AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Ella?” I ask, but she doesn’t look at me for a moment. “Hey, what’s going on?”
She finally looks me in the eye, and I see that they are slightly red. Is she crying?
“Ella—”
“I just broke up with Jaxon,” Ella says, wiping her eyes free of any tears before they fall.
My eyes shoot wide. Ella and Jaxon decided to do long distance before Oliver and I did. We didn’t talk about it much, but there were nights she would drunkenly mention how he never reached out to her. He was supposed to visit this weekend.
“How are you feeling?”
“I don’t know. I guess it feels like it was a long time coming. We never made time for each other. He’s practically running the mechanic shop now, and with volleyball, I’m busy anytime I don’t have school,” Ella says with a sniffle, holding everything in. “Let’s get lunch.”
“Are you sure? We can order pizza.”
“Nah, I could really use some pasta.” Ella pats her cheeks before looking at me with a grin. “I really like your hair, by the way.”
I say a soft thank you before we venture out into the cold. With it being the weekend, most of campus is empty besides the freshman dorms. Outside of the building is a wide-open space, perfect for any sort of campus activity, even with it being pretty cold.
Right now, there’s a group of guys playing catch with a football. Thoughts of Oliver playing with my brothers run through my mind. It took some time, but they all loved him.
We make our way past the boys and toward the parking lot. Moms let us take the red sedan with us to Grace Hill, but something is different. There’s a little paper attached to the windshield wiper. I pull out the paper with familiar handwriting written on the note.
It simply reads: How do you feel about a picnic, princess?
My brows furrow as I turn to show Ella the note, but she stands away from me. And when my body turns, my eyes land on the six-foot build and messy brown hair with a bouquet of sweet peas.
He opens his mouth to speak, but I’m already running into his arms, and he wraps one strong arm tight around my waist and spins me around like I weigh nothing.
This is normal for us, really. I always run into his arms, and he always twirls around like a carousel.
“I thought you couldn’t make it this month?” I question, fighting back the tears that prick my eyes.
“I wanted to surprise you.”
“Awww, you guys are so cute!” I hear a familiar voice that doesn’t belong to Ella.
My gaze rakes across the parking lot until I reach my film major best friend, Renee Basu. I met her on my first day of classes, and we’ve hit it off ever since.
It takes me a quick second to realize she’s holding a camera that’s pointed at us. “Are you filming?”
“Of course!” she chirps unapologetically. “This will be perfect for your vlog. They love Oliver. I know you read all the comments saying y’all should date.”
“Wait!” I turn to Ella, who is grinning by the car. “You knew he was coming, and let me come out here like this.” I point at the fact that I’m just wearing a baggy sweater and leggings. Then, my finger flies to my freshly cut hair.
The note flashes through my mind, and I turn back to Oliver, who is still staring down at me with the most enthralling amount of tenderness. I haven’t seen him physically all month. I hated every second of it.
“You packed a picnic?” I sound almost too hopeful.
“I did, but it might be a little cold to have a long one,” he says, and I press my face into his chest, inhaling his very essence.
“I don’t care how cold it is.”
He lowers his head to my ear and whispers, “Good. I’m sure we can keep each other warm.”
My cheeks burn.
“But I have one other question for you, princess. I didn’t want to write this one on a note.”
