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“Wouldn’t it be more fun if we went with each other?” she remembered him saying. “We always have a great time together, and this way our prom memories will be of each other, instead of some rando date we’ll probably never see again after graduation.”
Even if it was just a pity date, Brooke jumped at the chance. She’d had a uniformly awful senior year, and the prospect of going to prom with one of her best and oldest friends was so much better than any alternative she’d been able to imagine. She probably wouldn’t have gone at all if it hadn’t been for Dylan.
Not when Kyle would be there with his new girlfriend. After what he’d done to her, Brooke couldn’t bear the thought of facing him alone.
But Dylan had pulled out all the stops to make sure she had a good time: corsage, limo, dinner at a fancy restaurant. With their diverging romantic pursuits, they hadn’t hung out just the two of them in a while, and it was nice to have Dylan all to herself again. She’d had so much fun dancing the night away with Dylan, she barely even noticed Kyle and his new girlfriend and all the shitty looks he and his friends shot her way.
For that one magical night, it had felt like no one existed in the world but her and Dylan.
After the last dance, when their feet hurt so much they could barely walk, they piled back into the limo waiting to take them home. Brooke was riding an endorphin high, but also feeling a buzz from the flask of Jack Daniels that Dylan had smuggled into the dance. They were both a little drunk, to be honest.
That was the only explanation she could think of for the kiss.
Brooke remembered being tired and resting her head on Dylan’s shoulder. At some point, he’d turned his head so he was looking down at her, his face only inches from hers. Then his hand had curled around the back of her neck, and the next thing she knew he was kissing her.
Until that moment, she’d never thought about Dylan like that.
Well, maybe she’d thought about it a little.
More than a little.
But she’d never imagined he would ever think about her like that.
It completely blindsided her. But it also felt amazing…andright, in a way kissing Kyle had never felt. The electriczingBrooke felt when Dylan’s lips touched hers was unlike anything she’d ever experienced. It opened up a whole world of possibilities.
But just as she was starting to adjust to the idea, he’d stopped and pulled away.
She would never forget the look on his face. Embarrassment and regret and horror all mixed into one. Actualhorror. Because he’d kissed her.
Stammering an apology, Dylan backed as far away from her as the limo seat would allow.
“Let’s forget this ever happened,” he said, wiping his hand across his mouth, and Brooke’s heart broke in two. Because he hadn’t meant it. He hadn’t wanted to kiss her. It had just been an accident, a drunken mistake, and now he wanted to take it back.
Just when she was starting tolikethe idea of kissing Dylan.Reallylike it.
They’d never spoken of it again after that night. Both of them had worked hard to pretend it was no big deal. But it had been a big deal to Brooke. Even now, seven years later, she felt her stomach clench at the memory.
That wasn’t going to cut it—notat all. Not when Dylan was coming here to sleep on her couch for a week to get away from whatever was going on with him in New York.
He was coming to her because he needed a friend, and she intended to be the friend he needed—not some sad, pining girl carrying a torch for him.
Dylan had always,alwayslooked out for her, and now, finally, she would get to return the favor.
Which meant not dwelling on the most painful chapter in their history.Let’s forget this ever happened, he’d said, and that was exactly what she’d do. The memories of that night were going back into the lockbox where Brooke had buried them years ago.
She wasnotgoing to think about kissing Dylan while he was here.
Not at all.
Not even once.
Chapter Two
“Here’s to Cheese and Wine Fest 2020!”
Brooke clinked her glass of Syrah against the wineglasses of the other bachelorette party revelers gathered around the table.
“And to Penny!” Olivia said beside her, raising her glass again. “And her last week of being single!” They all lifted their glasses as they cheered and whooped for the bride-to-be.
