Unknown Beginning

Part 23

"Your family is the best" Kenny enthused for probably the 100th time as she drove herself and Riley back to campus.

Riley wholeheartedly agreed as she recalled all the fun and laughter that had filled the last few days. Her extended family had come over for the holiday on Thursday which meant Kenny got to meet some of Riley's aunts, uncles, and cousins as well. Riley couldn't help but notice how much Kenny gravitated to her mom. They could often be found together during the past few days which suited Riley perfectly because it meant she was able to spend time with Ben. Their closeness meant it was hard to be apart and thus were basically inseparable once reunited.

Ben's first year of college had been extremely difficult for both of them and resulted in one of them going to visit the other almost every weekend and of course texting and/or calling every day. Ben's second year at college, and Riley's first, had been a little easier. They often spent every other weekend at each other's school. This year, however, Riley was farther away and now playing two seasons of sports which meant they hadn't had many opportunities to visit each other. Riley's parents had gone to a few of her soccer games and one hockey game so far but Riley knew it was a bit of a drive for them and told them not to come too often. Ben had gone to some of the games that were near his school but otherwise only visited Riley's school once. He had stayed in her dorm for a weekend at the end of September but Kenny had been away then and they didn't meet. Other than that, Riley had gone to his school one weekend in October and that was it. If this trend continued they would only see each other once a month this year which somehow didn't feel like enough for either of them. Despite talking daily, they both struggled with the distance.

Yet even with these daily conversations, for whatever reason, Riley hadn't told Ben about James. Ben knew about the team drama from the start of the season of course, but Riley hadn't mentioned James specifically and certainly did not tell them about their psych project or the confused feelings Riley was currently experiencing. Riley had told herself it was because she hadn't seen him in person to tell him but she'd just had the past 2 days with him and still hadn't brought it up. Telling herself she would tell Ben when there was actually something to tell, she pushed James from her mind.