Her entire body relaxes with a sigh as if somehow the message I sent gave her the all-clear. “Nice to see you, too.” Her country twang comes in clear, and my gut twists because she hasn’t had it that thick in years. A part of me doesn’t want to hear it coming from her. It’s something sacred I only ever want to hear from Cassidy. She shakes out her dark curls, her tiny frame shifts from side to side a moment. “Hey, you want to grab some coffee? It’s a funny story—really.”
Sammy Spears is someone I’ve been trying to avoid for the last three years. She and I were pretty serious for our last year at the Bentley Academy—but finding her in bed with my roommate, Dave, was the knife that severed any bond we once shared. For so long, I held anger, resentment, nursed my wounds without letting them close because I needed to feel the sick hatred toward that dark time in my life, but now, in this moment, with some time separating me from the bitter heartbreak—seeing Sammy in person, the past suddenly feels very much distant and buried. I credit Cassidy with that. I’m no longer obsessed with the fact someone dared step out on me and my overblown ego because I’m very much content where I’ve landed—especially with the person that landed in bed beside me, and I’ve never been more thrilled that it’s not Sammy.
“Coffee?” I do a quick scan of the vicinity. As much as my resentment toward Sammy just floated away like a helium balloon, I’m pretty sure I don’t want to incite Cassidy with caffeine and get her thinking that I’ve found my unicorn to quell those nightly visits.
“It’ll be quick.” She shrugs while her eyes do their best to beg for this to happen. “I have to be somewhere later.”
“I guess one cup won’t hurt.”
Sammy is quick to usher us over to Hallowed Grounds, and my stomach churns as we get our coffee, and she leads us toward the back to the very seats Cassidy and I stationed ourselves at a few weeks back.
“So tell me everything.” I settle across from her with my seat pulled out a good foot from the table, my body turned toward the exit in the event I spot the girl I was really looking for. Not that I would bolt, but I would definitely make it a point to say hello and casually mention there isn’t a unicorn in sight. “How did you manage to land at Briggs?” I’m afraid I know. The rest is simply a formality, but I’ll let her try to claw her way out of this paper bag. I guess overall I’m glad I bumped into her today, and for the love of God not tomorrow. I wouldn’t want her to get caught up on fate and serendipity and somehow contribute our impromptu meeting to a day enwreathed in hearts and roses.
“I’m here because of you.” Sammy leans in with those tired, determined eyes, holding a hand out, but I won’t take it. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been so forward. I get it. You’ve moved on—literally. And as much as I hate to admit it, I was starting to lose my mind a little knowing that I might not see you again.” She shakes her head and blinks back tears.
“Please don’t—”
“I swear”—she holds up a hand—“I said I wasn’t going to do this.” Her accent comes out thick as syrup. The more years she spent at Bentley, the more it deluded itself. But Sammy always knew it was her greatest tool of manipulation with me. With Cassidy, it’s so natural, relaxing to listen to, and with Sammy, my stomach tenses up in knots.
“Then don’t do this.” I soften a bit as I lean forward. “I get it. You said you were sorry. I accepted your apology.”
“But”—she swallows hard—“I’m still paying the price.” She blows a breath through her lips as if working through her pain, trying to control the tears that are already flowing. “Um, I said I’d give it one semester.” She waves around at the café in a tragic show of desperation. “I’m here until May. If this thing doesn’t work out between us, I think it’ll be best if I go. But, Cade—I had to know. I had to know that I gave it everything. I just want what we had back so bad.” Tears spill down her cheeks, melting pale tracks in their wake, and she’s quick to mop them up with a napkin. “I’m still in love with you, Cade. I’m not sure any time or distance will ever change that fact.”
Shit. Sammy has always had a happy disposition, but after we broke up, after I basically told her I didn’t want anything to do with her or Dave ever again, she’s been a walking wall of sorrow.
“I’m sorry your heart is breaking.” Those words give me great pause, because for one, she was the one who spoke them to me not long after the incident. “I don’t want to bring you any pain, Sam. That’s not who I am.” A lump gets caught in my throat the size of one of Dave Barnes’s size twelve sneakers. “But I think at this point we’re better off as friends.” There’s no way I can see me going back there. A part of me wonders if I would have had the fortitude to resist stepping back in time if Cassidy hadn’t shown up. I’d like to think I would’ve.