The Dissolution of Unrequited (The Science of Unrequited Book 4)

by Len Webster

Then she smiled. “Seriously, I will definitely not approve if y’all don’t get back in that bedroom and finish what y’all started. Text me when y’all are sated and hungry.” And before Alex could even reply, Savannah was out the door.

  Spinning around, Alex made her way back to the kitchen, grasped her boyfriend’s arm, and led him to her bedroom.

  “AJ?” Evan asked, amusement in his voice.

  Once they were in her room, he kicked the door shut, and Alex threw herself at him, kissing him and promising him that everything would be okay.

  Because she knew deep down that it would be.

  That they would be all right.

  “I love you,” he murmured as he laid her down on her bed, his body covering hers.

  “I love you, too,” Alex said as she reached down and grasped the hem of his shirt, wanting him naked. “I’d love you more if you didn’t have clothes on right now.”

  Laughing, Evan brushed her cheek, and whispered, “I’d love you even more if you were finally out of this dress.”

  “I’m sure, Mum,” Alex said as she continued to type her physics report. Satisfied with her conclusion so far, she grasped her phone from between her shoulder and ear, easing her neck cramp. She had been on the phone with her mother since Savannah set Alex’s cup of tea down several minutes ago. Alex had decided to work at Chino’s coffeehouse for a while before she went out to dinner with Savannah after her shift.

  “Are you really sure you’ll be here tomorrow?” The concern in her mother’s voice had Alex laughing.

  “Mum, I assure you, I’ll be home tomorrow. I checked in for my flight before my last class.”

  Her mother sighed in relief. “I just don’t want you to miss Kyle’s surprise party.”

  Alex leaned back against her seat and pressed her lips together. “I won’t miss his party, Mum. I’m landing before Evan, so I’ll wait at Logan, and we’ll grab a cab back to Brookline. That should give us plenty of time to help you set up. Are all the players coming over?”

  “Yes. Your father and Uncle Alex have been busy setting up all the chairs and table. I hope we have enough room. We checked with Evan, and he says it’s okay to use his place if we need to.”

  “Seriously? Why didn’t we just have it at Fenway? They have the facilities for it.”

  “I know. But it’s only a worst-case scenario. If you have any problems with your flight, please call your father or me. We can’t have you or Evan missing. You’re both so important to him,” her mother said.

  Alex cringed. She hated that she and Evan hadn’t told Kyle that they were officially together even though she knew it wouldn’t matter. He was so in love with his girlfriend, Angie. But Evan and Alex had both agreed to tell him together.

  “I know, Mum. If Evan and I didn’t have classes, you know we would have been there already. I better go. If I don’t finish this report, I’ll be stressing over it all weekend. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay? I’ll even call you when I get to the airport so you won’t stress out so much.”

  “That would be nice. I’m sorry I’m stressing about all of this. It’s his first birthday with you and Evan finally talking to each other,” her mother clarified.

  She smiled. She and Evan were finally talking. They were also finally together. They had been for months. In the days since college started, they spoke every day on the phone. Just last weekend, she had flown to California to spend the weekend with him. They had also spent a whole day searching for the perfect present for his older brother. Evan had mentioned he was nervous because Kyle Gilmore was the last person they truly needed approval from. They had her parents and Savannah’s, so Kyle was the very last.

  “I better go. Bye, Mum. Tell Dad I said hi.”

  “Bye, my love. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “See you tomorrow,” Alex said before she hung up and set her phone on the table. Rubbing the kink in her neck, she returned her attention to her report and began to read it over. She already had a few other papers due in the coming weeks, but this was her major assignment. So long as she had the basics down, she would be able to enjoy her weekend in Massachusetts.

  “Alex?” she heard someone say.

  Turning away from her laptop screen, she found the brand-new captain of the Duke men’s basketball team standing next to her.

  She smiled. “Hey, Chase. How are you?”

  Chase Anderson grinned, pleased to see her. Alex wasn’t going to lie. She had avoided anything that included the basketball team because she couldn’t face them. Alex had become friends with a lot of the players and their girlfriends, but that was when she was dating Landon. Now that they had been over for almost eight months, she had no business including herself in their social activities. Most of her time was spent in the library, the lab, with Savannah, on the phone with her boyfriend, or in California. Sometimes it felt as if Alex was always in a rush, but she didn’t care. Her long-distance relationship with Evan was perfect.

  “I’m good. Mind if I sit with you?”

  Alex shook her head. She had always liked Chase and appreciated that he told her the truth about what her ex-boyfriend had done while she was in Boston. “Not at all.”

  Chase sat in the free seat across from her. He was wearing a Duke basketball sweatshirt. His hazel eyes weren’t as bright as her ex-boyfriend’s, but they still sparkled at her. “I’ve barely seen you around campus. How are you?”

  “I’m doing really great, Chase. How was your summer?”

  “It was amazing. I went to Phoenix with Landon. He told me that he wanted you to go with him, but you told him to take me instead. I just wanted to thank you for that. And I’m not saying thank you for letting me have the chance to meet NBA players and staff, but because Landon and I repaired our friendship,” he said.

  Relief warmed her chest. She had always felt awful that Chase suffered when it came to her and Landon’s relationship ending. He was only telling her the truth, and Landon had mistaken it for a betrayal.

  “Well, I’m glad you went.” Her smile faded as curiosity filled her heart. Curiosity she knew she shouldn’t let get the better of her. “How is he?”

  Chase pressed his lips together. “Heartbroken.”

  “It’s been months, Chase. He knows that, right?”

  He nodded. “He knows he ruined everything. So how was your summer? I never see you around campus.”

  Alex brushed her ponytail over her shoulder and straightened her spine. “I spent the summer in Massachusetts. It was great. Sav and I moved into an apartment off campus. Plus, with it being my junior year and physics being so competitive, I’ve been focusing on applications for internships and job opportunities.”

  Surprise sparkled in his face. “You’re far ahead of any senior I know. I barely look at the syllabus. You should come to a game.”

  “Chase …” Alex felt a wave of guilt hit her, making her cringe in her seat.

  “The team misses you and so do the girls.”

  She pressed her lips into a tight line and nodded. “I’ll try.” It wasn’t a promise. Alex knew she didn’t belong in that stadium anymore.

  Not when she was Evan Gilmore’s girlfriend.

  That part of her life had ended months ago.

  “The team and I would like that.” Then a flash of anxiety washed over Chase’s face. She had never seen him so nervous in the time she had known him. “Alex?”

  “Yeah, Chase?”

  He let out a hesitant laugh and combed back his blond hair. “I was wondering … I know this is kind of going behind Landon’s back and everything but …”

  Alex stilled, her heart kicking into overdrive. Worry pumped through her veins with every breath she took. “But?”

  “Would you like to go out to dinner with me sometime?”

  Oh, God.

  She had always thought Chase was being nice to her
because she was his best friend’s girlfriend, not because he was interested in her. She felt like an idiot. She should have seen it earlier. Alex had always ignored Chase’s interest in Little Miss Red Sox when she had first met him, but when she was with Landon, she was blind to him. Only cared for her ex-boyfriend. And she knew the best way to let him down was to tell him the truth.

  I have a boyfriend, Chase.

  But she couldn’t. She knew he’d tell Landon, and it was none of Landon’s business that she had a boyfriend. That she was in love with someone else.

  “Chase,” she began, “I think you’re amazing. And you’re going to write your own name in Duke and NCAA history. But I don’t think it’d be right if we went on a date. I’m sorry. I just want to concentrate on school. I hope you can understand that.”

  Sorrow dulled his hazel eyes. “No, I completely understand. I’m sorry. I just … I just thought … I’m sorry, Alex.”

  Alex sighed, hating to disappoint him, but she felt nothing for him. And most importantly, nothing for Landon. She only loved Evan. “I’m sorry, Chase. I tried dating and was happy being with Landon, then it kinda just fell apart the moment life made us choose. It wouldn’t work with us. You’re a senior, and I’m a junior. You’d have to think seriously about your future while I’m still at Duke. I think you’re great, but I could never do that to Landon. And I could never do that to you either.”

  Chase nodded as he got out of his seat. “You really did love him.”

  “I did,” she confirmed.

  “Wow,” he breathed. “I feel like a shit friend. I saw you sitting here, and I thought it was time someone treated you right. And I guess I wasn’t that someone the moment I asked you out. Because that would hurt you. I’m sorry, Alex. I hope we can be friends and that you come to a game.”

  “Thanks, Chase. I appreciate that. And yeah, I’ll try my best to come to a game.”

  He nodded, the shame still on his face. “I’ll see you around.”

  Alex watched Chase walk out of Chino’s in disbelief. She knew she hadn’t handled it properly, but she hoped she let Chase down as kindly as possible. She liked him. They could be great friends someday, but she wouldn’t get his hopes up. She knew no one would snatch her heart from Evan Gilmore’s clutches.

  “What was that about?” Savannah asked, surprising Alex and almost making her jump out of her seat. Alex glanced over to find Savannah setting a new teacup on her table. “You haven’t touched your other one, so I assumed it was cold. So what was that?”

  “Thank you,” Alex said, reaching over and picking up the teacup. “Chase just asked me out to dinner.”

  Savannah’s brow arched. “Seriously?” Alex nodded. “But you said no, right?”

  “Correct.”

  “You told him you have a boyfriend?” Savannah lowered her voice.

  Alex shook her head. “He’d tell Landon.”

  “And you think Landon will get angry?”

  She shrugged her shoulder. “I think he’d say something. Right now, I’m happy. Evan and I are happy. Keeping us a secret is just easier than having to be scared that someone or something will ruin us.”

  Her best friend smiled. “Good thinking. I just gotta clean up my mess and then we can head to dinner. Mexican or Italian?”

  Alex laughed. “Whatever you want, Sav.”

  “Let’s go Southern since you’re going back to New England tomorrow.”

  The party her mother had set up for Kyle was stunning. She had managed to get a tent set up in the backyard with red and white twinkle lights wrapped around the frame. The food she had spent the past few days making was incredible. And all the guests were reeling after shouting surprise when Kyle had walked out, expecting a small barbecue with the Parkers. The guests invited were his teammates, his close friends, and some of the management staff. It was a smaller event. And Kyle’s girlfriend, Angie, had been in on it.

  As Alex watched them laugh and talk, she knew he had finally found the one in Angie. She didn’t meet Angie while she was dating Landon, but when Alex finally did during summer break, Angie always looked at her as if she was in the wrong. It was a weird feeling, so Alex finally asked her if she had done anything wrong. Angie had apologized profusely and admitted that it was hard for her to like her, considering Alex had hurt Evan by not picking him. Alex understood and asked if they could start over, telling Angie that she and Evan were best friends again. Alex could tell that she didn’t believe her, but she hoped she wouldn’t tell Kyle her suspicions.

  She and Evan hadn’t been ready to come clean then.

  But they were now.

  And after Alex landed, Evan had surprised her by waiting outside her gate when she stepped off the plane. He had taken an earlier flight that landed an hour before hers did. He had kissed her and whispered how much he missed her before they walked out of the terminal with their carry-on luggage and hailed a cab.

  During the ride back to Brookline, he caught her up on all the things he had wanted to tell her in person, and she had done the same—even telling him about Chase asking her out. Evan didn’t seem to worry about Chase and said he was confident in her love for him. His belief in her and their love warmed her heart, and she had kissed him. Although it was hard when they were apart, it was perfect and real when they were together. Their long-distance relationship was working.

  “Have you got any tips for my daughter, Alex?” assistant batting coach Archer Reynolds asked.

  Alex turned her attention back on the coach and smiled. “Apply for as many schools as she can. I applied for eight.”

  “And what was your success rate?”

  “One hundred percent. I got into five Ivy League schools, NYU, Stanford, and Duke. If Dawn wants a tour of Duke, have her call me. If she needs help with her college essays, I’m happy to help. Don’t worry, Coach. She’s going to get into a great school with her GPA. I’m pretty sure I still have my guidebooks that helped me through my applications. I can find them later and let you take them home to her.”

  Relief poured into his gray eyes. “Thanks, Alex. I appreciate that—”

  “Hey, Coach,” Evan said, interrupting them. “You mind if I borrow my gir—best friend for a moment?”

  “Not at all. Thanks, Alex. I’ll grab those books before I leave tonight.” Then the coach was off to join the rest of the party.

  “Books?” Evan asked as he stood in front of her.

  Alex set her glass of Coke down and smiled, wishing she could freely wrap her arms around him and kiss him. But she couldn’t because too many people around them only knew them as best friends. People they knew would keep their secret from the public. But not just yet.

  “Dawn’s a senior this year. Coach Reynolds wanted some advice for her.”

  Evan stepped a little closer, his eyes twinkling with the red and white lights above them. “You did get into eight of the best schools in the country.”

  “And you got into the best schools on the West Coast.”

  He chuckled, shaking his head. “But I didn’t get into five Ivy League schools. It was smart of Coach Reynolds to talk to you about college applications.” Evan reached for her hand and grasped it.

  She glanced around to find people unaware of their touch. “Evan,” she warned, afraid someone would suddenly see.

  “We have to tell him,” Evan said.

  Her jaw clenched, and she nodded, knowing they had to. She pulled her hand from his. “Let’s go now before he gets too drunk or something.”

  “Or we make him drunk.”

  “You don’t think he’ll take us being together well?”

  Evan frowned. “I honestly don’t know, AJ. But we’re okay if he doesn’t, right?”

  Alex nodded. “More than okay.”

  “All right. Let’s go.” Then Evan led her toward Kyle and Angie. Her parents weren’t too far
away, and she could see her mother’s concerned expression. She offered a reassuring smile as she walked past them and stood next to Evan once they reached Kyle.

  “Hey, you two,” Angie said with a smile. “Alex, your parents did a great job.”

  “They did,” she agreed.

  “Yeah, Alexi. Noel and Clara did amazing. I don’t know how you all kept it from me. This is the best birthday I’ve had in a long time,” Kyle stated.

  Alex glanced over to see Evan’s tense expression, and she knew that hostility would find them within moments.

  “Kyle, can we talk to you for a moment? Sorry, Angie. Nothing personal,” Evan said.

  “Oh, of course. I’ll be with Alex’s parents if you need me.”

  Once Angie was gone, Kyle squinted at Alex and then at Evan. “What’s going on?”

  “Kyle, you know we love you,” Alex began.

  The captain of the Red Sox’s eyes widened. “Is this about Angie? You don’t like her.”

  Alex shook her head. “No, Kyle. I love Angie.”

  “Then what’s this—” Kyle stopped talking the moment Evan grasped her hand and linked his fingers with hers.

  “Kyle,” Evan said in a soft voice. “AJ and I are together.”

  Kyle was silent.

  Too silent as he glanced back and forth between them.

  Alex couldn’t read the emotion on his face.

  Evan squeezed her hand in reassurance but seeing Kyle so quiet made her even more nervous than when they told her parents or when Savannah found out.

  This was Kyle Gilmore—the very Kyle Gilmore who begged her to love him instead of Evan—so his approval meant everything.

  Without it, she wasn’t sure if she’d ever see Kyle again.

  “As in …?”

  “Yes,” Alex answered as she tilted her chin and assured Evan with a smile. Then she swung her focus to see the emotion she understood in his eyes. It was pain. “As in we’re really together, Kyle.”

  He shook his head and then a smile finally formed on his lips. “I’m happy for you both.”

  “You don’t look happy,” Evan pointed out.