Page 59 of This Changes Everything

HANNAH: Ellie and I are coming out of the bathroom. Anyone want to see if they can get Rory’s attention and distract him?

I looked at Hannah, and her eyes flipped over to me quickly, then back to her phone. She was acting cagey.

“What are you doing?”

“Nothing!” she snapped, then continued typing.

HANNAH: Anyone? Come on, ladies.

ZOË: He doesn’t know who Maddy is. She can show off her boobs! They’re out of control. When was the last time you pumped, M?

MADDY: 7 hours ago . . .

KARA: Your tits are MAGNIFICENT.

ZOË: He’ll never notice you sneaking out the back.

KARA: You won’t upstage Maddy’s boobs, Ellie. This is a guarantee.

MADDY: Wait, I don’t know how I feel about this.

HANNAH: Okay, this plan sounds legit! We’re walking out in 30 seconds. You have 30 seconds! 30 SECONDS!

KARA: LET’S DO THIS!

ZOË: AHHHHHH!!!

MADDY: CAPS LOCK!!!!!

I closed my eyes, practiced some deep breathing, and counted to thirty. I looked up at my sister just as her phone dinged with another text message. Hannah looked down at her phone, then her eyes shot back up to me, wild as ever.

Hannah shouted, “OKAY, GO! NOW! NOW!”

I pushed through the door and walked straight into my first love. Rory blinked at me, stunned. I had smacked Manor House’s bathroom door directly into his rock-hard body.

“Hannah, you set me up,” I said through a tight jaw as my sister slinked out of the bathroom beside me.

“Byeeeeeeee,” Hannah said as she hurried over to Kara, Zoë, and Maddy, who were bumping into each other and scattering behind Rory like cockroaches exposed to daylight.

Useless.

My eyes dragged over Rory; it was as if I had been stupefied. He was gorgeous. He looked strong. He looked like a man. It was hard for me to process. I had admired Rory’s life and accomplishments from afar, but other than one brief encounter when we were twenty-five, he lived inside my memory. Rory was frozen in my past, and I wanted him to stay there. In my memory, we still mattered to each other. Seeing him again catapulted me into the present.

Eight years. It had been eight years since my twenty-first birthday, and I had discovered that I still couldn’t let Rory go. I didn’t know how.

“Ellie?” Rory’s voice was low, steady.

“Hi,” I said breathily.

Rory’s eyes moved slowly up my body, taking me in. I was thankful I looked cute, in a tight black, long-sleeved, scooped-neck minidress. My wavy hair was cut halfway down my chest and lighter now, blonder, which he had never seen before. I had on minimal eye makeup, but I’d gone bold with my lipstick, as I often do. If there was ever a time for me to wear this outfit, it was tonight.

I saw Rory’s Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed, then parted his lips ever so slightly. Rory was wearing fitted gray pants, a black T-shirt, and a black bomber jacket to go with that black bloody hat. It was turned to the front, his curls flipping out to the sides. His eyebrows were pulling together into a thought pattern that I couldn’t quite pinpoint. His dark-brown eyes were familiar and warm. His jaw was strong beneath his short beard.

“It’s good to see you.” Rory let out a small smile, creasing his dimple, and I wanted to die.

“Yeah, definitely.” I jumped over his words.

“Are you still in LA?” he asked as a leggy brunette pushed me out of the bathroom doorway and stopped mid-stride to salivate.