"Ty?" I twisted my head to look at him. "I almost kneed you in the balls!"

He buried his head in the crook of my neck, shoulders shaking with laughter. The distinct scent that was woodsy and familiar and all Ty surrounded me.

"What're you doing here?" I stuttered, trying to find the right words over the sports fanatics shouting at the TV. "I thought you said that you have a game tomorrow, that you couldn't come tonight? And, I mean, I completely, totally get that, hockey's really important, and I didn't mean to make you feel bad or guilty and like you had to come out, we can go, I'm all good with a night i–"

"Nat." He lifted his head and pinned me with those baby blues.

My heartbeat quickened, pulse thrummed. I sucked in a breath, the sweet but tart taste of my vodka cran still on my lips.

"Yeah, hockey's important." His fingertips skimmed my jawline, awakening every nerve ending. "But you're a priority too."

When he calls you a priority and actually treats you like one... yes. But this was just a fun thing between us. My knee bounced, palms sweaty– a little clammy. I focussed on the stemmed glasses inverted in racks above the bar. Idon'twantaboyfriendIdon'twantaboyfriendIdon'twantabo–

"You good?" Ty interrupted my thoughts, tilting his head and making strong eye contact.

"Huh?" I jumped in my seat, then busied myself with dusting gritty salt from my fingers. I looked down the long wooden bar with local craft beer taps and a selection of international beers. "Mhm, I'm good. Lovely. Perfect."

His eyebrows drew together, but before he could get another word in, Layla burst out in laughter.

"I can't with you two." Layla chuckled, shaking her head. A waitress passed, dressed in a short black skirt and a mini pouch apron holding pens and a notepad.

I turned to face Layla, Ty's arms still wrapped around me. "And you, you knew he was coming?"

"I thought it'd be a cute surprise!" Layla threw her hands up, a grin stretching her lips.

I couldn't help but let a smile take over my face too. "I knew something was up, you were being so weird."

"I never said I was good at surprises." Layla shrugged, a gleam in her eye.

I drained the last of my drink and stood, grabbing Ty's hands. "Now that you're here, let's go dance."

Ty's large, calloused hands were warm in my cold ones. Then, I caught sight of a familiar face walking in the door.

"Oh, Logan, you made it!" I called out and let go of Ty's hands, waving Logan over.

I slipped between Ty and the stool I'd vacated to give Logan a quick hug. Ty's eyes flicked between us.

Warmth spread through my chest as I stood between them. "Logan, meet Ty, Ty meet Logan. Or Sawyer. Tyler Sawyer. Logan Kalua." I leaned back against the stool, my face feeling stretched from all this smiling. Layla, Ty, and Logan were here, and soon Mia and Pablo would be here too! Tonight was gonna be so fun.

Ty did the weird-guy-chin-nod-thing, and Logan did it too.

"Hey, man, nice to meet you. Nat's told me a lot about you." Logan held out a hand, chest puffed out.

My cheeks warmed. I did talk a lot about Ty. Nearby, hot food sizzled as it was brought out straight from the kitchen. The yummy scent of fajita meat and peppers wafted past.

Ty grabbed Logan's outstretched hand and looked at Logan with a sudden focus. "How do you guys know each other?"

"We used to go to summer camp together, and now I have a class with him this semester." I cut in, bouncing lightly in place. "Professor Yousuf's business class. On Tuesdays."

Logan gave me a playful shove. "If you want, I've got embarrassing stories about Nat, embarrassing pictures, embarrassing–"

"And that's my cue to leave and take Ty with me, no embarrassing anything, Logan." I wagged a finger at him with mock sternness. "Logan, this is my friend Layla, and other people are around somewhere, but you could talk to a rock and become rock-buddy-friends with it, so you'll be fine," I said as I tugged Ty away.

Ty's gaze lingered on the bar, where Logan and Layla sat. "You never mentioned him before."

I shrugged, more focused on navigating through the crowd. "It's been such a long time, if it hadn't been for the pro/con list I sent him, I don't think–"

"You had a crush on him?" Ty stopped, head stiffening as I turned back to face him. Somewhere behind me, glass broke, the sound making me flinch. "How many boyfriend pro/con lists did you send out?"

My eyes went up and to the left as I remembered. "Five. Alec, Logan, Pablo, Blake, Colby." I counted them off on my fingers. "But that's all over. It was stupid. I did it to prove I could find a boyfriend, not because I actually wanted to be with any of them."

Ty didn't say anything.

My shoulders tightened as I tried to make out his expression in the dim light.

"We're good, right?" I opened my mouth to speak, paused to collect my thoughts, then continued on. "I don't think I'm ready for anything serious right now, but I like spending time with you. I think you like spending time with me..."

Ty met my gaze, some unreadable emotion in his eyes. "Yeah, we're good."

I strained to hear him over the cacophony of noise, the loudest being a ringing iPhone.

"Nat!" a high voice called out from back over by the door.

I looked over Ty's shoulder, squinting in the darkness. Mia strolled into the bar, Pablo close behind her.

"And, she made it," I told Ty, waving at Mia. "That's my sister."

"Hey, Sawyer!" a guy called out from the other side of the bar.

Ty lifted his hat and ran a hand through his hair. "He's on the team, I should see what he wants."

I nodded, eyes bright as I backed away towards Mia. "Okay, I will drag you out to dance later, so be ready."

He lifted his chin. "Whatever you want, Sunshine."

"Stop calling me that!" I yelled over the din of the music and laughter, fighting laughter of my own.

Ty smirked. "You love it!" he called back as I turned around to hide my smile. Maybe I did love the silly little nickname. But he didn't need to know that.

Stepping lightly, my arms swung as I made my way to where Mia stood, bouncing on her toes.

"Mia, Pablo, hi," I said as Mia pulled me into a hug, her grip strong for such a petite frame.

"This place is so cute! I love it!" Mia gushed, voice bubbly.

I nodded, head bobbing as I watched a bartender pass out drinks and place orders on trays. "Ty's uncle actually owns the place."

"And where is this Sawyer?" Mia rapped her fingers against her jean-clad thigh. "I need to meet him."

I waved a hand. "Oh, he's around."

Mia looped one arm in mine and one with Pablo and pulled us over to the bar. "I don't know about you, but I think it's time for some shots!"

I slipped up onto the empty stool next to her, Pablo down on the other side. A gurgle of foam spit out of a tap attached to a near-empty keg.

She spoke to the bartender, and I skimmed the crowd. Ty, Will, and some other guys were talking over by the booths, beers in hand. Logan, Layla, and Beckett were over at the other end of the bar.

Mia nudged a shot towards me.

Pablo grabbed one, and I did too.

"Cheers to random Thursday nights," he said, brown eyes bright and glossy on Mia.

"Cheers, bitches," Mia called out and threw her head back as all our glasses clashed together.

I tipped the shot back, the vodka burning all the way down.

Going out with a bunch of people was fun, don't get me wrong, but it was also hella tiring– so many people to talk to, so many people to keep up with. I stopped trying to keep track of Mia hours ago though, Pablo could deal with her.

I talked with Beckett about Professor Yousuf's business class (he took it first year and had great tips), told embarrassing stories about Logan (who deserved it and told embarrassing stories about me) and avoided Will (of course, no explanation needed).

But, I still hadn't gotten the chance to be with the one person I really wanted to hang out with– Ty. As riveting as my current conversation with Layla and Logan was, I excused myself to find Ty.

Not by the bar, not by the dance floor, not by the pool tables.

Finally, there his backwards-baseball-cap-wearing head was over by the booths. Raveena stood across from him and placed a hand on Ty's arm.

"Nat!" Ty called out when he caught my gaze.

I squashed the slimy green monster that tried to park itself on my shoulder. Ty wasn't Alec, I trusted him. And Raveena wouldn't try anything either.

But, I still sidled up next to Ty, and he slung an arm around my shoulder.

"Oh, hi!" Raveena said like I magically appeared there.

She tilted her head to the side and paused to examine us. "So, how'd you guys meet?"

My face, neck, and ears went impossibly hot as I cleared my throat and coughed. The Bathroom Incident™️. That I didn't want to think about. At all.

"Well, uh..." I started.

"We met during orientation week." Ty cut in, his arm a warm, comforting weight around my shoulder.

I looked up and frowned at him. We did?

Ty took a deep breath, a cocky smile on his lips. "Nat was standing on one of the tables in the quad, reciting Shakespeare." He paused, a single dimple popping up as he looked down at me. "Well, her drunk version of Shakespeare."

"Really?" I slipped out from under Ty's arm and openly stared at him, having no recollection of this at all.

"Yeah, it was that night with the chips, I had Romeo, and you had Juliet." He cocked his head. "Or no, you had Jay-Z."

"I remember that night!" Raveena cut in, voice jarring.

Ty and I startled. I blinked at Raveena, having totally forgotten her standing there.

Raveena continued on. "I had the Juliet chip, but I didn't want to get up on the table, so Nat did it for me."

Jesus H. Roosevelt Christ!

I completely forgot about that whole night! In my defence, most of orientation week was a blur. Yeah, I did get up on that table. And my drunk ass recited Shakespeare. Then, Ty came over, and Raveena was gone.

My chest tightened as I froze, fighting a flush that undeniably crept across my cheeks. I mentally facepalmed as I remembered.

Did I really have to ask him if it would freeze if he peed on the ice at the rink? And I told him about Outlander! What did I say? Hot Scotsman in a kilt, yes, please.

"So we could've met that night," Raveena said to Ty, drawing me back into the conversation.

"I guess." Ty shrugged.

My brain was still processing my actions from that night at the speed of an Internet Explorer browser tab.

I squinted at Ty. "Was that when I wrote your pro/con list?"

"What was it you said?" His lips curled into a smirk for the second time that night. "I'm hotter than Sebastian something combined with Ryan something and Ian something if that's even humanly possible?"

Raveena nodded slightly while grinning. "Sebastian Stan, Ryan Reynolds, Ian Somerhalder, I see it."

My stomach hardened, and my skin prickled as Raveena looked Ty up and down. Slimy green shoulder monster, go away.

"As much as I enjoyed that stroll down memory lane, I think we need refills," I said, ending the conversation abruptly and going over to the bar, Ty beside me. Sorry, not sorry.

"Natasha!" Mia yelled in my ear as she flung her arms around me as soon as we got to the bar.

My jaw tightened as my lips flattened. I eyed the bottles of booze lining the mirrored wall behind the bar. How much did Mia drink?

"Don't call me that." I frowned at her, extracting myself from her grip and plopping her onto the stool next to Pablo.

Mia pouted at me, and I gave her a look that said, you know why I don't like it, so stop and shush. She gave me a look back that said, you're a party pooper raining on my drunk parade.

I rolled my eyes and shoved my cup of water into her hands. "Drink."

Ty's brow furrowed, and he tried to meet my gaze, but I shook my head and avoided it by sitting on the stool next to Mia.

"So this must be Sawyer! You two are adorable together, I'm so happy for you, Nat." Mia waved around the empty water cup as she spoke. "After that dick, Alec, you deserve a not-dick. Well, you want someone with a literal dick, I think–"

"Mia!" I let out a strangled-sounding laugh, wanting to slap my hand over her mouth. If I could reach her, I probably would.

"You don't want a dick?" She blew out a noisy breath, voice so loud as my stomach dropped. "They're great, especially when they know how to–"

"Ohmysweetgoodness, stop, stop talking right now." I winced, rubbing the back of my neck.

I couldn't look at Ty, but I felt his presence at my back. No, nope, nopeity-nope. Great introduction, Mia. Just great.

"Fine, fine." Mia let out a long exhale. "But you two are cute. You need to come over to my apartment! I went to Ikea! I have lamps! Better lamps than the ones I had with Elijah. Elijah kept the lamps. I liked those lamps." Her shoulders slumped. "I miss those lamps."

Oh crap, not the shoulder slump. And double crap, her chin's trembling. Please don't cry, please don't cry.

"We'll come over!" The words burst out of me. I'd say anything to get her to stop. "And see the new lamps!"

Mia gave a small nod and got distracted by something Pablo said.

I leaned back into Ty. "Am I like this when I'm drunk?"

"No, not at all." He pressed his lips against the crown of my head, giving me a quick kiss.

I looked up at him, his eyes lit with an inner glow. I totally was like Mia when I was drunk.

"You're a bad liar," I laughed but winced at the pain in my lower back. And in my feet. Basically, an ache down to my bones.

"Jesus, my feet are tired. And my back hurts. These stools aren't comfortable." I squirmed in my seat. "I feel like I'm an old lady."

Ty's broad hands moved to my shoulders, where he massaged the knots there. I melted even more into him.

"Ugh, and we never danced!" I continued on my mini tirade. "I'm not drunk, we didn't dance once, and I talked all night. With people who weren't even you. So much for a wild night out."

Ty spun me around to face him. "You wanna get out of here?"

I chewed my bottom lip. "Is it horrible that I do?"

"Nope, let's go."

Ty took my hand in his, and I followed him, hyper-aware of the silly grin on my face. I didn't know what I was feeling, and I didn't know if I could trust whatever the heck I felt. Last time I thought I felt that je ne sais quoi, I crashed and burned. Was it a good burn I felt for Ty? Or would this just implode too? I couldn't commit to something serious. I couldn't trust this fragile bubble of I don't know what in my chest, but, boy, did I want to. Gosh darn it, I wanted to.

I HAD SO MUCH FUN WRITING THIS CHAPTER EEEEEK and I'm so excitednervous to hear what you think of it!! And read your comments!!! (whoa, three exclamation marks, who am I?!?!)

Soooo who's your fave character so far in JCM? We had a bunch of characters in this chapter– Nat, Layla, Ty, Raveena, Logan, Will, Beckett, and I feel like I'm forgetting someone but okay

Oh and if you read The Night We Met, whaddya think of this chapter?

If you're like, what the heck is The Night We Met, it's a scene from Ty's POV of the night he met Nat! Become a VIP Reader (on www.nikkipiercebooks.com) to get TNWM delivered right to your inbox (completely free btw)!

Also, I have a new obsession– TikTok. I love it, I love making aesthetics. So come hang out on there with me, I'm @NikkiPierceBooks on there too. If you didn't know, Wattpad makes it super easy to highlight a line and share it as a quote. If you ever post anything Summit University-related, make sure you tag me so I can see! Or use #JustPressSend or #JustCallMe or some other fun hashtag that I can't think of right now 'cause my brain is dead. 

Last, but mostestest importantly, press that lil star to vote if you liked this all over the place experience of a chapter hahaha

P.S. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR 200K READS ON JPS I'M FREAKING OUT ASDJKFLOSUROSFVFOI

If you haven't entered the giveaway on the last chapter of JPS, it's open till June 1st 2021, so go check it out!!