Page 70 of All That Glitters

He told me he’s in love with me.

I steal a glance at Jameson, to find him doing the same to me.

“What are you thinking about?” he asks as we near the doors to the building.

“How everything is different, yet the same,” I reply honestly. “We’re still us, but …”

“More,” Jameson supplies.

I nod in agreement. He opens the door for me, and I scan the lobby for anyone we might know. No one stands out right away.

“It’s a good thing.” I reassure him as we make our way to the elevators. “Just a lot to process.”

“I understand,” he says, and squeezes me to his side.

“There’s also the whole telling-my-friends aspect. I think they might pass out.” I laugh. “I went from telling them you’re my enemy, to considering you as a friend again, and now this. They’re going to get whiplash.”

Or maybe they’ll say they’ve been waiting for this all along. I suspect at least Jasmine will, given her past words on the subject.

The elevator dings, and after a few girls file out, we get on alone. I press the number five.

“Your enemy, huh?” Jameson asks.

I give him a wary look. “You had a nickname and everything.”

His dark brows rise. “What was it?”

I bury my face in his chest and mumble, “The Traitor.”

“Ouch,” he says with a half laugh. “I guess I deserved that. Do you think your roommates will approve of us, or will they be apprehensive because of what I did?”

I pull back to look up at him. Concern lines his features. If I know Jameson—and I do—he’s going to carry the guilt of the internship for much longer than he should. To him, it probably looks as though I needed all these months to muster up the ability to forgive him. In reality, I think I forgave him much faster, but the idea of heartbreak at his hands kept me from reconciliation.

“I think they’ll be happy for me. Jasmine especially will be ecstatic. I think she’s been secretly rooting for this all along.”

“I hope so, because I’m not groveling for anyone but you,” he says, making me laugh.

The elevator dings, then opens onto the fifth floor.

“I wouldn’t want you to.”

We walk down the thankfully empty hallway, all the way to unit 504. I put my back to the door, facing him.

“I’ll see you in class tomorrow?” I ask, and try not to cringe at the awkward question.

My mind tries to send me into a spiral over how things wouldn’t be this way if we were just friends, but I don’t let myself go there.

This is good, I coach myself. We’re allowed to have good things.

“Would you want to meet for coffee before class?” he asks.

I smile. “I would love that.”

He returns my smile, then bends down to give me a gentle kiss.

“I love you, Goldie,” he whispers against my lips.

“Can I say I love you, too? Even though it’s not the same kind of love as yours yet?” I ask, hoping it won’t hurt him to do so.