And so, it is with a heavy sigh that I follow half a step behind Salem to get drinks and then snag an empty table, where I slide my tray down next to his.

It doesn’t go unnoticed. “What’s with you?” He reaches into his bag and pulls out a sandwich, ignoring the huge heap of eggs and hash browns on his plate. “I feel like you’re usually … bouncier.”

“Again, you’re thinking of my hair,” I tell him, digging into my lunch. I’m not sure I’ve ever actually had a frittata, but it basically just looks like a fluffy egg pie, and that cannot possibly be bad. If I were at GHS right now, I’d probably be poking at a soggy slice of pizza or a mound of beef stew that resembled neither beef nor stew.

Camden’s menu is a clear upgrade, but for the briefest of moments my heart aches anyway, because I’d also be feeling Craig’s ankle hooked around mine, and hearing Claire quiz herself with her trademark flash cards between bites of a bagel with cream cheese and cucumber cut into fourths.

Well, once upon a time I would have, anyway.

I watch as he takes a bite of the sandwich, which looks to be peanut butter and jelly on whole wheat. “You brought your own sandwich to lunch?”

He shrugs. “So?”

“You…” I gesture at his egg mountain. “What was the point of—”

“Hey, roomie.” Before I can finish my sentence, a huge hand claps Salem’s shoulder so hard he almost coughs out his sandwich. “Mind if I join you?” Matt doesn’t wait for an answer before taking a seat. “And Evie! I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

The innuendo in his tone has me nearly choking on a piece of fried potato. “So much,” I say, my eyes watering as I take a sip of water. “Salem and I were about to bang on this table.”

“She wishes.”

“Hey, I told you,” says Matt, grabbing Salem’s fork and helping himself to the hash browns he’s clearly not eating. “If you’ve got a lady—or anyone else; you do you—in the room, just hang a sock on the door.”

“I did that. Last night. You came in anyway.”

“Yeah, but I covered my eyes, didn’t I?”

I narrow my eyes at Salem. “You had a girl in your room last night?” For a brief moment, I have to wonder what it could possibly look like for Salem to lay on the charm enough to convince a girl to hook up with him, and I simply cannot. She’d have to be the type very easily seduced by a bit of swagger and a pair of gorgeous eyes. Not that I have thoughts about Salem’s eyes; I’m just saying—