Page 46 of Come Back to Me

“Sports business management and nutrition.”

Her mouth shifts to one side of her face, her eyes wandering around the room. “You’ve always had a talent for cooking. I’m not surprised you’re studying nutrition, specifically because you’ve always been a health nut.”

Both of my eyebrows lift up. “What is a health nut?”

“It’s my term or phrase for someone who prioritizes eating better and taking care of their body.”

“If I looked up health nut on Google, would that be the official definition?”

“If it’s not, someone needs to update it.” She winks at me.

Looking away from her, I smile and bite down on my bottom lip.

She’s doing this on purpose to test me.

When I turn back around, her eyes line up with mine. It feels like my heart is sinking down to my stomach.

Every time I look into Violet’s eyes, I’m transported back to my teenage years. I’m reminded of the pain I experienced when she left me, but I’m also reminded of the good times we had together as well as the love we had for each other. The love Istillhave for her rages inside of me, begging to be rediscovered, but now is not the time for this.

I blink my eyes rapidly to bring myself back to reality. “So…what are you studying?” I ask, taking a tour of her beautiful face.

“I’m majoring in entrepreneurship and working on my minor in marketing.”

“Wow,” I say.

She chuckles, lightly biting down on her lip. “What?”

“You were always an overachiever. Guess that hasn’t changed.”

“Oh, shut up.” She smiles. “I’d love to dive into the publishing world full-time, so I thought studying entrepreneurship and marketing would be right up my alley.”

“I know this is random, but if you ever need another place to work on content for your socials, you can use our place.”

“I appreciate the gesture. I’m curious though. What makes you think I’d need somewhere else to work?” She pauses. “Did Noah tell you I live with Sage?”

“Wait, you live with Sage? Like Dani’s friend, Sage?”

She nods, her lips twitching a little. “Yeah, I’ve been living with her since junior year. Wait, Noah didn’t tell you I live with her?”

“No, he didn’t.” My mouth gapes open. “How have I not seen you?”

“I’ve done my best to hide myself from you because I knew you would’ve lost it if you saw me. I wanted to see you and talk to you when I was ready to.”

“I probably would’ve done the same thing if I was you.”

Silence consumes the air surrounding us for a few minutes until Violet decides to fill up the room with her sweet, angelic voice. “It’s getting kind of late. I should go.”

Before she gets up off the sofa, I reach for her hand. The skin to skin contact causes my body to jolt and her to flinch.

“Or you could stay,” I suggest.

“What about Noah and Xander?”

“Eh, they’re spending quality time together.”

“Aw, that’s so cute.”

“I think it’s mainly due to me annoying the crap out of them a lot, but whatever.”