Stung (Now Published)

Chapter 02

I clutched the large birthday cake Bailey and I had finished decorating for Nate in my arms as I walked down the apartment hallway. There was an overnight duffle bag slung over my shoulder and it knocked against the back of my legs with each step. There was a high chance the plastic cake cover was leaving indentations in my fingers with how hard I was gripping it. I told myself I was only anxious about dropping it and letting all of our hard work go to waste. Well, Bailey's hard work. But I helped.

Okay, I did some of the frosting.

The death grip had absolutely nothing to do with seeing Nate for the first time in years outside of family holiday dinners. It had nothing to do with the fact that I was planning on sleeping in his apartment with him there. Every time I went to visit Corey in the past, Nate was conveniently gone. Bailey and Corey had assured me he wasn't doing it to avoid me but I wasn't stupid. He was magically there whenever Bailey went to visit him on her own.

Worse than that, Matthew, Nate's best friend from high school who he still visited frequently, not only went to the same school as Mason and I, but was my roommate. We were in our third year at college and after the first year, I had been way too eager to get out of the dorms. Out of Nate's friends back in high school, Matthew was really the only one I liked. I hadn't been fond of him at all after everything went down with the bet Nate and his friend made in high school but upon coming here, we slowly worked it out.

So, after our first year, when Mason decided to become a Resident Adviser and continue to live on campus, Matthew and I both agreed to get an apartment together. I rarely did anything without him. He quickly became one of my closest friends and really came out of his shell . Shortly after our first year, we all went out to a club with some new friends. Mason and I went to get some water and by the time we came back, Matthew was making out with some guy.

He told us he was bisexual and never felt comfortable expressing himself around his parents. Hours away from them at college, he didn't have a care in the world. Mason was ecstatic.

Bailey was currently living back home with her brother and taking culinary and business classes here and there. She wanted to open her own bakery. The downside was she was about five hours away from Central, where Nate went and Corey went with a hockey scholarship. The distance definitely took a strain on their relationship at times.

I was no stranger to going back home to visit my parents or spend a long weekend with Bailey. And during those trips back home, I knew for a fact that Nate would visit Matthew in our apartment.

After everything went down with Oliver, Nate had given me a year. A year to do things on my own and find my feet.

I did.

Every time there was a chance of co-mingling between the two of us, Nate was a no-show. I thought it was just for the first year, but that year snowballed into two and then three. He turned into No-Show-Nate. I accepted that Nate either forgot about what he told me or decided he didn't want to go down that road. I'd learned to do things on my own and not rely on anyone.

He was avoiding me and no one could convince me otherwise.

That didn't mean it didn't hurt each time.

That also didn't mean my feelings for him had disappeared.

Bailey knocked loudly on the oak door while I tried to balance the cake in my hands. Corey opened the door with a wide grin on his face, enveloping Bailey into a hug immediately.

I walked past them, putting all of my focus on getting the cake safely on the counter. And also telling myself that I wasn't looking for anyone by the name of Nate because I was totally not anxious. I gently placed the cake down.