The burn in my muscles awakened me to the competition going on all around me. It was a good thing this was a solo race. I wasn’t bringing anyone else down with me, as I’d been lost in thoughts. Biscuit tried to hide it, but something had been bothering her. What had Jenny said to her?

I was annoyed, but what could I do? I’d never imagined that I’d fall for any girl. My plan had been steadfast for as long as I could remember.

Now with graduation looming, I thought about my acceptance to Harvard. It had been Dad’s dream for me to go there. Somewhere along the way, it had become mine. But now, I thought about her plans after graduation. Would she be willing to come to Cambridge with me?

We hadn’t talked much about our futures. Would she consider doing whatever it was in Massachusetts?

I felt eyes on me and I glanced to the side to see that though I had been in the lead, one of my competitors was charging ahead. I freed my mind and got my head back in the race. I forced my muscles into overdrive because the finish line was near. I may have lost this one through no fault other than my own.

Having lost the crew races as expected, I would go home empty handed if I didn’t pull my shit together.

Nose to nose as we crossed the line, the photo finish would determine who won.

Finding the shore, I caught sight of a blonde figure jumping up and down. It was then I realized I didn’t care if I won.

I had school pride, but there wasn’t a future for me in this race. If I’d wanted to train for the Olympics, I would have picked a different school for undergrad.

After all the races were over and I’d gotten everything put away, I headed to where she stood in a dress that had me weaker than I’d gotten after a couple of hours racing under the sun.

She wore a wide-brim hat she hadn’t been wearing earlier that half hid her face in shadows. She looked at me from under her lashes.

“Hey you,” she said, meeting me halfway. I circled an arm around her waist and dipped my head under her hat to sneak a kiss.

Gagging noises came up behind me and Gavin was there with a scowl on his face. However, I didn’t think it was aimed at us. He had his eyes on Megan, who wore an expression of boredom.

“Congratulations,” Biscuit said.

Gavin cut in before I could thank her. “For what? They came in second.”

My girl said, “Second isn’t bad.”

Gavin huffed. “Yeah, if there weren’t only two crews in the competition.”

Biscuit was having none of it. “It doesn’t matter. Besides, he won his individual race.”

My best mate wasn’t feeling charitable toward me or anyone else. “You call that a win? Tade doesn’t have close races. He blows everyone out of the water. What you saw there was his head up his ass. Apparently he had pussy on the brain.”

Although he was speaking to us, his eyes never left her friend until he was done speaking. Then he stormed off before I had a chance to tell him what an asshole he was being.

“Forget it?” I shook my head. “He’s being a dick.”

Megan folded her arms over her chest.

“Well your friend is the biggest asshole ever,” she shouted over our shoulders in Gavin’s retreating direction. “Besides, I’m feeling a little nauseous standing here with you two. I’ll catch you when you decide to sleep in your room again.”

Bricks could have been laid the way she walled us off and stalked away. I arched a brow at Biscuit, wondering if she needed to follow after her friend.

“She’ll be fine,” she muttered, more to herself. I could tell she was torn as to what to do. In the end, I steered her in another direction.

As we walked to my dorm, she was quiet, too quiet.

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on in your head?” I asked, trying not to sound like an asshole when I did it.

Finally, her eyes met mine.

“Have you been accepted to law school?”

Fuck me. “Yeah, I have. I’m going to Harvard next semester.”

She nodded to herself. A few seconds later, she pulled her hand free of mine.

“When were you going to tell me?”

“Honestly?”

Her response, though soft, was full of sarcasm. “That would be nice.”

“I wasn’t keeping it from you. I found out in the fall—before we met—that I’d gotten early acceptance contingent on me graduating. And since then, I haven’t really thought about it much.”

“Or maybe you don’t think about us? See a future with us. Maybe this is just a spring fling to you.”

I reached for her, bringing us to a stop.

“That’s not it at all. I’ll admit I never expected to have a girlfriend.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t.”

I cupped the side of her face and tipped it up so she would look at me.

“I’m new at this. I messed up. I should have told you. But this—” I pointed between us, “—is not a fling.”