Page 15 of The Long Way Home
She taps her bottle against mine, the metal clinking softly. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“Any plans to rush a sorority, join any clubs… You know all that freshman-year propaganda?”
She snorts, shaking her head. “I’m thinking survive chemistry and don’t accidentally sign up for a cult.”
The corner of my mouth twitches up.
“So, no sororities then?”
“Hard pass.” She leans back too, eyes flicking to me. “What about you? Did you dodge all the freshman propaganda when you started here?”
“Absolutely.” I grin. “Not big on anything that requires forced social interaction.”
“Oh, then you must be pissed at Josh.”
I raise a brow. “Why?”
She gestures between us with a small tilt of her hand, then nods toward the grill where Josh and Margo are not even hiding the flirting.
“Oh. Right,” I say, half a laugh slipping out. “Guess he did force this social interaction. But I don’t mind this.”
Josh glances our way, trying to read her face from twenty feet away. I give him a lazy nod, then take another sip.
“So,” Rachel says, angling her body a little more towards me, “what’s your major, Rhett? Or are you on the same track as Josh—professional tailgater?”
I grin. “Public health.”
Her eyebrow lifts. “Really? Didn’t expect that from a guy like you.”
I let out a laugh. “You say that like I just told you I’m majoring in interpretive dance.”
“No, I just… I don’t know. You give off more business-major energy. Or maybe undecided with confidence.”
“Wow. Brutal,” I say, shaking my head. “Kinda offended, Rach.”
“You’ll survive.”
I brace for the conversation to stall, maybe die right there, but she keeps going. “Why’d you pick Public Health?”
“I don’t know. I like the idea of making myself useful.”
Rachel tilts her head, studying me with that careful, measuring curiosity. “Useful how?”
Her tone isn’t mocking this time; it’s genuine, almost soft. It throws me for a second.
“I haven’t figured that part out yet,” I admit, shrugging. “I just know I want to be someone people can count on. Do something that actually matters.”
“Well, that’s unexpectedly noble.”
“I try to keep the bar confusingly high.”
Rachel laughs, “Do you always talk like that?”
“Like what?”
“Like you’re messing with me, but also kind of serious.”
I grin. “I like being honest. Most people don’t appreciate bluntness, so I’ve learned to wrap it in humor. Makes the medicine go down easier. What about you? What’s your grand plan?”
