Lydia | ✔️

(4)

Johnny | Lydia

"Carter?!" Lydia's jaw dropped open at the childhood friend slash nemesis that she hadn't seen since the summer before last.

After his father died when he was twelve, his mother re married and soon after, he was shipped off to boarding school in Denver. He still came to visit occasionally. But she was shocked to see him here, at school, in the middle of winter.

"In the flesh." He winked and dropped his cigarette, stubbing it further into the thin layer of snow with his chuck.

As much as she didn't want to, she couldn't help but admire how much he had grown up. He was no longer the chubby little turd with a bieber fringe that she'd been used to. He now stood tall with a lean but muscular build. A peek of a tattoo came out at the wrist from under his long sleeve top and leather jacket. She could also see the rest of it on his chest, mostly hidden but a hint at what must have been a rather large piece was visible. His neck was also decorated in ink, an Italian word scrawled under his ear and spiralling around to the top of his spine.

"What are you doing here?" Lydia questioned, leaning against Nathan's car and sliding her phone into her pocket, now immersed in Carter's presence.

"You didn't hear?" He cocked a brow and leaned beside her with his hands in his jean pockets. "I got kicked out of Kingston."

"Why?"

"Threw a New Year's Eve party in the dorm rooms and supplied alcohol to the entire boarding house," he shrugged with a devious grin. "Mom wanted to ship me off to another boarding school but I convinced her to let me come home."

"What a little shit," Lydia laughed, shaking her head in faux disapproval.

"Yeah," he grinned. "Where's Hart?"

"Oh you didn't hear?" She mocked his earlier question. "He cheated on me at Stephanie's annual New Year's Eve party."

"What?" Carter leaned off the car, his brows pulled together as he stood tall in front of her. "Did you punch him in the face?"

"No!" She laughed.

"That's not the Lydia I know," Carter shook his head, staring up at the grey clouds with a reminiscent expression. "The Lydia I know punched me in the face the first time we interacted."

"We were five." She deadpanned but felt a little enthralled that he remembered.

"Yeah, so you should be able to hit harder now."

She bit down on a smile but didn't humour him with a response. She'd thought about smacking her ex in the face. It had definitely crossed her mind more than once during the course of the day. But she figured it wasn't worth it.

"Never liked that asshole," Carter sighed, kicking a bottle cap on the ground.

"He's your best friend."

"Yeah, well. He's still an asshole."

She giggled at her friend spitting insults. The two of them had always had a love-hate relationship. Whenever he was in town for the summer, they would ultimately cross paths at a party or an event and it always led to the back and forth banter that had been the norm since the two of them met in school.

It was nice to have a change of pace and she couldn't help but feel that he was ... different. There was something about him that intrigued her and she felt a little disappointed when she spotted Nathan strolling towards them, watching with curiosity.

"Nathan, this is Carter." Lydia immediately introduced her friend and he held out a hand to be shook. "He used to-"

"Yeah I remember." Nathan smiled and Lydia searched for some sort of protective hostility. But it wasn't obvious that he had a guard up. "I heard you'd be joining us again. Joining the football team next season?"

"No." Carter shook his head with a small chuckle, retracting his hand. "I boxed at boarding school. I don't think there's a team here though."

"No but there is wrestling." Nathan shrugged and handed Lydia the keys so that she could get in the car. She stayed where she was though, interested in the conversation.

"Ehh." Carter winced with a polite smile which she found a little bit beautiful. "Not for me. Can't deal with those outfits."

"Fair enough." Nathan nodded. "Perhaps you could talk to the board about a boxing club. I'm sure there would be others interested."

"Maybe I will." Carter retrieved his cigarettes from his pocket, popping one between his lips before he swapped the carton for his keys. "I better head home. I'll see you tomorrow Lydia."

He turned around, winking before he had his back to her and headed across the car park, a cloud of smoke billowing around him as he lit the stick. She watched with fascination as he slid into the drivers seat of a classic sixty five mustang, the engine roaring as he started it.

"Your Grandpa would love that car." Nathan's voice startled her and she felt her cheeks blush as she gave him a quick smile, climbing into the car before he could see the extent of her flustered state.

At home, she headed straight for her bedroom, claiming that she had homework but instead she sat at her desk and opened her lap top, searching Carter's Facebook like a shameless stalker.

He didn't have a lot of photos of himself. They were all of his car or group shots with his friends from boarding school. They were connected as friends but she hadn't seen his page or had him pop up in her feed in a while. She wasn't sure what possessed her to check his relationship status but she felt a strange sense of relief when it read single.

The bleep of her cellphone startled her and she reached into her pocket, slamming the laptop shut as she leaned back in the desk chair and read her text.

Do you want to go to an Indian wedding with me?