Glancing at all of her letters, each with a sticky note listing the tuition costs, acceptance rates, and living expense costs, her heart beat faster. Those sticky notes didn’t mean a thing to her when all she’d been hoping for was to find an acceptance letter to Berkeley. She was praying for the only option that would keep her close to Braxton.
Her heart pounded harder in her chest, a light sweat forming under her hairline at the back of her neck. She said another prayer to the man above. But as she got closer to the last letters, she began to panic. Just when she believed no one was looking out for her, she found her acceptance letter to Berkeley. She didn’t remember receiving it, but she guessed presumably that was what happened when you received eight letters: you tended to forget who’d offered you what.
She clutched the letter to her chest, ready to rejoice until her inner self spoke to her.
You would think you’d had enough rejection from Braxton to last your whole life. Are you sure you want to do this to yourself? You’ll have no one there for you when he rejects you again.
She contemplated the thought, but her heart wanted what it wanted. And Braxton would always take precedence over her own happiness.
Raising her acceptance letter in the air, Paisley joyfully exclaimed, “I could do Berkeley too. The tuition costs are a little higher than UCLA, but the living costs are slightly lower so it would even itself out.” She tried to justify out loud the reason why she would change her mind and select Berkeley after making the decision to attend UCLA. “Then we would all be together again.”
“Christ, Paisley.” Paxton shook his head at his sister. “You can’t change your mind and go to Berkeley.” He glared at Braxton, silently begging for support. “Right, Brax? She can’t just change her mind like that.”
Braxton shrugged one shoulder and looked between the siblings, then smiled. “I guess she can do whatever she wants. She’s got a mind of her own.”
Paxton’s fist flew through the air and landed right square in the middle of Braxton’s shoulder. “Dude, you realize what you’re saying? She’ll be at the same school you are. You’ll never get away from her then. She’ll be pestering you all the time. You thought your mom would kill your sex life. Bro, what do you think my sister will do for it?”
Paisley didn’t wait to hear Braxton’s response. She’d fall apart if he changed his mind and declared he’d made a mistake and it would be better if she didn’t go. Acceptance letter in hand, she ran out of the room, toward the living area. “Mom, Dad,” she called out as she crossed the tile floor. “I’ve changed my mind. I want to go to Berkeley.”
Her dad pointed the remote toward the television, muting the sound. “Did you say Berkeley?”
“Yes, I want to go to Berkeley. It’s only an hour from Paxton and this way, when you visit, you can see us both at the same time. You won’t have to pick which one of us you want to see each month.”
Her parents looked at each other, a silent conversation going on between the two of them. Her father set the remote on the coffee table, then turned on the sofa, placing one leg on the cushion as he faced his overly excited daughter. “Berkeley?” He scratched the day-old scruff on his chin. “Isn’t Braxton going to Berkeley?” He looked at his wife briefly, the comment more of a statement than a question.
Paisley’s mother’s eyes met her daughter’s. She hoped her mom could tell she was pleading for her to come to her defense.
“Yes, I do believe you are right, honey. Braxton is going to Berkeley. Won’t it be nice to know that there’s someone there to watch out for our little girl?”
Paisley’s rigid posture relaxed, and she breathed out a sigh of relief. How lucky she was that her Mom always had her back.
She never had to keep how she felt about Braxton a secret—her mother had always been her biggest champion when it came to the boy next door. Paisley wondered if that was why she’d clung to the notion that the two of them would one day be a couple. If Mom said it was going to happen, it was, because moms were always right.
Chapter 3 College Sophomore Year
It was crowded at the Triple Rock. Paisley spotted one open table on the patio. She reached for Alissa’s hand and pulled her through the crowd, hoping to snag it before someone else did.
Alissa was one of her classmates. She’d transferred from Columbia to Berkeley last year, mid-third semester. Her family had moved from New York to California to take care of her grandmother.
It wasn’t long after they’d moved, and she didn’t want to be alone in New York City. Paisley and she didn’t immediately hit it off, but over time they found that they had something in common. Both of them loved watching The Blacklist. Thursday nights, Alissa would head to Paisley’s, they’d turn their phones off so they wouldn’t get interrupted, and they would binge on junk food for an hour while they tuned out the world and watched the show.
Alissa’s Irish heritage graced her with fire engine red hair and green eyes the color of emeralds. Every male in class drooled whenever she was around. The little boys in their pants wanted to come out and play, but Alissa had no interest in their games.
Braxton walked into The Rock with a couple of his friends. Paisley spotted him the minute he bellied up to the bar. With a beer in his hand and his back pressed against the aged wood, he spoke animatedly with his buddies. Paisley was instantly obsessed, completely engrossed in every movement he made.
“Earth to Paisley.” Alissa snapped her fingers in front of her friend’s face. “Did
