Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 124005 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 620(@200wpm)___ 496(@250wpm)___ 413(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 124005 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 620(@200wpm)___ 496(@250wpm)___ 413(@300wpm)
I’m immediately flooded with group hug GIFs and promises that we’ll have a girls’-night sleepover at Hammer’s when I return.
A new message from Shilpa appears in our private chat.
Shilps
Do you need to talk?
Hemi
Later. I’m hiding in the bathroom chugging champagne. I grossly underestimated how awful it would be to see all the people who made me feel two inches tall in high school and apparently still do.
Shilps
Oh babe. I’m so sorry. I wish I was there. They don’t matter—they never did. Remember what a badass you are.
Hemi
I’m trying. And I wish you were here too. I should go. I’ll message later.
Shilps
*Wonder Woman GIF*
I use the bathroom for its intended purpose and not just a hiding place, then steel myself for more unpleasant interactions. Shilpa is right, yet trying to convince my brain of that feels insurmountable.
I barely make it ten steps back into the room when a body blocks my way. Broad chest covered in plaid. Smells like my favorite cologne. “Hey! I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”
I fight to put my feelings back in the box, to hide all the hurt. To not show how out of place I feel. “I just needed the restroom.”
His eyes search mine. “Are you okay, honey?”
I swallow the pain of this whole experience and struggle to form a smile. But he’s all I have right now. He’s my rock, and I’ve spent the last two hours watching him shine like he always does while I fight demons no one can see. “I’m fine,” I croak.
He pushes my hair over my shoulders. “Wanna get out of here?”
I nod once and bite my lips together. I’m so on edge. I don’t want to need him, but I do. So badly.
He cups my face in his palm and presses his lips to my forehead. I can’t tell if he does it because he’s sorry he left me alone, or he feels sorry for me, or to keep up appearances. Regardless, it makes my knees weak and my heart stutter. I want to curl up in a ball and cry my eyes out. When he pulls back, he tips my chin up, his normally carefree expression swapped out for intense concern. “You’re the biggest badass I know, Wilhelmina.”
“I don’t feel very badass right now.”
“Let’s GTFO.” He wraps an arm around my shoulder and guides us toward the door.
“Bright! Man, you can’t leave yet!” calls one of the guys I vaguely remember.
“We’ll see you tomorrow. I’ve got plans with my girl.” Dallas keeps walking, nodding to our former classmates as he guides me to the door. He doesn’t drop his arm even when we step out into the warm, dark evening. The sun has set, and the streetlamps cast a yellow glow over the sidewalk. Moths bumble around them, desperate to get close to the light.
“You want me to call a cab?” Dallas asks.
“Let’s walk.” I could use the air, and the time to mentally prepare for being trapped with him for eight hours in the small, romantic cabin, with only one tiny bed.
“Did something happen at the engagement party?” Dallas asks softly as we head back to his parents’.
“I ran into Brooklyn and Sean, which was to be expected, but I wasn’t prepared for how it would make me feel.” I don’t have anyone else to talk to about this. Even Shilpa, who would gladly listen to me bitch and moan, can’t truly understand what I’m going through.
“They’re assholes. That hasn’t changed in the past decade.”
“It doesn’t stop the hurt, Dallas. Brooklyn was my best friend. And yes, she was a shitty best friend, but she was one of the few people who liked me back then—or at least pretended to. I haven’t seen or talked to her since graduation, and even then, she was standoffish at best. You have no idea what this is like for me. You made friends everywhere and everyone loved you. They still do. Now you’re a professional hockey player. You’re successful and accomplished and the most popular guy in our class. I was barely tolerated.”
“That’s not true.”
“It is, though. I know I’m a lot. I know that about myself. I’ve certainly heard it enough. I wish I wasn’t too much for most people. This whole thing is a reminder of how hard my teen years were. I wanted to come here and prove to everyone that I’ve made it, that I’m not still that know-it-all insecure girl, but here I’m like a bad joke, fiancée to the pro hockey player who routinely tormented me and ruined my senior year. I feel like an outsider all over again.” I stumble over air and realize that on top of everything else, I’m drunk.
Dallas grabs my arm to steady me. “You’re not a joke, Wills. And you are never a lot. You’re perfect exactly as you are.”