Easton: Same with Paige. Look at you doing something right
Blair reads Easton’s message with no intonation, but I can still hear the sarcasm in his tone.
Dylan: Summer’s reading these messages and wants to meet her. Lucy was talking about her today and now Summer’s feeling left out
Dylan: And she just whacked me with a pillow
I smile when Blair snorts, her eyes alight with a happiness she should never go without.
Reed: Hayley’s organizing a welcome party for when she moves here
Dylan: You made Summer’s day
Luke: Zane… where are you?
Luke: Ooh he’s seen the messages
Dammit, fuck. “Can I switch that off so they don’t know when I’ve read something? Or in this case, you’ve read something.”
“I have no idea, but I love this. And it’s titled Zane’s support group? What does that mean?”
Dammitagain. I groan, grabbing Blair’s pillow to shove it over my head, hoping she’ll move on without me having to answer. But no such luck.
The pillow disappears and Blair stares down at me, her breasts jiggling as she waves the phone in my face. Her nakedness distracts me, and I lazily reach between her legs, my wanton gaze roaming her body. God, she’s— “Ouch.”
My hand aches from where Blair slapped it away, her no bullshit expression making me shudder. “I need answers.”
“Fine,” I huff. “Apparently this group chat started when Luke needed help after finding out Amelia was pregnant with his baby. They were enemies at the time. Reed started it.”
“That makes sense considering you said Reed was the caring one of the group.”
“He is. A littletoocaring sometimes. But anyway, it started with Luke and then Easton needed help dealing with his crazy ex—”
“The one you slept with.”
“Yep. That one. And the group became his. Then Reed needed it to get over a crush on his best friend…or something, I don’t know. It was before he had Hayley, and—god-fucking-dammit,I shouldn’t know all this. It’s gossip, like we’re living in a fucking daytime soap.”
“So, why is it your chat now?” Blair ignores my outburst, her brows pinched in intrigue, and I can’tnotanswer her.
“They thought I needed help after the incident with Reed and Hayley. I think they felt sorry for me.” I cringe, hating the thought.
“You don’t think they were thankful, and genuinely wanted to be your friend?”
“Reed, yes. Maybe even Luke. But it was Easton that added me to the group. I half wonder if it’s payback.”
Blair giggles before covering her face with her hands. “Sorry, it’s actually not at all funny. But when it comes to that, I’m team Easton. You were a dick.”
“I didn’t know.” I feel like a broken record saying that over and over.
“True, but you could have at least apologized after you found out.”
“I was young and bitter.”
“Wasn’t it last season?”
“Two seasons ago. And I didn’t haveyou.”
I stare at her pointedly, my gaze boring into hers, hoping she sees through my humor. She’s changed me. My life is better with her in it.I’mbetter with her in my life. I probablywouldhave apologized for being a dick if Blair had been around. Not that I ever would have slept with someone else to begin with.
