, though, so she’s just pulling shit out of her ass. However, her implying that she has no issue telling Dad about this and her mocking my illness has me seeing red.

“Isla—”

I cut off Selene’s warning with a tirade of my own.“You know what, Tessa? Mind your own fucking business. I’m done with this petty game. You have hated me since the school assigned me to your room. I’ve done my best to be a good roommate and stay out of your way, but you’ve continued to push my buttons to get me to move out. But it’s not going to work because I can be an asshole too. And I’m much better at it.”

I tilt my head back and forth as if I’m preparing for battle and take another step toward her.“First, fuck you for making fun of an illness that I can’t control. Second, my relationship with Asher and whether my dad knows has nothing to do with you, and it’s, once again, none of your fucking business. I know things about you that you don’t want to get out, including that little black book you keep. So I’m going to go upstairs and clean up the mess you made because I don’t want you laying another finger on my shit. You can keep being bitter and jealous if you want, but I’m moving on. This is the end of whatever you think this is between us. Have the day you deserve.”

Tessa blinks hard, clearly taken aback. For a moment, she looks like she wants to argue, but then something in her expression changes. It could be the realization that I’m serious and that I’m not backing down. She scoffs, rolling her eyes.“Whatever, Isla. You’re not worth my time.”With that, she turns and stalks out of our dorm building. I’m sure she would have slammed the door behind her if she could.

“Holy shit, I’m so proud of you,”Selene says just over my right shoulder.

I hadn’t even noticed she stood up from the couch. I assume she was preparing to fight Tessa too, if it had come to blows. Thankfully, it didn’t, and we don’t have to worry about the drama that would have caused.

Before I can turn to look at her, my phone buzzes in my pocket. I pull it out, my heart skipping a beat when I see Asher’s name on the screen. I answer, my voice softening.“Hey, I thought you were busy for another hour or so?”

“Hey, I just took a quick break to step outside. But I think I should set up a meeting with Coach. You know, to talk about us. I think it’s time.”

It’s almost as if he knows what just happened to me, but I know there’s no way he does unless Tessa telepathically told him. But when a sign is staring you dead in the face, it’s time to take that leap.

“Yeah, I think you’re right. It’s time.”