“I’m going to order lunch now. I’ll go get your burrito,” Lexy said, gazing at me with a questioning look.

“That’s okay.” I held up my hand to stop her. “I can go order one.”

“I’m not working so you can’t get what you want,” Lexy informed. “I know the workers.”

“Good point,” I said, looking at Alex. She gave me a huge smile.

“I’m going with Lexy so I can order mine, too.”

I smiled with a nod. Alex had waited for me before ordering her lunch. That was the way she was.

“I’ll go with you guys.” Dean stood up, turned to Seth. “I’ll get your burrito, too. You can keep Elijah company.” Dean followed behind them.

“Thanks,” Seth said.

“Did you get into UC Berkeley Graduate Business School?” Seth asked, slurping his drink through a straw.

“I did,” I nodded. “How about you?”

“Me too,” Seth grinned. “But you’re not going, right?” There was a hint of disappointment in his tone. Though he tried to hide it, he couldn’t. I knew him too well.

“I can’t leave Alex. I got into Grad school here, too. It’s good enough. Jimmy will be happy you’re joining him soon. Did you tell him?”

“I did.” Seth paused. “He’s excited, but it would have been great if we were all together again in one place.”

“I know. It would have been cool, but—”

“I know,” Seth nodded with a sigh. “The only reason Jimmy and I would understand.”

“Hey.”

Seth looked at me.

“I’m here, your parents are here; we can visit. You’ll come down to see them, won’t you?”

“True. Speaking of which, my parents want to invite you and Alex over for dinner this weekend.”

“Sure, I’ll ask Alex, but I’m not sure if it was this weekend or next weekend that we are supposed to meet up with her mom and stepdad.” I changed the subject. I had brought this subject up before, but I needed to bring it up again. Clearing my throat, I found my courage. “I need to pay your dad for the damages to the bike.”

Seth looked at me with a frown. “I already told you for like the millionth time. The bike wasn’t that badly damaged, but I’m beginning to think your brain was.” Seth let out a chuckle, trying to steer away from the topic.

I never got to see the damage to the bike. Seth told me many times before that it just needed a new handlebar, new grips, and some paint, but for some reason, I didn’t believe him. His dad was kind enough to allow me to borrow his car to race. Though I would give him a very small percentage of my winnings for the loan, he was always generous, which was the reason I felt guilty. Sometimes he even gave me guidance like a father. Our conversation was cut short when Dean and the girls came back with our lunches.

“Here you go.” Alex placed my lunch in front of me.

“Thank you.” I gave her a wink.

Her beautiful blue eyes radiated as she bit her bottom lip with a coy smile. I knew that wink would cause all sorts of sensations to flutter through her, which was naturally the reason why I did it. There was never a doubt in my mind. I would never leave Alex even after I saw the acceptance letter from Berkeley. There was no way I could leave her behind. I couldn’t even go a day without seeing her. How was I supposed to make it through a week without her? Living together had its perks, for sure. We were almost like an old married couple.

Nolan and his group walked in and got in line. After buying their lunches, they sat at the opposite end of the dining hall. Choosing to ignore them, I continued to focus on the small talk at our table, but it didn’t last long. Nolan strutted over. Seth and Dean released a short sigh and Lexy rolled her eyes.

“You ready for the next race?” Nolan didn’t bother to let me answer, he just continued speaking as his eyes shifted to my cast. “Isn’t it too bad that you can’t? I guess I’ll win by default.”

“You can’t beat me when I’m not even in the race, shit-face,” I retorted. He was pissing me off, interrupting our lunch just to gloat. His face turned red. I guess he didn’t like his new name. “I’ve retired. I’m not racing anymore.” I craned my neck to Alex. She looked very pleased with my answer. I could also tell she was holding in her laugher. I bet she liked Nolan’s new name.

“What do you mean?” Nolan asked, raising his brows in confusion.

“I’m graduating in a couple months. I have bigger and better things to do.” I looked at Alex when I said those words. Her eyes were gleaming. I probably looked as if cupid had struck me with his arrow, but I didn’t care. Alex meant the world to me. I would tame my ego and swallow my pride for her.

Nolan started laughing, really laughing. He was laughing so hard that the echoes of it bounced off the walls. “You’re shittin’ me.” When I didn’t respond, he spoke again. “You’re serious? You’ve been doing this for a couple of years and suddenly you want to stop.” He shifted his eyes to Alex and pointed at her. “Because of her?” His tone was degrading toward Alex, and I didn’t like that at all.

I got up so fast, my chair slid out from under me. The unsteady balance from my cast almost caused me to fall backward, but I didn’t care if I fell. Seth was right beside me, ready to catch me. “Don’t f**king point at her,” I seethed, slapping his hand away.