Book #2 in the Medley series
JENNIFER RUE:
I thought I had my life all mapped out.
But nothing throws a wrench in your plans like finding your fiancé in bed with another woman.
Untangling myself from the damage Darren did is hard, but the more I...
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The good weather carries on until graduation day. U-M had been counting on it, setting up for the ceremony outside.
Once I get there, I weave through the throngs of friends and family who showed up to support one of the graduates as I search for familiar faces. I notice Jayden first, talking with Mitch and Saltz and they wave me over. Sophie is there too, her arms around Ollie, who's leaning back against her chest. We love to tease Sophie and Jayden about being extremely affectionate in public, but I love to see how that transfers to Ollie. Sophie isn't shy about claiming him as her kid, and it's wild how different she seems now than when she met my best friend less than a year ago.
"Hey, Davis," Saltz calls to me when I'm within earshot. "Settle this for us, will you? Sennels claims Friends is better than How I Met Your Mother, but that's crazy, right?"
"I'm sorry, kid. I'm with Jay on this one. It's a 90's thing, you wouldn't understand."
Saltz pulls a face, glaring at us. "Okay, ha-ha, isn't this so fun?" he mocks. "But come September, I won't be a rookie anymore, so could we stop with the age jokes?"
"Not when you have so horribly wrong opinions, little one," Mitch chimes in. "We're only trying to help you."
"I might believe that if Sennels wasn't snickering like an idiot."
"Watch it, rookie," Jayden barks. "I'm still your captain."
Now Mitch is laughing, his body shaking with the effort to hold it in. "Right. Because you've taken that so seriously. Do you remember Cleveland, captain?"
Sophie covers Ollie's ears on instinct, which makes him glance around at us curiously. Jayden might have been a little irresponsible and made the night before sectionals into a sex marathon with Sophie. But considering what Jen and I ended up doing that night, I really can't judge.
Jayden whacks Mitch over the back of the head just as Kimmy saunters up to our group. "Did anyone call for me?"
We all turn, looking at her, puzzled.
"Oh, because Mitch was saying captain." She shrugs, a smug glint in her eye as the meaning of her words settles in.
Jayden is only the captain of our little medley team. Zack Colton has been the captain of U-M's swim team, the Wolverines, for the past two years. He's graduating today, too, thank god, which means we've been waiting to see who got to take over the position.
"You're kidding," Saltz says, his mouth dropping open.
He's the only one of us four still in the NCAA, so the rest of us won't have to answer to Kimmy, but he does.
"We're gonna have so much fun, Salisbury."
Our youngest teammate groans dramatically as Jayden claps Kimmy on her back. "Good job, Byers. Can't wait to see you fuck it up."
