First Choice (Sam Wilkinson/Nash Grier)

Chapter 13

Jasmine's pov

The next day, I really didn't feel like seeing Sam. It was mortifying to know that he had been lying to me this whole time and I just clung to his lies so desperately that I couldn't even see the truth. I cried thinking of how pathetic I must look to everyone, always hanging around Sam when he had a girlfriend. Was I just a third wheel in denial?

School was too far to walk to so I called Tasha for a ride. I told her to get me a half hour before Sam wakes up so I wouldn't have to deal with any confrontation. I admit that I'm not one for confrontation, usually avoiding my problems rather than facing them head on. I knew I would have to talk to Sam eventually.

We had been best friends for almost 7 years and I don't want to loose him, but I could put off this inevitable talk as long as I wanted to. Tasha came right on time and we decided to go to Dunkin' Donuts before school. I had been up, overthinking a bunch of Sam and I's conversations in the last few weeks, all night long and I knew I wouldn't be able to make it through the day without any caffeine.

I was glad I had somebody to vent to. Tasha was a very good listener and it felt good to have someone to actually understand me. I told her about Sam and I's fight, and how I didn't know if our friendship was ruined or not. "Well, if you really care about your guys' friendship, you should talk to him about all of this." She said before turning and grabbing our coffees from the counter, handing me mine.

"You're right, but I'm still pissed at him so I'll wait until I'm a little cooled off first." I said, turning the cup in my hands so they wouldn't burn. "Good idea. But what about Nash?"

"What about him?" I asked, feeling a blush creep up on my cheeks. "Don't play dumb! You guys are constantly flirting." She laughed, as we walked over to a little table in the corner and sat down. "Ok, I do like him. Even though I've only known him for three weeks, I feel so comfortable around him. But..." I paused, taking a sip of my coffee.

"But what?" she pressed, setting her coffee down on the table and leaning towards me. "I'm just so hung up on Sam. I know it's pathetic because he's with someone else, but I can't help the way I feel." I sighed, looking down at my coffee.

"I know it's hard, but you've got to think that Sam has knowingly been leading you on this whole time, and I'm sorry but fuck him! You don't deserve that. You deserve someone who will appreciate you and I think that you need to let go of this idea that you'll be with Sam and let Nash in. Maybe Nash could be the right guy you have been looking for this whole time, but you have to let go of this thing with Sam and accept that you guys are just friends."

I could do nothing but sit and listen to her harsh words. Tasha always called it like it was, no matter how hard it hurt your feelings. I couldn't deny that it was the truth. "You're right." I agreed. "I should try to forget about being with Sam, and try to see if me and Nash should be anything."

"Yes! Now let's take these to go because I promised Aaron I'd meet him before first cause he needs a good luck kiss before his Algebra 2 test." They really were one of the best couples I knew. "Yes, of course." I laughed, standing up and following her to the door.

When we got to school, I could already tell that Sam was going to try and talk to me. He shyly smiled as me and Tasha joined the group, but I didn't return it. I decided to ignore him today, and just focus on myself. I didn't need to talk to him in order for me to have a good day. Yes you do! My conscience threw in my face, reminding me of my dependence on him to help with m anxiety. But I quickly shut her out, reminding myself that I was more anxious about talking to him, then I was about walking down the hall without him.

"You drink coffee?" Nash scrunched up his nose beside me, and I turned to him grinning. "Yeah. You don't?" I scrunched up my nose, mocking him. "Not really, it's not that good to me." He said, reaching for the cup. "May I?" he asked, a small grin on his lips. "Yeah." I raised my eyebrows as he lifted the cup to his lips and took a small sip, before wincing and setting the cup down. "Bleh, that's gross." He yelled.

"Well good, because I wasn't going to give you any more of it if you liked it anyways." I giggled, snatching the coffee and setting it down in front of me. "Jasmine." Sam called from across the table. "Huh?" I said, still laughing at Nash as he continued to shake his head and make funny noises. "You left your phone in my car yesterday." He said, outstretching his hand to me, my phone sitting in his large palm. I grabbed it, wincing as my hand brushed his.

"Why weren't you at your house this morning when I came to get you?" he asked quietly, not wanting our friends to hear him. "I went to get coffee with Tasha." I said, her head spinning to me at the mention of her name. I wanted this conversation to be over with, and maybe he would drop if he knew that others were listening.

"Oh, well do you still want me to walk you to your classes today?" he sheepishly asked. "No thanks. Nash agreed to." I watched as hurt flashed across his face before he forced a slight smile to cover it. I smiled at Nash and he nodded, "and you've got a girlfriend to walk." I half smiled at Sarah and she smacked Sam's arm. "Yeah! What about me?"

"Relax, I've got you." Sam smiled at her before grabbing her hand and intertwining their fingers. I looked away and told myself, He's not doing it to make you jealous, he could care less if you are, he actually wants to be with Sarah. I looked at Nash as he gave me a playful smile. "Do you want to come over after school today? Just to hangout?" I asked.

"Yeah, that sounds like fun." He beamed, putting his arm around my shoulder before making a grab for my coffee. "Hey!" I pushed him away, giggling like an idiot as he squeezed my sides. "You said it was nasty!" I screamed, noticing as a few people from other tables gave us annoyed glares. "Yeah, but I just want another taste." He yelled, making a grab for the cup as I held it up above my head and leaned away from him.

He grabbed my wrist, yanking me toward him, before reaching up and grabbing the cup from my hand. He didn't release my wrist as he brought the cup to his lips once more and took another sip. I watched as his tongue darted out to catch a drop that had run down his lip. "Give me my coffee, Nash." I whined.

"Ok, here." He handed me the cup and I snatched it from his clutch. "You're cute when you whine like that." He grinned down at me. His mesmerizing blue eyes were hard to look away from, and I could feel the butterflies fluttering around in my stomach as he moved his hand from my wrist, down to my hand and intertwined our fingers.

"Thanks." I mumbled, blushing as I looked down at our connected hands.