Katie and Claudia follow after me silently, but the short walk back outside the athletic center is all the time it takes for them to find their voices.

“Holy shit!” Katie exclaims as we start walking down the path. “I don’t even know where to begin. Holy shit!”

Claudia’s comments are completely unintelligible. “He—you—what?”

“Forget what I said earlier,” Katie insists. “Jace Dawson does not just like you. He’s in deep, maybe even deeper than you.”

“What happened earlier?” Claudia asks, finally stringing a coherent thought together. “Why didn’t you tell me you know Jace Dawson?”

“She more than knows him,” Katie states. “He took her home for Thanksgiving to meet his family, for Christ’s sake.” She glances at me, likely realizing she promised not to tell anyone that detail. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” I tell her. “Thanks to Jace, everyone in that gym knows something’s going on between us now, anyway.”

“Everyone in that gym?” Katie repeats. “Vivienne, everyone on campus is going to know about this by the end of the morning. Jace Dawson does not interrupt football training to tell the hockey team captain to fuck off and then kiss a girl in the sports center. This is all anyone will be talking about for weeks.”

Claudia nods in agreement. “Those poor guys in our history class. I think one was going to finally talk to you this week.”

I smile. “I’ll let him down easy.”

Claudia laughs. “Are you kidding? I doubt a single guy on this campus is going to dare to talk to you after the way Jace Dawson just acted.”

My phone rings. “Hello?” I answer.

“Princess, it’s Philip,” Philip’s voice comes through the line. “I’m calling on one of our encrypted phones. Thomas and I are in the car about fifteen minutes out from campus. Phone and internet were spotty in Texas, so I’m just receiving the reports from here. Julie said everything was fine there.”

“Yes, it was,” I reply.

“I’d like to catch up in person. I’ll meet you in the library in half an hour?”

“Fine,” I reply, and hang up.

“Who was that?” Katie asks.

“Philip,” I reply. “He wants to catch up from break. See, some guys on this campus are still talking to me.”

Katie rolls her eyes. “It doesn’t count if they’re related to you.”

After grabbing a quick breakfast, I head to the library to meet with Philip. I spot him sitting at one of the secluded back tables. He looks up and sees me.

I’m surprised to see a look of anger on his face. I experience a flash of panic, worried he’s somehow found out about my spontaneous trip to Nebraska.

“How was Texas?” I ask when I reach the table.

Philip ignores my question. “Why is everyone on campus talking about you kissing that football player in the gym this morning?”

Apparently, Claudia and Katie weren’t exaggerating earlier. Me kissing a guy in public would be front page news back home. I’m disgruntled to realize that’s now the case here.