I wish I would’ve come home more after moving to Austin—even attended this stupid festival the last few years Dad asked me to. While the looks and whispers definitely still piss me off, they don’t get to me quite as much as they did when I was younger.
I hate that I let all the judgmental assholes in town keep me away for so long.
CHAPTERFOURTEEN
DYLAN
Sunny and I meander aimlessly,and I take pictures while she chats to locals and voice-notes herself with her phone. Every so often, I think I glimpse Miranda’s mom, but it turns out to be someone else.
When the sun begins to sink below the horizon, the crowd thins as everyone heads over to the Battle of the Bands or the Fiddle Contest up at the state park.
“You want to grab a drink?” Sunny asks.
Nope, sure don’t.
Still, I concede with a, “Why not.” My sisters won’t be impressed if they find out I turned her down. Besides, I don’t have any other plans, and maybe a drink would help burn away some of the lingering tension in my chest.
“Oh! Let’s go to The Rocking Horse,” Sunny says. “I haven’t been there in years.”
Kill me now.“Let’s do it.” At least it’s within spitting distance of my apartment, meaning I can leave any time I want.
The moment we step inside the packed bar, Sunny lets out this screeching squeal that has everyone within earshot swiveling on stools and craning their necks to stare at us. A woman who looks vaguely familiar makes the same god-awful sound and tackles Sunny into one of the high-top tables.
“You dirty little slut! You never told me you were coming home!” the newcomer shouts over the karaoke singer’s ear-piercing rendition of “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.”
“It was a last-minute thing,” Sunny says, tugging me closer by the sleeve. “Carrie, you remember Dylan King.”
The woman’s eyes widen behind her horn-rimmed glasses as her gaze sweeps from my head to my boots. “Do I ever.”
“Good to see you again, Carrie,” I offer, even though I have no clue how she knows me. “Can I get you ladies a drink?”
“Vodka and tonic for me,” Sunny says, turning to her friend.
Carrie raises her bulbous glass. “Gin and tonic for me. Thanks, handsome.”
I turn my back and immediately hear them whispering my name and squealing some more. I guess I should be flattered, and maybe I would be if the blonde woman in dark denim and a white sweater that hangs off one shoulder leaning against the bar didn’t steal all my attention.
The end of Jade’s ponytail sweeps between her bare shoulder blades. I scan the bar for her short-ass boyfriend, but he’s nowhere to be found. Can’t say I’m sad about it. Maybe I’ll get lucky and leave before he shows up.
I shoulder my way between two guys who look way too young to be here and sidle up next to Jade. “Hey.”
Her green-eyed gaze flicks toward me, and I’m transfixed. “Oh, hi, Dylan.” I don’t miss the way her eyes seem to linger on my arms where they’re folded atop the bar. “Didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Believe me, this is the last place on earth I want to be.”
Her lips flatten. “Then why did you come?”
I nod toward where Sunny and her friend have taken up residence at the table near the door. Jade’s shoulders tighten. If I didn’t know better, I’d say she looks jealous. But I do know better.
Speaking of jealous…
“Where’s the boyfriend?” I ask.
Jade’s chin lifts. “I’m pretty sure he stopped being my boyfriend the moment he told me to fuck off.”
My brow scrunches. “He didwhat?” As if I didn’t already hate the prick enough. “Why would he say something like that to you?” I tell myself I’m only pissed off because this girl is like a sister to Hayley and, by extension, a sister to me, but I’m not so sure that’s true.
Jade shrugs her shoulders. “Doesn’t matter.”
