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Remember that time you found us in the pool house at Trent Manuel’s party?
Lando
Yeah, and?
Loren
We’d been making out. I asked him to lie about it, and when you embarrassed me, he tried to fix things, but you kept making it worse. So he just slugged you instead.
Lando
Come on, Lo. You can’t tell me that forgiving him for a misunderstanding when you were 13 makes him fit for a real relationship.
Loren
I’m—wait a minute, let me check. Let’s see, front facing camera *on*—Oh, yeah. It looks like I’M A GROWN ASS WOMAN, LANDRY. And I’ll date whomever I damn well please. And Blake pleases me.
Take that last remark as you will.
See you all on Sunday. I’m bringing the man candy—I mean, dessert.
Lilley
*gif of mic drop*
Wait, do I get to have some of that candy with my cake? I am the birthday girl, after all! *smiling face with halo emoji*
Lando
Looking forward to it.
Then my phone lights up with a new alert, letting me know someone’s commented on a photo I was tagged in on Instagram.
@big.doc.lando See you this Sunday, @theblakebourgeois. Can’t wait to hear about your weekend with @lolo_reads.
Another comment appears before I can even send another threat to Landry.
@theblakebourgeois @big.doc.lando Awesome. @lolo_reads and I have plenty to share, don’t we, babe?
CHAPTER 23
Loren
TWELVE YEARS AGO
I turn awayfrom my classmates as I wring my hands together nervously. I’m doing my best not to panic, but in just a few minutes I’ll be standing on the stage in front of everyone—well, almost everyone—to deliver the valedictory address I’ve been practicing for weeks.
I hear a throat clearing quietly behind me, and a gentle hand curves around my arm.
“Hey, you okay?” Blake murmurs near my ear, standing a little too close for comfort.
I ignore the impulse to jerk my shoulder away. He’s probably just trying to be nice, for once.
There’s also the urge to lean into him and let him continue whispering against my neck, but I stifle that one immediately.
“Yeah,” I breathe, stepping forward to put some space between us. “I’m fine.”
“You don’t look fine, Reed,” he replies, and I twist around to glare at him. But he’s smiling at me in a way that seems lessI hope you fall on your faceand moreI want you to be okay.
