Boyfriend?

It's just ... Sebastian is my anchor. Without him I drift around and don't know where I belong. He is always by my side in my ideas about the future. I don't want to lose him. ”It must sound silly and cheesy to his ears, but it's the truth. I don't know what it's like to be without Sebastian anymore. He helped me escape my past and it has been just him and me ever since.

"It ..." I pause when I see an all too familiar figure in the corner of my eye. Immediately my heart is racing. "There he is," I breath barely audibly, and stare past Jake's shoulder. Seeing Sebastian again after almost a week is like a rain shower on a scorching summer day. My longing overwhelms me with a vehemence that makes me suck in a sharp breath.

Jake seems to understand what's going on right away because he looks over his shoulder inconspicuously before turning his attention back to me. "Okay, let's find out if it's worth it."

These words are followed by a look that promptly pulls me out of the rain shower and plunges me into a torrent of heat. I have absolutely no idea how Jake does it, but all of a sudden I feel like the only woman in the whole wide world. He pulls me under his spell and holds me in it. The thoughts in my head are whirling around and making me dizzy. 

Jake leans forward so far that it should look like we're trying to get closer to outsiders. Because without consciously controlling it, I imitate it and reduce the distance between it and me.

"You have beautiful eyes." Shit. Did I just think or say it out loud?

His smile reveals that my mouth must have developed a life of its own. "Thank you. And you are right."

"Hm?"

“Don't look, but your man is staring at us all the time. He doesn't like that I'm sitting here with you. "

I am suddenly thrown back into reality and have to blink several times. Sebastian. Have I really forgotten what this is about for a moment?

"Are you sure?" I ask Jake softly, sorting out the mess inside by leaning away from him again.

"Trust me. He's just wondering whether you've already got over him and found a new one so quickly. "

"He knows me and knows that I would never do something like that," I counter.

“It could be. But he doesn't know me and doesn't know what's going on in my head. ”His grin widens, and somehow it shoots right into my stomach, where an inappropriately tugging occurs. “I'm Jake, the nation's rogue, and I'm going after his girl. He definitely doesn't like that. " 

"So ... will our plan work?" I ask hesitantly. I should be happy about that, but something else is mixing up in the hope of winning Sebastian back. I can't name it exactly, but it sounds an alarm bell in me.

“Could be good. We will find out. But that's enough for today, otherwise it won't be credible. ”Jake picks up his plate and stands up. "I'll see you." With a wink he turns and leaves. 

I look after him, wondering if I am going insane because I feel something like regret.

"Evelyn." 

My head jerks to one side when Sebastian suddenly appears next to me and speaks to me. I'm hopelessly overwhelmed, don't know whether to greet him happily or run away. And then I realize that he called me by my full name, not Evy or Sweetheart. A sign that he's already finished with me ...?

I breathe past the pain in my chest. "Hello. You weren't in the lecture earlier. ”I try not to sound accusatory but rather neutral. "Everything okay?" 

"Uh, yes." He looks at the now empty chair in front of me and is probably wondering whether to sit down. "I had an interview."

"Oh ..." I don't remember him mentioning any of this before we split up. “I thought you already had an acceptance.” At least that's my last stand of things.

“Yeah, I've decided on something else after all.” I expect him to mention something about the new position he applied for, but suddenly he changes the subject. "Was that Claire's boyfriend?"

It takes me a moment to realize he's talking about Jake. Hope in me begins to flutter slightly. "Yes, your best friend."

"And what did he want from you?"

Is there jealousy in his voice? I suppress a smile. "He's helping me with my thesis," I cheat, and hope my cheeks don't glow red, even though they feel very warm.

"Aren't you finished yet?"

As well as. “I'm not entirely satisfied with what I've written, so I'm revising it now. And Jake knows his stuff. ”Inwardly, I pray that Sebastian doesn't ask what Jake is studying, because I can't stand lying any longer. I'm a lousy liar and he should be able to read it right off my nose. But Sebastian doesn't look at me anymore, but at his watch. 

"Then I have to go on." He looks over his shoulder at his friends with whom he came to the cafeteria. "So, see you."