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“It took some time, but yeah. He came around. Liam was also really close with Tessa, and he took her loss especially hard.”
I nodded. Tessa had often spoken of Liam. And while she’d always been good friends with Asher and Bennett too, she and Liam had seemed closer than the others.
“Man, now I really wish I’d been there. I bet my mom waspissed.”
He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Honestly, that day was such a blur. I have no idea if Gloria saw what happened or cared.”
I wasn’t sure what Gloria cared about at this point, apart from her image as mayor. But I was more focused on Tristan. So, I nodded, placing my hand on his arm, wanting to do something,anything, to comfort him. Or maybe I was seeking my own solace. At this point, I didn’t know. It felt as if our feelings blurred together.
“You want some more?” he asked, grabbing his empty tumbler and giving it a shake. The remnants of the ice cubes rattled against the glass.
“What happened tono drinking until you’re twenty-one?” I teased, doing a poor job of mimicking his deep voice.
He lifted a shoulder and stood. “You know your limits. Besides, as you said, life is short. You may as well enjoy it.”
I studied him.
“What?” he asked from the kitchen as he refilled his glass with fresh ice and prepared a second one for me. I followed him, searching for a snack.
“Is this a do as I say and not as I do type thing?” I asked, rummaging through the pantry for something, anything, sweet.
“What do you mean?” He reached past me and grabbed a pack of peanut M&Ms from a basket on the top shelf then placed them on the counter.
“What?” I stared at him, mouth agape. “You’ve been holding out on me all this time?”
He rolled his eyes. “No. I don’t often keep sweets in the house.”
“I’ve noticed. I was beginning to think you didn’t like them.”
“The opposite, actually. They’re fucking tempting.” The way he was looking at me was like I was a sweet treat he wanted to devour. Yet I knew he wouldn’t. The man had more self-control than anyone I’d ever met. It was both admirable and infuriating.
“You say life is short, and you may as well enjoy it. But you don’t seem to heed your own advice.”
He stepped closer, and I wondered if it was intentional. Or if his body kept gravitating toward me, like mine did to him. All this time, I’d worried he regretted that night in his room. And now, I was beginning to wonder if he’d been waiting for me to take the next step.
“I meant for you,” he said, grabbing a few peanut M&Ms from the bag. “You’re young, Ellie. You have your whole life ahead of you—hopefully a long, happy, healthy one.”
“And you’renot?”
“Not what?”
“Not young? Not presented with opportunities?”
He popped a peanut M&M into his mouth but said nothing. That was answer enough. His whole attitude was pissing me off. Or maybe it was all the pent-up frustration I felt around him.
“Fuck that,” I said through gritted teeth. If Tessa’s death had taught me anything, it was that, “Life is too short not to live the way you want.”
He sighed. “I’m just—” He ran a hand through his hair, tugging on the ends. “I’m under a lot of pressure. More than you know.”
My stomach churned, and I worried what he wasn’t saying. He reached for the M&Ms, but I swiped the bag from the counter and hid them behind my back.
“Can I have some?Please.” He batted his eyes, mimicking my words from before.
So I told him the same thing he’d said to me. “If I say yes, will you talk to me?”
He chuckled and lifted his glass and took another drink. “Sometimes I wish I were more like you. You’re so carefree. Most of the time, you don’t give a fuck what anyone else thinks.”
“That’s not entirely true, but it’s nice to know that I come across that way, I guess.”
