Except, last night, he wasn’t. Last night, he was right there. He was with me.
I turn back toward the stage, letting the music pulse through me like it can drown out everything I don’t want to feel. The bass. The lights. The bodies packed around me.
My heart pounds in time with the beat.
I’ve made a mess. A complete mess. And it’s all because I’ve spent years pretending I haven’t been in love with Ace Kelly my entire damn life.
And now, it’s like I don’t know how to stop.
“I think I need another drink,” I announce to Drew and Scottie, but my feet are already heading toward the bar.
Getting drunk isn’t the best idea I’ve ever had, but it sure seems like the easiest option.
The party is still pulsing all around me—lights flickering, bodies moving, music so loud it vibrates in my ribs—but I feel like I’m stuck behind glass. Like I’m watching it all happen from somewhere else entirely.
Drew leans in close, shouting to be heard over the noise. “You wanna dance?”
I blink at him, my cup long since empty. I’ve chugged three shitty beers in the last thirty minutes, and while I’m definitelybuzzing, it’s not the kind of drunk that makes anything feel easier. Just fuzzier. Louder. More complicated.
I look past Drew, my eyes drawn to wherever Ace is.
He’s on the dance floor. There’s a circle of girls around him. Sorority girls. Double C girls. I don’t even know. They’re all dressed in some version of sexy and supernatural. A vampire. A witch. A fairy. Scarlett’s back too—looking like she was poured into her devil costume and like she knows exactly what to do with it.
Ace isn’t dancing with any of them, not really. He’s just there. Laughing. Smirking. Moving in rhythm while they orbit him like he’s the fucking sun.
My stomach clenches. My chest aches. My fingers curl into fists at my sides.
Drew’s voice cuts through the fog again. “Wanna dance?”
And it’s all too much. The reality is too glaring. “I can’t do this anymore, Drew.”
He frowns. “What?”
“This. Us.” I confess the truth, and his brow furrows in confusion.
“What are you talking about?”
“I can’t be with you anymore.”
“Julia?” He takes a step back. “Are you drunk?”
“Yes,” I admit without hesitation. “But I’m also right.”
The music is pounding, and there are people everywhere—laughing, shouting, dancing—and suddenly, I can’t breathe.
I grab Drew’s hand and tug him with me, weaving through the crowd until we find a quiet alcove off to the side. It’s dark and half hidden behind one of the giant velvet curtains.
“I’m sorry, Drew. I know this feels like it’s coming out of left field, but I can’t be with you anymore. It’s not fair to you,” I say, and tears well in my eyes when I realize how badly I’ve strung him along. It doesn’t matter if Ace is moving on; the fact remains that I’m in love with him. I have been in love with him since before I even knewwhat love was. And I can’t, in good conscience, be in a relationship with someone when my heart wants someone else.
“What do you mean, it’s not fair to me?” He tugs his hand away. “I don’t understand.”
“You were right,” I say. “You were right about Ace having feelings for me. But you weren’t aware that I have feelings for Ace too. The night you asked me to be your girlfriend, he came over to my apartment and told me he was in love with me. He kissed me and I kissed him back, and I’m so sorry I did that. I know it was wrong, and I should’ve been honest with you, but that’s what happened.”
“You fucking kissed him? While we were together?”
“I’m sorry, Drew. I’m so, so sorry.”
“And you decided now, in the middle of a fucking party, is the right time to tell me all of this? The right time to break up with me?”
