Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 76710 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76710 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Jesse’s head whips up at that last part, and Lo laughs, holding out her hand, showing off a dainty gold band with a single diamond.
“Oh my God.” I laugh. “Congratulations!” I give Lo a big hug and she squeezes me back, smiling like a lunatic. I hug Dare next who gives me more of a shoulder pat, but even he looks thrilled. Well, for him, anyway.
“Jess?” Lo questions, a nervous lilt to her voice.
He gives a tight smile, standing to give Dare that handshake slash hug thing guys do, and then he’s moving toward Lo, hugging her around her shoulders as her arms circle his waist. “I’m happy for you,” he says—his tone sincere but somehow sad—before placing a kiss to the top of her head.
He pulls away, sliding a hand through his disheveled hair. “I gotta take a piss.”
Dare and Lo exchange looks as he turns for the door.
The bubble has popped.
The awkward meter rises to an all-time high as I stand here in my bathing suit, not having the first clue what to say.
“I’ll talk to him after he has a chance to digest the news,” Lo says.
“Congratulations,” I say again. “I’m going to put some clothes on.”
And by put some clothes on, I mean find Jess.
* * *
MY SISTER GOT MARRIED. MY sister got married without me there. I meant it when I said I was happy for her, but I won’t say it feels good to know she didn’t want me involved. It’s just another reminder that you can’t ever go back to the way things were. Lo’s married and going back to school. Dare’s got his shop. Allie’s got her music. Everyone’s reaching their goals and dreams, and I’m over here just…drifting with no real direction. No real purpose.
“You okay?” Allie’s soft voice asks from the doorway of the bathroom. Hands braced on the edge of the sink, I meet her eyes in the reflection of the mirror. She’s thrown a baggy T-shirt over her swimming suit, hair still up in a lopsided ponytail, but she looks fucking beautiful.
“Fine,” I clip out, hating that I sound like an asshole when Allie didn’t do a damn thing to deserve it.
She pushes off the doorframe, making her way toward me. Her arms wrap around my middle, palms flattening against my stomach, cheek pressing against my back. I squeeze my eyes shut, allowing her touch to calm the storm inside me.
I shouldn’t have taken her virginity, but when she offered it up on a fucking silver platter, I was too goddamn weak to walk away. This whole week, I ignored my obligations and allowed myself to pretend with Allie. I allowed myself to pretend my life wasn’t a shit show, and I allowed myself to feel what it might be like to really be with her.
But now, the voicemails are piling up. Spring Break is over. Dare and Lo are home, and Allie’s made it more than clear she doesn’t want to be seen with a fuck-up like me in public.
“I have to go out of town,” I say, feeling her tense behind me. “Have some stuff to take care of.”
“Are you ever going to tell me where you go?” she asks, letting go of me. I spin around, lifting her up before setting her on the counter, standing between her knees.
“It’s not for you to worry about.” I rub the outsides of her thighs, unable to stop touching her.
She scowls at me, her lips twisting, making her dimple more prominent on the right side. “When will you be back?”
“Couple days.” I shrug.
She pushes off the counter, her pussy rubbing against my cock as she slides down my body before stepping away. I groan and her lips tip up in a slow smile, knowing exactly what she’s doing to me. She’s trying to make it hard to leave, and it’s working. “Guess I’ll see you then.”
Brat.
* * *
“ARE YOU NERVOUS?” GARRETT ASKS, taking a stack of flyers from me. I’ve spent the whole week getting everything in order for tomorrow night, and now, all that’s left to do is spread the word and hope like hell everything runs smoothly. Garrett’s going to tell his crowd, Halston’s going to tell the dorms and her friends who like to party, and I plan to spam every surface of Kerrigan. I’ve already hit Blackbear and Bad Intentions and put it out on social media. Between the three of us, I think we’ve covered all the bases.
“Nope.”
“Liar,” Halston accuses, as I pin one of the hot pink flyers to a bulletin board. “Seriously, nothing is going on this weekend. You should be worrying about being over capacity, if anything.”
I snort. “Doubtful.” The flyer boasts of dollar drinks for the first hour, so it should appeal to everyone whether it’s their typical scene or not, but I’m not expecting anything crazy.