Page 13 of Catching Feelings

“Hey, whose girlfriend are you calling a grinch?” Will jogs over to sling an arm around Kara’s shoulders and plant a kiss on her forehead.

“The one who’s crushing my artistic vision!” I cry.

“Excuse me for reminding you about a budget.” Kara examines her freshly gel-manicured nails. “So we can continue to have a homecoming dance?”

“And pay your resident crafter,” Harper chimes in. She’s been bent over her phone—either texting Dawson or checking on her website stats—but of course she pipes up just in time to defend her business interests. Gotta love that girl.

“Don’t worry, you’re getting your cut! We’re on track, right, Kara?”

She nods. “No thanks to your dreams of Swarovski crystals. But yeah. Homecoming is going to be a bitch to fundraise for if we want to top last year’s decorations, but the pep rally is almost set.”

I nod, making a mental note to prioritize homecoming prep for the rest of the week. I’m getting the prickling suspicion this fall is going to be even more than I bargained for, but that’s nothing a few to-do lists can’t handle. “Excellent.”

“The team’s gonna be good this year,” Will says. “Definitely worth celebrating. But we’d be nothing without y’all.”

“We know,” we chorus.

He grins, giving Kara a sweet, quick kiss goodbye before jogging off to rejoin the guys.

She watches him go with a slightly unfocused look in her eyes before turning back and bumping my shoulder with a smile. “You really are a force of nature.”

The praise means more coming from her than anyone else—last year she’d had to absorb my whole checklist in order to pull off prom. After Dad had moved out, I’d barely been able to think straight, to get through my finals without failing my classes.

That’s not going to happen again this year. Only meticulous list-keeping, a series of successful Spirit Committee events, and a flawless record to make me a shoo-in for Michigan—where I’ll thrive on their spirited campus and figure out exactly what the best use of my talents will be next. (HR? Marketing? Politics? The options are endless.)

“Speaking of homecoming.” Naomi clears her throat, holding up her phone. “What do we all know about Jenna’s breakup? Is she recovered yet?”

“Jenna goes through girls like gum,” Priya mutters. “Chews ’em up, spits ’em out.”

“Well, I’m not moving in yet.” Naomi makes a face. “But I’ll add her to my potential date spreadsheet if you think she’ll have rebounded in time.”

Kara laughs. “I think you could make her rebound in time.”

Naomi pauses thoughtfully, then smiles and begins tapping something out on her phone. “You’ve never been so right. What are you thinking, Sabrina? Have someone picked out yet?”

“That makes it sound like we’re shopping.” I roll my eyes good-naturedly, only half listening. Too busy checking down my list. “And besides, I already told you. Too much planning to do. I don’t need a date.”

“Mm-hmm. You ever check out that therapist I recommended?” Kara asks. Her voice is light, gentle. She’s been in therapy off and on since her mom died when she was little and swears it’s helped her work through everything much more effectively than she ever could on her own. I know she thinks everything with my parents last spring needs some serious unpacking, and she’s right, but I’m just… a little overwhelmed right now.

“Not yet. But it’s on my list.” I wave my notebook in the air, and everyone’s eyes follow the pages thick with receipts and sticky notes.

Kara frowns slightly. “Just don’t decide homecoming’s more important than your attachment style, okay?”

I shrug, uncomfortable under this kind of scrutiny. I know it’s loving—know my friends only want to be sure I don’t hold myself back from being happy—but I can take care of myself. “Sure, sure. But it’s not like it’s urgent, you know? This is not the year to open that can of worms. There’s so much to do, and all of it is more important than losing myself in some guy.” I make an exaggerated face, and Priya snorts affirmingly, right on cue. Good.

Kara gives me one last long look. I can see the exact moment when she decides to let it go—for now. “Well, make sure you put some fun on your to-do list too.” She does a little shimmy. “This year is going to be over before we know it, and I want to enjoy every minute of it. It’s Kara’s year of letting go.”

I shoot her a dubious look. “Does that letting go include the budget? Because—”

“Absolutely not.”

“—I’m just saying, if we get a machine, we can make our own balloon arches—”

“And I already told you we’re getting close to maxing out!”

“Fine!” I throw up my hands, but I can’t help smiling. Spirit Committee arguments are the only kind I enjoy. “Naomi, did you finish the new-student buddy program in between social media stalking sessions?” Loath though I am to admit it, I needed to delegate the finalizing of the buddy lists. One too many projects for me to manage them all myself.

“I can multitask.” Naomi sticks out her tongue and taps over to a spreadsheet. “I assigned myself to Georgie from Colorado, Kara has Lee from Florida—Michigan winter’s going to be an adjustment, yikes—and Sabrina, you’re with Tyler from Brownsville.”