"Is this seat taken?"
Trent looked up to see a beautiful blonde with long, straight hair and a gorgeous smile standing next to him, a full tray in her hands. "Uh, no." She reminded him of Bree--sort of. She wasn't quite as pretty as his friend, but the hair was similar, and she had a nice smile.
"Thanks. It's crowded in here."
Trent looked around the cafeteria. Apparently, he had picked a busy time to swing by for lunch. Normally, he had an accounting class right now, but the professor was sick. "Guess so."
She set her tray down and waved across the way at a brunette who gave her a thumbs up. "You don't mind if my friend sits here, too, do you? All the other tables are really crowded. I'm sorry--it looks like you were trying to read or something."
Dropping his phone into his jacket he assured her it was fine. "I was just on social media."
"Oh. Cool." She sat down. "I'm Heather, by the way."
"Trent. Nice to meet you."
"Yeah, I think I've seen you around. Do you live in Dowdy Hall?"
"I do." It was a men's only dorm, so he wondered how she knew that.
"My ex-boyfriend lives there."
"I see. Sorry."
"I'm not." She rolled her eyes and took a bite of her sandwich before she said, "He's an asshole."
"Well, then, I'm not sorry."
She giggled. "Are you seeing anyone, Trent?"
The way she asked was a little more suggestive than he would've expected. "Uh… no." He couldn't help but feel for the phone in his pocket. He had thought a few weeks ago that maybe he would be by now. But he'd tried to call Bree and gotten no answer, and she hadn't ever called him back. He'd sent a text or two as well. It had occurred to him that maybe she'd changed her number since high school, but he wasn't sure who to ask about that, and it seemed weird to contact her on social media. She had left, after all. He'd finally kissed her, and she'd gotten in her uncle's truck and rode away. If that wasn't an answer, he didn't know what was.
Heather's smile was sweet, and he got the impression she wanted him to ask her out. Maybe he would….
***
Bree sat in a packed movie theater next to Sam, wishing the movie wasn't so long. It was only their second date, but she would've much rather spent the time talking to him than watching other people talk on screen.
His fingertips brushed hers in the popcorn bucket, and she had to assume it was on purpose. Sam was a great guy. Nice, funny, and a wonderful musician. Why she'd never noticed before that night in the student lounge a few weeks ago, she wasn't sure. They'd talked for hours and ended up having a jam session that brought out a lot of other students to listen. Since that day, the two of them had been together every spare minute.
On screen, the actor and actress were talking about how much they loved each other but they just weren't meant to be together. It brought tears to Bree's eyes, but she fought them off. That's how it was with her and Trent. It didn't matter that she'd invested so many years in thinking about him, or that that kiss in the snow was the most perfect moment of her life. They just weren't meant to be.
"You okay?" Sam whispered in her ear.
"Yep. Just… sad." She nodded at the screen so he'd assume she meant she was sad for the actors. He gave her a reassuring smile and put his arm around her, and she moved against him. He smelled like leather from his guitar strap and Old Spice. It wasn't the same as Trent, but it wasn't unpleasant. Sam was a good guy, and Bree liked him. She could make this work.
She'd found out a few days after she'd thought she'd sent that text to Trent that his number had changed. When she'd talked to Christy about everything that happened at the cabin, her friend had asked if she'd spoken to him, and she said she'd sent him a text and he pretended like he didn't know who she was. So, at least that wasn't the case. But she hadn't tried again since she'd gotten his new number. If he wanted to call her, he would. Her number hadn't changed in over a year, and she was pretty sure he had it.
They weren't friends on social media anymore, though. With his last girlfriend, she'd unfriended him. She just couldn't see pictures of the two of them together. If he ever asked, she'd say she had no idea what had happened, but he hadn't sent her a friend request either.
Sam's arm around her felt good. It felt right. It wasn't perfect. It didn't make her weak in the knees or giddy, but it was better than what most people got out of this life. Besides, they had a lot in common. Sam was going to be a musician, too. They had even talked about gigging together. Most importantly, he was here--and he wanted to spend time with her, unlike Trent.
When the movie was over, Sam took her hand and led her out with the rest of the people leaving the movie theater. "What did you think? Did you like your chick flick?"
"My chick flick?" Bree asked, tipping her head to the side to study him. "You picked it, not me."
"Yeah, but I thought you'd want to see it."
Bree giggled. "I prefer action adventure or horror movies, Sam. But it wasn't bad."
"Seriously? We just sat through that for no reason?" He tossed his head back and laughed. "Do you want to go get some ice cream?"
"Do you want to go get some ice cream, or are you just asking because you think I want to go get some?" She smiled at him, hoping he knew she was just joking around.
"I love ice cream. I am an ice cream fiend. But if you'd rather not…."
"Ice cream would be awesome."
Sam slipped his arm around her waist and led her to the door, and Bree walked alongside him, glad to have such a nice guy with her. It might not be perfect, but it was easy, and she could get used to a guy like Sam.