Hat Trick

22.

*Nolan's POV*

It's been a little over a week since I left Philadelphia, and I have yet to face Kaylin after I made a complete idiot of myself.

Would I love to transfer to Drexel to be with her? Yes.

Would I? No.

Between the medication switch and just being happy being around her, I let the anxiety get the best of me, and I word vomited all over her.

The fact of the matter is, Kaylin, Maddox and Axel would be the only benefits of me transferring.

I love my team, my school, sometimes my classes, being able to be home every other weekend, my Haylie is there, and Minneapolis is everything to me.

My family is there. Josh, Mac, Austin, Luke, Haylie, and all the amazing friends I've made.

The only down fall is that Kaylin isn't.

But as of right now, it's a beautiful Thursday mid-day, Haylie brought me lunch to the shop and is sitting with me as I work and eat, and I know she's itching to ask because since I got home, I have not spoken about what happened.

I however know that Josh has.

"Haylie, you're killing me with your wandering mind. Just ask." I laughed as I pulled myself out of the hood of this Cadillac.

It's seeming like I can't get away from Kaylin lately because I have her exact car here, just blue.

"All Josh said is that you word vomited and wouldn't spill the rest." She nodded.

"It was just my anxiety and my meds not taking full effect yet." I shrugged.

"But, what about?"

I sighed and wiped my hands off. "Before I tell you, I want to point out that I was caught in the moment of being with her, and that I'm not doing it."

"Doing what Nol." She let out a small laugh.

"Transferring to Drexel." I took a bite of my burrito.

Her jaw dropped. "Are you serious?"

I nodded. "Like I said, I'm not doing it. I was caught up with being with her, and I've been trying to find ways for her and I to reconnect and be together, and I was having such an amazing time. And yeah, it's not Minnie, but I could have been really happy at Drexel. Jeffries had expressed interest, and they have a great program for me, I have a few friends there and could've made more. And in that moment, I was fully ready to do it. But then she said no."

"What!" She yelled.

"She said no." I sighed and took another bite. "She said she didn't want me to. That I wasn't uprooting my life for her, that I love Minnie and all the reasons I chose to go to U of M, and that I couldn't make a decision about her life for her. And, I will admit, I said somethings that came across like me guilting her in to it, I apologized for it, Josh put me in check like I've been asking you guys to, but she said she was happy. With her life, her peace, her little family, job, classes and her guy."

Haylie raised her eyebrows. "She called him her guy?"

I nodded. "They've been seeing each other for a little over a few months now, they're taking things slow, getting to know each other, she's happy with him, and, I have no one to blame but myself for neglecting how she had been feeling for the entire time we were fucking around. I lost her, she's moving on, and it's killing me. I can't be the thing that makes her unhappy again. So I'm just, going to see how they are at the end of the summer like I said I would, and if they're not together, I'm going to fight my ass off to be with her again."