Nineteen

Chapter Fifty-Seven

When I grab my phone I see that the text is from Collin.

"I'll see you tonight," it reads.

I ignore it and try not to worry about it. I'm not letting him ruin my night. 

But I do wonder; is he with Jade?

I'm broke out of my thoughts when Link speaks. "Are you hungry? We could stop somewhere."

"No, that's okay," I say and try to force a smile.

"You don't need to be upset about that guy, he obviously isn't as into you as he lets on."

I'm slightly taken back by his words. The lights from passing cars flash on him as he drives and they show the moisture in his eyes.

"I know. I don't like him like you think I do," I say. I don't know if I mean it or not. Everything about Collin Kennedy is a mystery.

"He's not your type. He's got the rough and country boy feeling to him," he shrugs.

"What do you know about 'my type'?" I ask with slight anger around my words. I even use finger quotations to emphasize my point.

He understands that he has hit some kind of nerve. "No, no, no. I don't mean that you have a type, I mean that he just doesn't seem like he could make you happy."

I'm done with this conversation. We're talking about being in a relationship with someone that doesn't have strong feelings for me. This is like talking about getting married to a celebrity; not impossible, but very unlikely.

I don't reply and he ends the talk with, "just think about it."

When we pull into the dorm building I instantly scan the parking spots for a black truck.

When it's nowhere to be found, I kind of deflate a little. Or maybe I'm relieved? I don't know.

We both step out of the Jeep and begin walking down the dark sidewalk. I'm a little hesitant to be out so late at night, but I feel better when someone is with me.

"Did you have a good time?" I ask to break my thoughts away form the dark corners of campus.

"I really did. How was your night?" 

"It was good," I say and smile. He takes my hand in his as we stop in front of the building.

"Let's go out again, soon," he says to me.

"Okay. It was fun." I smile at him.

He smiles back. He grips my hand tighter and before I know what happens, he leans in and kisses me.

His lips are warm. I'm instantly ignited, but I'm not overcome by the power of it. It's an unknown feeling. I don't feel uneasy. His lips move with mine for only a few seconds.

When he pulls away he can see that I'm pondering my thoughts about it.

"I'm sorry, was that okay?" His eyes are full of worry. "I should have asked you."

"No, it was fine," I say. "But, why did you do it?"

I don't mean it in a bad way, I just want to know what it meant.

"Because I liked spending time with you and I want to let you know." He smiles at me.

Not the answer I was hoping for, but I'll take it, I guess.

"Okay," is all I say.

We say our goodbyes, promise to text each other tomorrow, and hug one more time before I begin the walk up to my dorm. 

Usually I would be feeling some type of way after the night I had, but I feel the same as I did before I left. 

When I get to the top of the stairs and begin the walk down the hall, I can see Collin sitting against my door. He stands when he sees me. 

"Let's go and talk," he says and walks past me, walking back near the exit of the building.

I ignore him and begin to dig around for my keys to unlock the door.

He turns around and faces me. "Did you hear me? Come on." He points to me and then to the stairs.

I find my key and push it into the lock, but I can feel that it's already unlocked.

He sighs and throws his hands into the air. "Jade is in there getting dressed after a shower, now lets go," he says as he walks to me and grabs my hand. He's practically dragging me down the hall.