“Eighty percent, huh?” I said, rushing her a little and swinging her over my shoulder to carry her through the doors. Her giggling started then, the best sound in the whole damn world. “Eighty percent?”

I took off running, leaving Sarah behind. Nolan knew exactly where I was going as she started slapping at my back and threatening me that I’d better not. When we got to the main fountain at the center of campus, I pulled her back over my shoulder and held her in my arms as I pulled off my shoes with my feet.

“Reed Johnson, don’t you dare!” she screamed as I stepped over the concrete edge and waded in the water, sliding closer and closer to the main spray. Her screams and giggles only egged me on.

“You want to rethink that B minus, Noles? Eighty percent? You sure about that?” I said, freezing in place, just one more step away from the full effects of the waterfall. I looked her in the eyes and watched as she flinched, just for a minute, and then finally did it.

“Okay, maybe I was being a bit unfair. You were really more of an eighty-two,” she said, baiting me.

Our eyes locked, I pushed my lips tight into a disapproving grin and shook my head. “Oh, now you’ve done it,” I said, stepping forward and stopping us underneath the force of the fountain’s shower. Nolan wasn’t mad. Sure, she screamed and smacked at my chest as the freezing water poured over us. But my playfulness never rattled her. If anything, it had the opposite effect, which I was counting on as she reached around my neck and pulled my head to hers for a forceful kiss. Her hands grabbed at my soaked T-shirt, pulling me closer. I let her body slide from my arms so I could wrap my fingers through her hair. It was a good thing Trig and Sarah reminded us we were in public.

“God, you two. It’s bad enough that I don’t have a boyfriend, but do I really have to be the uncomfortable third wheel on our way to the bars, too?” Sarah broke us up.

“Sorry, Sar. I get carried away, what can I say,” I said, grinning.

“Yeah, yeah,” she said, reaching for Nolan’s hand to help her climb over the edge of the fountain. But I wasn’t about to let her go. I grabbed her back in my arms and dunked her once more, pushing my forehead to hers as she slid her hair back out of her eyes and blinked the beaded water from her lashes, laughing. I swung her back and forth in my arms as I carried her back to the dry side, the tips of our noses touching and my lips tingling just watching her bite her lower lip. Unable to take it, I had to kiss her once more, the soft and slow kind I did when I forgot others were watching—or when I wanted everyone to know she was mine. And she was…she had my entire heart.

We dripped dry during the rest of our walk to the dorms. Sarah and Noles changed in our bathroom while Trig and I got ready in our room. I hung our wet clothes over the backs of our desk chairs as Trig answered the door to let Amy in. He grabbed his wallet, and then the two of them headed out. I promised to catch up with them later.

Sarah and Nolan finally left the bathroom after about 25 minutes. I couldn’t tell for sure, but something seemed off—more than once tonight I had noticed the two of them glaring at one another, almost as if Sarah was urging Nolan to do something. I was pretty sure Sarah knew about my draft decision, and I sort of figured Nolan would talk to her about it. But something told me this was more than just the draft.

I shook it from my mind when Nolan stepped out in a pair of strappy red heels, faded jeans and a tight red top—clearly an outfit of Sarah’s design, but one I was deeply thankful for.

“Uhhhh, dammnnnnn,” I said, reaching for her back pocket and pulling her close to claim her right away.

Her giggle was nervous. As I wrapped my arms around her and kissed at her neck, I felt her tense a little. It was almost…hesitation? Something was definitely off. But I needed to wait for Sarah to be out of the picture for that talk. So in the meantime, I’d just enjoy the damn sexy view.

Nolan

So, it turns out there really isn’t an easy segue into a conversation with your boyfriend about being knocked up. I spent the entire drive to Tucson listening to Sarah preach to me about what I needed to do. “You HAVE to tell him,” she said, a million times, in a million ways.

But why did I have to tell him now? I mean, I know. I have to tell him. But it didn’t have to be tonight. I just wanted to enjoy our blissful innocence for a little bit longer. And I didn’t want to yank everything out from under him yet, either. I wanted to wait, just to make sure. Wait for my appointment, perhaps. I’d spent the last 24 hours sick and bouncing between reality and my make-believe world where my problems went away. And now I was consumed with finding a way to hide the anxiety on my face. The last thing I needed was Sarah’s constant bringing-it-back-to-the-forefront.