Richie Shepard was not an expert at romance.

He wasn’t like Charlie—he didn’t see appeal in falling in love and he didn’t believe in soulmates. There was no ‘right person, wrong time’—and if there were, it was unbeknownst to him. He went about his days at Welton with his friends and without anyone in particular to think about.

For the time being, that was perfectly fine for him. That’s what he liked to believe.

And then he saw her at one of the crowded, bellowing house parties Charlie invited him to, leaning against the doorway to the dimly lit kitchen.

She wore small, golden hoops and had dark brown hair with amber streaks that curled lightly at the ends. And she had these big, green, bambi eyes that went wide when she got excited.

Richie talked to her all evening. He drank with her and they sat together outside on the porch while the wind blew past their figures, the draft causing goosebumps to form along her arms. He draped his jacket around her shoulders and listened to her soft, addictive laughter.

And then he went home with Charlie, drunk on something besides alcohol. He never thought he’d see her again; after all, it was just a party—and with that realization, suddenly all the things he hated before finally made sense. All the complaints, all the words he said to his friends to convince them it was fine.

It crumbled right there. Because there she stood, months after their last encounter, outside Welton’s looming architecture with snowflakes caught in her dark hair. The length of it sat neatly over her winter coat.

Richie gulped, watching her from his spot with his friends. They were supposed to be attending a play tonight—one of Buds, one that he helped co-write. One that he’d be acting in, too—which made it a big deal.

Would she be going, too? Richie thought to himself, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed hard. Charlie turned to face him, parting his lips to say something—but he was immediately cut off by the sound of the wooden doors opening, the hinges squeaking loudly at the girl’s entrance.