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I snort, balancing my drawing pad on my knee. “I don’t know if you’re ready for me to unpack all of that drama.”
“What else do we have to do with the next few hours?”
“True.” A humorless laugh tumbles from my lips. “Julia was my best friend until she decided to sleep with my ex. At prom.”
“Your ex? Logan?” His question confirms hedoesknow something about our history, and I nod. “Was he your date?”
“No, thankfully. We broke up a month before that. Or rather, he broke up with me.”
“And then he went after your best friend? What a jackass.”
“That’s not even half of it. We dated for six months, and he broke up with me over the phone, on speaker. In front of his friends. And they recorded it.”
“You’re joking.”
Shaking my head, I sketch a paper plane next to the sunshine I drew on my page of doodles. “The video was shown to all of our mutual friends and then some. I’m pretty sure half of our graduating class heard about it by the time I knew there was a recording. Humiliated doesn’t even scratch the surface of how mortified I was.”
Devin curses a few choice names for Logan that I don’t disagree with. I’ve called him worse. “What was his reason for ending things? Was it because of Julia?”
“He said we didn’t feel right anymore and didn’t have long-distance potential, so it was best to end things.” I rub the charm of my bracelet. “And whatever. It’s not like I was in love with Logan, but I liked him enough to date him for as long as we did, and I figured we’d stay together until we left for college.”
“I don’t even hate the guy on your behalf for why he broke things off, all things considered. It’s the fact that he did it in front of his friends, and they recorded it.”
“Exactly!”
“And Julia still slept with him? You sure know how to pick ‘em, Spitfire. Was she his date for prom?”
“That’s what makes this whole thing even more unbelievable. They went with someone else, but we all wound up at the same after-party, same circle of friends and all that. One minute I was having fun, dancing with Julia, and the next I couldn’t find her. And Logan’s date couldn’t find him.”
Devin swipes a hand down his face. “Tell me you didn’t walk in on them.”
“No, but that might’ve been better if I had. I could’ve kept the knowledge between us. Someone else did, and the gossip spread like wildfire. The two of them stumbled from the bedroom, resituating their clothes, and I once again became the joke of our senior class. The pitying eyes and whispers. I didn’t even say goodbye to my date. I ran from the party, called my dad, and he came to get me.”
“Did you at least get revenge on this asswipe?”
“Revenge isn’t really my style, but I dropped off a few of his things I’d worn with two tiny frozen peas on top and texted him that I left his sweatshirt and balls on his doorstep.”
Devin chuckles. “He deserved worse.”
“Probably, but I didn’t want him to take up more of my time than he already had.”
“Is that why you made that post last night?”
My stomach dips. While he replied to Logan’s comment on my post, this is the first time he’s brought it up.
“Your tone comes off like you think I was being petty,” I counter. “Why’d you reply to him if that’s what you think?”
“Maybe revenge ismystyle.” He waggles his brows, and my irritation fades. “Admit it. You liked my reply.”
I can’t stop my exasperated smile. “Of course I did.” I saw it and swooned. Devin’s sticking up for me was unexpected. “And, fine. Maybe I made that post because I wanted to see if I could make him squirm a bit.” I should be better than that. Apparently, I’m not.
Devin chuckles. “And what about Julia?”
I shade in a fluffy cloud on my sketch pad. “She got my silence. I haven’t spoken to her since. Best friends since eighth grade, and now we’re nothing. There wasn’t anything she could’ve said to make the situation better.” The end of us hurt the most. People don’t talk about friendship breakups like they do romantic breakups, and they hurt so much more. “The thing is, she’s not even going to school in California. My parents were paying for our trip, then flying her home after I got settled.”
“Some way to repay your family’s generosity.” Devin reaches across the console and pats my knee. “Well, if you ask me, I think you upgraded your travel partner.”
If I were in jeans, maybe the gesture wouldn’t affect me this much, but my bare skin tingles even after his touch is gone.
