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Holly pulled out her cell phone and scrolled through the camera roll. She had to go back almost to the beginning, but once she found the picture, she clicked on it and handed the phone to Penn.
“Wow,” Penn murmured, glancing down at the screen. “A photo of you and Eli? Damn, you guys look so young.”
The picture was one she’d taken on one of the nights they’d spent hanging out in his room, chowing down on pizza and drinking beer. He was grinning at the camera while she flashed the peace sign and leaned her head on his shoulder, a smirk on her face.
“Well, wewereyoung.”
Penn pointed at the photo. “I’m so used to you having dark hair now that I forget you’re a natural blonde.”
“Yeah, I haven’t been blonde since then,” Holly said, nodding.
“You reallydolook like a different person in this photo,” Penn said. “If I didn’t know you, I’d wonder who the skinny kid with the funky glasses was. I would never guess it was you. Not with how you look now, with all your bangin’ curves. And your interest in fashion sure as hell changed. You lived in jeans and band tees back then.”
“Eli didn’t change much, though, did he?”
“No,” Penn agreed. “He just looks younger.” She handed Holly the phone back. “Hol, you said it wrecked you to kiss him.”
Holly glanced down at the photo, and to her surprise, tears pricked the back of her eyes. She blinked rapidly to clear her vision, then shoved the phone into her purse.
Was it weird that she yearned for those long-gone college days, but at the same time never wanted to go back?
Probably not, since that’s usually how she felt when it came to Eli—completely and utterly conflicted.
“It did wreck me,” she murmured. “Penn, I’ve been with so many guys since then. I’ve hooked up, and I’ve had relationships. I’ve had plenty of fun. But when it comes to Eli, I just...” Holly sighed and ran her hands down over her face. “Dammit. This is ridiculous.”
“You told me recently that you guys hooked up in college, but you didn’t really say much else, other than he was a jerk afterward. But you never mentioned him to me back in the day, Holly. Not once. You only told me, your absolutebestfriend, whom you should tell everything to, sevenyearsafter the fact.” Penn tapped her finger on the marble tabletop. “I know there’s more to this story. A reason why your relationship is so complicated.”
Holly bit down on her lower lip. If she didn’t get some perspective on her past, she might end up making some very bad decisions over the next 30 days. Especially now that she was going to be spending so much time with him due to the article.
“He wants you,” Penn said, toying with the end of her straw. “Anyone with eyes can see it. And what he did to get that article proves it.” She glanced up. “You obviously want him too.”
“It doesn’t matter what I want because I can’t have him,” she replied, meeting Penn’s gaze. “Not really.”
“What the hell happened between you two back then?”
Holly drained her martini glass and set it down on the table. “It’s a long story.”
“We’ve got time.”
She glanced at Penn, then sighed. “Okay, fine. I’ll tell you. But I’m going to need another drink. Or ten.”
2
Seven years earlier
“Holland! I’ve been looking for youeverywhere.”
The high-pitched, girly voice is like a knife stabbing me repeatedly in the eardrum as it echoes off of the coffee house walls.
Mandi—a long-legged brunette who looks like she belongs on a stage wearing a tiara and a sash—is my latest roommate at Oakmire University.
She waves enthusiastically at me from the front of the campus coffee shop, the Hoppin’ Java Bean. Lifting my hand, I give her a half-hearted wave and stifle a groan.
My old roommate, Georgia, had been a certified pothead. She’d spent most of the day getting high in our room, and all night banging her lumberjack-looking boyfriend, Dean.
Georgia and Dean didn’t give two shits that I was ten feet away studying at my desk, either. They went at it no matter who was around. Some nights I’d crash out in the hallway or escape to the library while they humped like rabbits.
When Georgia flunked out and I learned I was getting a new roommate, I’d done a literal happy dance. I thought anyone would be an improvement over Georgia.
