Libby

“Hi, I need to set up a payment plan,” I tell the financial advisor I’ve had an appointment set with for months. “I have about a third that I can pay upfront.”

I’ve saved up almost every penny that I could, but only working for a few months still wasn’t enough to pay for both semesters. It’s something, though, and every little bit counts for me right now.

The middle-aged woman shoves her glasses up her narrow nose and nods. “I need your ID please.” I pull out my wallet and hand her my ID. She starts to type in all of my information. “Libby Graves.” She punches in a few more keys and then tilts her head to the side to study the screen. “It looks like your tuition is paid up for both semesters.”

I lean forward in my chair. “What? I think there’s a mistake?” I point to my ID in her hand. “Did you spell my name correctly? Do you want to call and make sure there isn’t a glitch in the system?”

“There are no glitches, your name is spelled correctly, and all of the information matches your account. Your tuition is paid.”

“By who?”

“It doesn’t say. All it’s telling me is that it was paid in full two weeks ago.” Her slender pink lips form a smile. “Whoever it was, they are awfully nice.” She pushes her hands together and rests them on her desk. “Anything else I can help you with?”

The office is packed with people. She wants me out of here so she can move onto the next broke student.

“No thank you,” I say, getting up from my chair. I take my ID and leave her office.

My purse is hanging from my arm as I look through it to find my phone while I make my way back to the Jeep in the parking lot, which I still need to give back to Knox. When I asked when he wanted me to drop it off, he told me to wait until Nate is home. I have a feeling waiting until Nate is home is going to take awhile.

Me: Did you pay my tuition?

I unlock the doors and slide into the Jeep. I make it all the way back to the condo before my phone beeps with a reply.

Knox: I have no clue what you’re talking about. The tuition fairy must’ve done it.

Me: I’m serious. Un-pay it.

Knox: Hell no.

Me: Then I’m paying you back for it.

This is supposed to be my time to be independent, and Knox paying my bills for me is the complete opposite of that.

I throw my purse over my shoulder and stomp into the condo, like the three-year-old I’m acting like.

“He paid my tuition!” I yell.

Mia is sitting at the kitchen table chomping on a bowl of yogurt and granola. “Good boy.”

“No, bad boy. I wanted to do this on my own. I’m not one of his little charity cases.”

She drops her spoon into her bowl and rolls her eyes. “I don’t think he did it because he feels sorry for you or thinks you’re a damn charity case. He did it because he cares about you, and I have a feeling he also did it because he’s in love with you.”

I haven’t told Mia about Knox confessing his feelings for me, and I don’t plan to. She’ll really be on my ass about pushing him away if she finds out.

“This helps you so much,” she goes on. “If you make more money in the future and it’s tearing you up that bad, pay him back then. But you need to take all the help you can get right now, okay? You would be paying student loans off for the next five years had he not paid it. You have so much going on right now – required community service hours, your work, homework, you’d be stressed out having to worry about paying for school on top of that.”

My phone beeps when I sit down in the chair across from her.

Knox: Are you mad? Sorry, I only wanted to help. I want you to focus on what you love to do.

Me: I’m not mad. It just took me by surprise.

Knox: You’re honestly one of the best people to ever walk into my life. When I’m old and write a tell-all about my life, you’ll be in there as someone who changed me for the better. Everything you’ve done for me, every emotion you’ve made me feel, it’s made me a better man, and I can’t thank you enough. I want to thank you for giving me something so amazing by helping with your tuition. Please give me that. You’re going to go out there and do great things. You’ll be helping those less fortunate and taking care of kids whose parents don’t make the right decisions. I want you to be able to focus all of your attention on that, not student loans.

I suck in a breath as I feel my eyes start to water. I want to stop the tears, but I can’t as they fall down my cheeks. How can I fight him on this when it seems like it means so much?

Me: Ok. Thank you. You have no idea how much I appreciate this.

Knox: I know you do, which is why I did it.

“Oh shit, the ugly cry face,” Mia says, startling me. I was so wrapped up in Knox’s texts that I forgot she was even there. “Tears of joy or tears of fury?”

“Tears of joy … gratefulness,” I answer. I hold my phone out so she can read his text.

“Damn girl, this man is so sweet for you.” She punches her arm through the air. “We have a winner. My best friend finally has a good man.”

I suck in a sniffle. “Whoa, calm down, killer. He’s not my man. We’re not even together-together.”

“Does he know that?”

“Yes, I made it very clear before I left that we couldn’t be anything serious.”

Mia’s dark brows pull in. “Why? You have a good thing in your life, and you’re throwing it away for nothing. I know you think men in those situations can’t be trusted and it won’t work out, but you’re basing that belief off of two men. Your dad and Adam. Don’t kill your entire love life off because one douchebag hurt you. Plenty of celebrities are in committed relationships.”

“He has a reputation that matches theirs to a tee, Mia. To a fucking tee. I’d rather step away now than get my heart stomped on in a few weeks and an embarrassment is made out of me.”

She lets out a long sigh. She doesn’t like my answer, and I probably won’t be hearing the end of this. “Let’s go out to dinner tonight. We haven’t celebrated your homecoming since you’ve been back, and I know as soon as school starts it’s going to be like pulling your hair out to get you to do something with me.”