Mila Wilson is quiet, anxious and a little bit of a mess. Panic attacks have ruled her life for as long as she can remember - but starting college is her chance to take control. Love? Not something she believes she's built for.
Then she meets Jace E...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
I'm relieved when my long day finally winds down at six in the evening. It flew by without too much anxiety—I guess I've just had enough of it over the past few days. I haven't heard from Jace since this morning, but I figure we don't always have to check in constantly. Just then, my phone buzzes in my pocket.
Is dinner in the city okay? We picked a nice little restaurant, Bree texts.
I type back quickly: Sounds good!
I didn't ask Jace if he minded driving into the city, but I'm sure he won't. Bree sends me the address seconds later, along with a picture of the directions. The restaurant looks charming—I can tell Bree picked well.
When I step out of the seminar room, my phone vibrates again—this time, a call from Jace. For some reason, I still get butterflies every time I see his name on the screen.
"Hey," I say softly.
"Hey. Where are you?" he asks.
"I just finished my seminars and was about to head back to the dorm. Still in the main building," I reply.
"Bree's at Austin's already. Wait for me at the café? I don't want you alone in the dorm, and I have that thing at six-thirty, remember?" he adds.
Right—the incident with Derek and everything. "Okay, I'll wait there. I want to change before dinner though. Do you think we'll make it on time? We have to drive into the city—I hope you don't mind," I explain, already walking toward the campus café.
"We'll be fine. See you soon," Jace says before hanging up.
I consider just going to my dorm anyway, but I know Jace would kill me if I did. I hate being late, and I definitely don't want to sit in the café alone for thirty minutes—social anxiety and all. So, I grit my teeth and head inside. The coffee shop is still pretty busy. I order chamomile tea and settle into a corner. Instead of scrolling my phone, I decide to get some reading done for my classes. Hopefully time will fly. My stomach grumbles—I'm starting to get hungry. I push the thought, the fear of having to faint, away. I finish one text quickly and move on to the next, occasionally sipping my tea.
"Ready to go?" Jace's voice pulls me from my thoughts.
I glance at my phone—6:25 p.m. Guess I really did get lost in my uni work. "You're early," I say, packing up my things.
"Yeah, made some arrangements so we wouldn't be late. Come on," he says, grabbing my bag.
"Thanks," I reply as Jace cups my chin and presses a quick kiss to my lips.
I don't think I'll ever get used to the stares we get on campus when we kiss in public. I swear I even hear whispers, but I ignore them. Jace takes my hand, and we head to my dorm.
"Do you have the restaurant location?" He asks as we stroll.
"Yeah, Bree sent me the address. Here." I hand him my phone.
