Chapter 19
Luciana and Vivian had just finished a CAD drafting class at noon and were walking side by side toward the cafeteria.
Vivian had been oddly quiet the whole time. She kept her head down, her fingers clenched around her phone. The usual spark in her presence was nowhere to be found.
Luciana had noticed something was off since morning. “Vivian,
going on?”
Vivian lifted her eyes, red–rimmed and shimmering with tears. “I got into a fight with Nigel. He’s not talking to me.
”
Luciana knew all about them. Vivian and Nigel had been dating since freshman year. That made it two solid years. They had fought plenty of times before, but Nigel always came around within a day to make up.
“How long has it been since he replied?”
Vivian sniffled. “Four hours.”
Luciana blinked. The words she had prepared to comfort Vivian suddenly felt ridiculous. She swallowed them down with effort.
“He’s a senior, right? He’s probably busy job–hunting. Don’t stress about it. Give it until tonight. He’ll reach out.”
Vivian let out a deep sigh and mumbled, “Luciana… The truth is… I’ve never actually slept with him.”
Luciana wasn’t sure where that came from, but she blinked her big eyes and waited patiently for Vivian to go on.
Vivian’s voice softened in a way that felt rare. “He’s brought it up a few times, but I’ve always said no. I want to wait until we’re married. Now, I’m wondering if I’m being too uptight. Maybe I should’ve said yes.”
Luciana thought for a moment before replying, “That’s not something anyone else can answer for you. Everyone sees things differently. Some are more open, some more traditional. What matters is what you feel comfortable with. Relationships are personal, and you’re the one in it.” Vivian looked at her seriously. “If it were you, would you say yes?”
Luciana gave a small, self–deprecating smile. “I’ve never had that kind of opportunity. I don’t even have a boyfriend.”
The thought of losing her job last night still weighed on her, and the fact that she’d have to start job hunting again today gave her a headache. It felt like her energy had been sucked dry–like everything inside her was collapsing inward.
Vivian asked, “Have you ever liked someone?”
The question hit Luciana straight in the chest. Her heart sizzled with the memory. She didn’t want to lie to her best friend, so she nodded. “Yeah. Back in high school, I had a crush on this guy. But he didn’t like me. I was never good enough for him.”
Vivian gawked at her. “You’re seriously telling me someone didn’t like you? You’re gorgeous.”
Luciana shook her head softly. “Looks don’t guarantee anything in this world,” she said with a faint smile, the dimples on her cheeks barely visible. “And back in high school, I wore glasses, looked nerdy, and didn’t know how to dress. I wasn’t exactly stunning.”
She paused, then added quietly as if saying it out loud helped her let it go,
“The difference between us was just… too big. I gave up.”
Vivian looked at Luciana’s profile, so delicate and pretty. Her fair skin seemed almost translucent under the sunlight. She wanted to say something to comfort Luciana, but the words just wouldn’t come.
For a moment, she completely forgot she was even mad at Nigel. All she could think about was the heaviness in Luciana’s voice and how much it stung to hear.
Dappled sunlight filtered through the trees, casting patches of light and shadow along the sidewalk. The two women walked in silence, shoulder to shoulder.
Suddenly, the roar of an engine pierced through the quiet noon air, rumbling louder with every second. The calm of the quiet noon at Jorendale University was broken by the deafening growl of a sports car, ripping through the silence like a scream.
They both paused and turned toward the sound, just in time to see a bright red sports car barreling straight toward t
