“Good for him.”
“You’re not mad?”
Lisa stepped into her boots, lacing them up before picking up her bag and coat. “Why would I be?”
“He’s going to hang out with a girl. I said that part, right?”
“Yes, you mentioned that.” Lisa glanced at Connor who seemed amused, but—perhaps wisely—didn’t say a word.
“You’re sure that doesn’t bug you?”
“Beth, we talked about this. Jason is my friend, not my boyfriend. He can hang out with whomever he likes. He’s a good guy and I trust him to know his own mind.”
Beth shoved her hands into her pocket and gave her head a shake, flipping her hair out of her face. “I guess so.”
Lisa slung her arm around Beth’s shoulders. “Come on, Matchmaker. I could kill someone for a burger right about now.”
Beth’s stomach rumbled in agreement and her cheeks turned pink. “Me too.”
Connor fell in behind them as they walked toward the door. “I know a place back in town. They have giant baskets of fries and shakes too.”
Lisa looked back and gave him a smile, pushing away the part of her that really wanted him to be Jason. “That sounds perfect.”
13
Jason rubbed his hand over his jaw, wishing he’d had time to shave before class, but he’d spent most of the early morning on a call with the head instructor at Snow Boulder working out the last details of his new job. He was beyond stoked at the opportunity, which would easily see him through the end of the semester, then he could see if they had summer work he was interested in while he decided what he wanted to do full time. The pay was good, well, at least as a starting place while he finished school, and meant he wouldn’t have to dip into his savings for day to day costs anymore. He didn’t regret moving back in with his folks and helping out, but he missed the computer TA job he’d left behind, and he hadn’t found anything until now that he wanted to do here.
The bell buzzed and the class settled around him as the lights lowered and the professor adjusted his microphone. Jason’s gaze darted to the seat two places down from him where Lisa always sat. She hadn’t magically appeared in the last thirty seconds, which was surprising. She’d only ever been late once, that very first day. Usually she was sitting in her seat when he walked in, reading or reviewing her notes, but she always paused to say ‘good morning’. Not having her there was seriously throwing off what was otherwise an awesome morning.
The hour dragged by, and the empty seat kept him from really paying attention to the lecture as he kept glancing at the door. When the last bell rang the seat was still empty, Jason grabbed his bag and pulled out his phone, texting as he joined the crush of college humanity pushing their way out of the classroom.
*Hey. You missed class.* He hesitated over a snarky comment about slipping on a puddle or falling asleep over a book, but his concern was stronger than his urge to tease Lisa. *Are you okay?*
The seconds ticked to minutes as he walked down the stairs and out of the building. He stopped just outside of the door, staring at the tiny screen. No response. Not even the bouncing dots that represented someone typing.
He considered texting Beth, but she was probably still asleep. Calling her was his only option if he really wanted to get her attention. It was either that, or just go to Lisa’s dorm to see if she was okay, and if she had just slept in or something, that would be creepy. He’d rather face Beth’s wrath.
It took two calls, the first going to voicemail, before Beth answered, sounding groggy and grumpy.
“You’d better be dying.”
“No, but I’m worried Lisa is. She missed class.”
Beth yawned on the other side of the phone. “Good. I told her she should take meds and sleep for a few days.”
“Why would she need to do that?”
“She’s got a cold, Loser. Which you would know if you’d come over for movie night last night.”
A cold? Jason thought back to breakfast the morning before. Lisa had seemed tired, but he had chalked it up to a late study night. It hadn’t crossed his mind that she was getting sick.
“Sorry. I was up at the resort.”
“At night?”
“I like to ski at night, and they have a need for guys instructors and ski patrol. They wanted me to see what it was all about.”
“Yeah. Job and school and all your busy stuff.”
“Why do I feel like you want me to apologize?”
Beth sighed, and he could hear her moving around. “I don’t. Well, I kind do, but not really. I get that you need a job and stuff, but…I guess I just got used to seeing you most evenings since you came back. So now it’s all weird that I like never see you. My best friend sees you almost every day, and this is the first time you’ve seen or texted me in a week.”
This was not the kind of conversation he’d anticipated when he’d called, but he felt bad. He really hadn’t considered Beth in his plans, or thought about how often he was reaching out. It was very different from when he’d been down at Southern U, and for all that she was technically a grownup, she was still his baby sister.
“I’m sorry, Beth. You’re right. I do need a job and I really like this one, but I haven’t thought much about what that means for anyone else. I can’t promise to be around for movie night, not as long as night skiing is happening, but I can promise to go back to texting you every day. That work?”
“Yeah.” He thought he could hear her smile. “That works.”
She yawned into the phone again. “Okay, since I’m up I’m going to go shower. I’ll let you know if Lisa calls, but she’s probably just asleep. Don’t you dare wake her up either. Connor sent her home with the full on brand name cold meds and she needs her rest.”
Jason came to a stop in the middle of the sidewalk, causing another student to run into him. He muttered an apology and started walking again. “Connor was there last night?”
“Yep.”
“Why?”
“Umm…because it was movie night?”
“Right.”
“How come you’ve become monosyllabic man?”
Jason shook his head, even though he knew his sister couldn’t see it. “No reason. Say hi to him for me the next time you see him. Go get your shower.”
“Okay. Love ya.”
“Love ya too.” Jason ended the call. He was hungry, but his stomach was knotted after the call and his normal breakfast didn’t sound good. Connor hadn’t come to any of the movie nights at Beth’s apartment before. Not until after he’d met Lisa. He couldn’t possibly be pursuing her. Could he? His thoughts chased after each other as he walked across campus, his classes forgotten.
14
Lisa added another tissue to the pile in the garbage can and sighed when she noticed the box was empty. Toilet paper was going to have to do until she could get out to the store. She leaned back on her bed, covering her eyes with her arm. It’d been almost three days since she’d first felt the cold coming on, and after a lot of sleep and cold medicine she was finally starting to feel like herself again. Even so, she was grateful that it was Friday and she had two more recovery days before she had to go back to class.
Had to go back. That was a weird thought process for her. She was usually excited to attend her classes, but in the last three days she hadn’t been able to even think about them, except to worry that she was falling behind. Stupid cold.
Her phone vibrated where it sat on her headboard and she reached up, patting around with her free hand until her fingers brushed the phone. She pulled it down and raised her arm just enough that she could peer out from under it at the glowing screen. She had a text message. Actually, she had several text messages, but until now looking at the phone screen had made her head pound so she hadn’t bothered answering them.
She scrolled through the names: her mother, Beth, more Beth, yet more Beth, a general message from her Trig TA, Jason… Her thumb hovered over Jason’s name. She hadn’t missed him while
she was actively sick. She hadn’t missed anyone, but seeing his name struck a chord. His latest message was only from an hour ago. She opened it.
*Hey sickie. You didn’t answer when I knocked. I hope you’re sleeping the sleep of the well medicated. There should be something by your door.*
She read the message twice, hearing his voice in her head. It was funny how texting did that. Very slowly she got to her feet, amused when she found she could actually stand without the room spinning. That was new and welcome.
Lisa tucked her feet into a pair of fuzzy slippers her mom had purchased her for Christmas and made her way to the door. The light from the hallway was much brighter than the lamplight in the room, but there was indeed something by her door. It was a basket and it was…pink.
She blinked, clearing her eyes and looked again. Yes. Still a pink basket. Lisa laughed softly and picked it up, retreating to the semi dark of her room. She sat on the edge of her bed and started pulling items out: two boxes of lotion tissue, a half dozen packets of vitamin C powder, a lavender sleeping mask, a ‘bathroom traveler’ crossword book, and a whole bag of tiny marshmallows. Lisa laid back on her bed, breaking into laughter. It was the sweetest thing ever. She wondered if Beth had had a hand in it, or if Jason had come up with this whole thing himself. Her phone buzzed with an incoming email, and she fumbled on the desk until she found it.
The email was from Jason, the subject reading: Part Two of the Get Better Plan. Curious she calmed herself enough to open the attachment. Two days’ worth of astronomy notes filled the screen.
Lisa stared at the phone, stunned. The basket had been cute, but this was… She leaned back against the wall, trying to sort through her feelings. She could totally see Beth helping with the basket, but not with this. This wasn’t anything Beth would think of, but Jason knew how important her schooling was to her and had taken notes for two days. He never took notes.
He was either the best friend she’d had in her entire life, or this wasn’t just a friendship anymore.
She wasn’t sure which option she wanted more.
15
Jason pushed off down the ski run almost languidly, keeping one eye on the terrain and the other on the student in front of him. Lance was twelve and had received skis for his birthday. He was enthusiastic and hard working and the most natural skier Jason had ever worked with. He’d earned a run down a more challenging slope to end his lesson.
The wind carried a whoop of joy back to Jason as Lance briefly left the ground over one bump. The kid landed squarely, keeping his balance just where it needed to be and tucked for better speed. As a teacher, Jason couldn’t have been prouder. When he’d first started the job he’d imagined ski instruction quickly turning into different work, something more interesting, but he was enjoying the teaching more than he’d thought possible. He still intended to find a computer job, but teaching whenever there was snow on the mountains sounded pretty good too.
He wondered what Lisa would think of that? Would she still think he wasn’t doing enough with his life and goals? No. She talked a big talk, but he thought she’d be happy for him finding something he loved.
They hit the bottom of the slope, and Lance drove his skis into a perfect stop, looking back at Jason for praise and further instruction. Jason caught sight of Lance’s mom, who looked like she might burst from pride, watching from off to one side. He grinned. “That’s a good ending for today. Go tell your mom you’re a star pupil and I’ll see you in a few days.”
Lance gave a toothy grin at the praise, his cheeks bright pink from the ride down the mountain. He pushed away, headed for his mom and a happy reunion. There was a parent getting her money’s worth.
The sounds of skis on snow turned Jason’s attention, and he smiled as Stacey swished to a stop a few feet away. She pushed her goggles back and flashed him a grin. “Hey there. Looks like someone is training the next Olympian. I’d better be careful or you’ll be gunning for my advanced class.”
Her tone was teasing and flirtatious, making Jason laugh.
“Not me. I’ve seen the crap those reprobates get up to. I’ll stick with the kids who are still impressed with my moves.”
Stacey raised both eyebrows, looking him over with honest appraisal. “Mmm…maybe I should be one of your students then. I’m impressed with your moves.”
The compliment was warm and sincere and felt good. It also drove home the fact that Jason hadn’t had a date since he’d moved into his folks’ place. It wasn’t like he’d been going out every night before that, but he’d been doing something at least a couple times a week. As much fun as night skiing was he could use a break in the routine.
“Hey, Stacey?”
“Yeah.”
“You doing anything Monday night?”
Her smile brightened a few notches. “Classes tomorrow, Tuesday and Wednesday. Hrm…no, I can’t think of anything at all happening on Monday.” She raised her eyebrows. “How come?”
Oh now she was playing coy. Too much of that got on Jason’s nerves, but this time he just found it funny. “I was thinking about catching dinner at this place I know down at the mouth of the canyon. They have live bands and great food. I thought it’d be fun if you wanted to come along.” A memory of standing by the lake and asking Lisa to come to the same restaurant echoed in the back of Jason’s head, but he pushed it away. Things were going to go better this time. Stacey was beautiful and fun, and she loved the things he loved. It would be fun getting to know her better…off the slopes.
16
Lisa caught herself drifting and blinked rapidly. She never fell asleep in class, unlike some of the students around her, but she was still recovering from her cold and dragging out of bed this morning had been really hard. The saving grace of the bell rang through the room and she gratefully stuck her notebook in her backpack, not that she’d written much on it.
Jason fell in step with her as she walked out of the room and nudged her shoulder. “Hey, you doing okay? Usually I’m the one nodding off during the review.”
Lisa tried to ignore the little thrill she felt just being near him again after several days apart. It was ridiculous. He’d done something really nice for her, but he would have done the same for Beth. Right? She pulled her scarf around her neck, knotting it loosely. “Yeah, still just tired. It’s amazing how much homework you have to catch up on after being gone for a few days.”
“You’ve only just come back to the one class, right? There can’t be that much just from astronomy.”
“No. But I emailed some of the professors over the weekend and I have a list.”
Jason held the door open for her, his lips quirking in amusement. “You emailed them over the weekend.” It wasn’t a question and led to a little laugh. “Only you, crazy girl. Only you.”
The morning air seemed to sparkle with sunlight. Winter might be holding on, but the days were slowly getting longer and the dawn creeping into their morning walk to the food court.
“I didn’t want to be more behind!”
“Uh huh.” He blew out a steamy breath. “You’ll just have to have extra hot chocolate to keep you going.”
“Mm…hot chocolate.” She chuckled, rubbing the tip of her nose to keep it warm. “I’m thinking I also need a nap before tonight.”
Jason caught the next door, again holding it open. Lisa knew some girls who got huffy about that kind of thing, but she liked the courtesy. It wasn’t like he didn’t know she could handle a door. He just liked getting there first. He watched her walk through and then followed.
“What’s tonight? Hot date?”
Date. The word rang in Lisa’s ears. Yeah, she hadn’t managed a date since the group skiing trip and she didn’t think that counted. Her classwork was keeping her busy and there just wasn’t anyone she wanted to date. At least…mostly.
“No. It’s one of the stargazing labs tonight. It was in your notes from last week. Monday, Wednesday and Friday at the Observation Tower. You marked Monday with a s
tar so I thought…” She got in line for the breakfast bar, even though what she wanted was at the very end, pitching her voice to carry over the clatter of plates and cooking. “I thought that was when you planned to go. Beth says that’s not one of your work days. I was hoping to go with you, given some of what we’re looking for is based on your notes from last week.”
Lisa glanced at Jason, seeing an odd expression move across his face. Surprise, regret, amusement…she couldn’t place what he was thinking by his expression, and she looked away quickly. “It’s not a big deal if you’re busy. I’m sure there’ll be plenty of other students there.”
“Yeah. Well, I’d like to, but I kinda forgot about the labs.” Jason put in his order for fresh hash browns before continuing. “And most Mondays would be fine, but I have a date tonight. Maybe I’ll swing by afterward and see if the class is still going on. Or I’ll just borrow your notes this time.”
Date. There was that word again. Except he was actually going on one. Lisa’s stomach twisted with disappointment, and she firmly told it to leave her alone. She’d wondered what the pink basket meant, but obviously it was just another sign that Jason was a great guy and that they were good friends. He probably would have done the same for Beth. But she couldn’t help feeling like whoever he was going out with was a lucky woman.
She shrugged, finally reaching the hot chocolate. “You’re welcome to them, but I think you actually have to show up for at least thirty minutes to get full credit.”
“Eh. I only need a passing grade out of this class anyway.”
Lisa spun around, nearly spilling the full glass of hot chocolate. “What is wrong with you? It may be your last semester, but…” She stopped, realizing he was grinning like an idiot, his eyes sparkling with humor. He was trolling her.
Discovering You (Miller Lodge Romance Book 1) Page 7