Chapter 15 A bitter laugh echoed in my mind , Tanner probably assumed his little " reminders " would send me scrambling to check my application . He expected me to discover his switch and immediately change mine to Georgia Tech like some lovesick puppy . But he was too proud - or too cowardly - to just come clean . Why would he ? Actually telling me he'd changed his application would mean explaining himself to his " needy " childhood friend . God , what a burden that would be . Good thing I'd already made my choice . No more following in his shadow . I glanced over at Tanner , completely absorbed in helping Harper with her application , and grabbed Joy's arm . " Let's get out of here . " I was calling an Uber when Joy , reading my mood like an open book , dragged me to her friend's birthday party instead . " You need a distraction , " she insisted , and honestly , she wasn't wrong . After dinner , the group hauled us to some trendy new bar downtown . Of course . Because tonight couldn't get any worse . Tanner's crew had claimed the same venue . With overlapping friend groups , we inevitably got merged into one massive private room . Tanner's face went weird when he spotted me , but he kept his mouth shut . No acknowledgment , no eye contact . Fine by me . I could play the invisible game too . On my way to the bathroom , I caught fragments of conversation from around the corner - Tanner's voice mixing with someone else's . " Dude , just tell her straight up . She's gonna be stuck at MIT alone while you're off playing hero in Atlanta . " Tanner's response made my blood run cold : " Relax , I dropped like a million hints today . " " She's probably already switched her application . The attitude is just because I didn't run it by her first . " My hands clenched into fists . Before I could process what I'd heard , both guys rounded the corner . Tanner's eyes found mine instantly . He jerked his head at his friend - get lost - and backed me against the wall in one smooth motion . " Drielle . We're talking . Now . " I rolled my eyes hard enough to see my brain . " Pass . " I pivoted to leave , but his hand shot out , yanking me back into the corner . The wall was cold against my shoulders . Alcohol radiated off him in waves - whiskey and that stupid expensive cologne he'd started wearing senior year . I turned my face away , refusing to breathe him in . We stared each other down for what felt like forever before he cracked , that infuriating smirk tugging at his lips : " Still throwing a tantrum ? I was gonna text you about tonight , but someone went nuclear and blocked me . " " Then you pissed me off so bad in class I forgot to mention it . " 12.8 % Chapter 15 " Come on , babe . Drop the attitude - I can't even figure out what crawled up your ass today . " The casual endearment hit like a slap . Babe . Like nothing had changed . " Oh , and you did double check your application , right ? " My jaw locked . Every cell in my body screamed to unleash eighteen years of frustration , but I kept my mouth shut and my eyes on the floor . The silence stretched between us like a loaded gun . Just as he opened his mouth again , Harper's voice sliced through the tension : " Tanner ! Connor's doing a round of shots and - oh my god , sorry ! Am I interrupting something ? " I swear that girl had a GPS tracker on him . Every . Single . Time . But I was done with this soap opera . While Tanner's attention shifted , I ducked under his arm and bolted . Harper's manicured fingers locked around my wrist before I could escape .