Read Online My Lucky Days: A Novel by S.D. Hendrickson - Free Book Online Page B

the lyrics again as the flutters went all through me. And suddenly, it all felt so very real. Him. The words. The way he made me feel. And then I typed a response before I could change my mind.
    M E: Okay.
    L UCKY: Okay?
    M E: I want to do this. Whatever this is.
    L UCKY: We will have fun. I promise.

I sat on a bench next to the student union, staring at the winter flowers as they moved softly in the wind. The blooms were a mix of orange and deep purple, which were supposed to represent black. But the soft petals missed that last bit of deepness, the last piece of the color scale that would push them into darkness.
    “I’m here. I’m here.” Peyton came staggering down the sidewalk toward me. Her blonde hair was in a high ponytail on top of her head. From the direction she came, I assumed my roommate was running late and had to pay to park in the garage again. She would have that place paid for by the time she left here.
    I got up from the bench. Time to enter the chaos of frantic students rushing to class. “We have to run.”
    “I can’t.” She winced. “I’ve got a pounding headache.”
    “That’s called a hangover.” I smiled. “You can do it. Just get there, and I’ll take notes for you.”
    One of these days, Peyton and I would both be educators of America’s youth. That was a scary thought when it came to my roommate.
    “Okay. But let’s just walk. We can still make it on time. Just slower.”
    “Come on. You know we have to at least fast-walk.”
    We had only taken a few steps when my phone buzzed. I stopped walking down the sidewalk as I stared at the screen. My backpack pulled on my shoulders, making the news weigh even heavier.
    He was gone.
    “Why are we not moving? I thought you were in a hurry?”
    I glanced at Peyton who was several steps ahead of me. “I got a text from Lucky.”
    “Sexting before noon. I like this guy.”
    “No, he left.” I let out a deep breath. It was too soon to feel this slight ache taking hold of me. “Says he’s sorry for not being able to tell me goodbye in person. But there’s a cancellation at some bar in Nashville that’s important. They want him to fill in tonight.”
    “Damn. That was fast. You become his girlfriend, and then he hits the road.”
    “I’m not his girlfriend.”
    “You are sooo his girlfriend.”
    “I . . .” But I couldn’t come up with anything to say back.
    “Exactly.”
    My phone buzzed with a second message. I read it while Peyton snooped over my shoulder. And the weight got even heavier. Lucky was already scheduled to be in Nashville later in the week. So he was staying for almost two weeks.
    I guess this wasn’t going to be a gradual dip in the pool. We were going straight into the deep end with a long-distance . . . whatever this was between us.
    Peyton looked at me a second and smiled. “You really got it bad for this guy.”
    I ignored her comment and put my phone away. “Come on. We’re going to be late.”
    “Let’s skip class instead. Go get manicures.”
    “Peyton, we can’t.”
    “Yes, we can.” She took a few steps back in the direction of the parking garage. “And what the hell. I’m getting a pedicure too. I don’t care that it’s winter. What if I meet a guy with a foot fetish? And he wants to kiss my toes, but he cuts his tongue on my jagged nails with paint chips. That would be disgusting. I can’t let that happen. I need to get this taken care of before I hurt someone.”
    I laughed, rolling my eyes. “Only you would use that as a reason to ditch class.”
    “Well, I’m closer to the car than the building at this point. I’ll have to run to even make it. And I can’t do that with my jagged toenails.”
    “You know I can’t skip class, Peyton.”
    “You could. You just won’t.” She gave me a pouty frown. “The world isn’t gonna come to an end if you miss one little class.”
    “It might.” I shrugged. The chimes echoed across campus, signaling the start of my ten a.m. class.