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“Hey, Jess. How’s it going?”
She offers a pained smile. “Great, thanks.”
“I was just going to grab some food. Does anyone want anything?” Nick tugs at the collar of his shirt, looking flustered.
He hardly waits for a reply before he darts off. Jess throws out an excuse to leave and disappears into the crowd, not before throwing me a scowl. Belle shakes her head at me once it’s back to the two of us.
“Was that necessary?” She quirks an eyebrow, folding her arms over her chest.
“I feel it was.”
“Jess didn’t deserve that.”
My teeth press together, and for once, I don’t have a comeback ready at my lips. Because she’s right. And I don’t feel good about it.
“Hey, look who it is!” Belle suddenly says, waving at someone.
I glance over my shoulder to see Brennon, Harley, and a blonde-haired girl leaning towards the two of them, a flirtatious smile curved across her face. I straighten, my lips spreading to a thin line. Belle clamps her hand over mine and drags me towards the group. I attempt to dig my heels in, but she tugs harder, ignoring my silent protest.
Brennon looks different. It’s weird to see him so grown up. His fair hair has darkened, his body has filled out considerably, and he has crinkles around his eyes that weren’t there before.
His eyes widen as he takes me in, realising who I am. Shock registers on his face as he drinks in all the changes, looking deliciously surprised and impressed at the same time. This moment of Brennon and the others seeing me for the first time since I’ve been back has played out in my head many times; I can’t quite believe it is finally happening.
“Pick your jaw up off the floor, Brennon. You might catch a fly in that big trap of yours,” I say snippily before swivelling my eyes to Harley. Heat travels down my spine. I feel my body react to him straight away, and God, Ihateit. Those damn eyes. That beautiful smirk. The lip ring that makes me feel a swooping sensation between my thighs. I eye him up and down, artfully schooling my face to seem as stoic as I can. “Harley.”
Finally, I look at the girl standing there, and she steps back. Her face is vaguely familiar, and I’m sure we went to school together, but I don’t remember her well. Her eyes flick between Harley and me, connecting the dots, remembering all that has happened. That flirty smile twists into a frown as she glances back to Harley before stalking off.
Harley exhales, raking his hand through his hair. It’s dark, contrasting with his skin almost too well. It’s too long, falling into his eyes every few moments. “Happy with yourself?”
I smile. “Sort of, yeah.”
Belle wraps her arms around Brennon’s waist, pulling his stunned gaze to her. Distractedly, he hugs her back, looking like he’s seen a ghost.
“There you are,” Nick says, looking a little out of breath as he joins us. He turns, his warm smile automatically stretching over his face until he sees who is with us. The smile drops pretty damn quick.
“Nicholas.” Harley sends him an arrogant smirk.
Brennon has a sinister curve to his lips, his eyes flitting between Nick, Harley, and I.
“Harley,” Nick says tersely. “Brennon.”
I’ve lost some of my bravado as memories begin to tornado through my mind. I latch on to Nick’s arm.
“That hot dog looks fantastic. Let’s go get me one,” I suggest, basically shoving him. “You coming, Belle?”
“I’ll catch up with you later?” she asks, glancing between the boys and me.
“Sure,” I reply.
I don’t inhale until we are almost on the other side of the showground. Nick hasn’t said a word—which is very uncharacteristic of him—and his lips are tugging downward. I know what he’s thinking about, and I’m trying desperately not to let my mind go there.
“I thought you wanted a hot dog.”
“Huh?” I ask, pulling myself from my thoughts. I look around and see floats and trailers, realising I’ve steered us in the totally opposite direction of the food stalls. “Oh.”
An awkward silence settles between us. We both look over each other’s shoulders, not quite able to meet gazes yet.
There’s a crackle and a loud static sound before a voice booms, announcing the start of the rodeo. We walk to the fence, and I loosely dangle my arms over it, leaning my forehead against the metal, thankful it isn’t too hot.
