With these two as my best friends, I can make it through anything.
thirteen
Alexa decided it'd be betterfor her if she stayed home. She didn't want to end up in jail for assault and I didn't have bail money.
Bash and I arrive at the frat house an hour after the game ended. The Warriors won, of course—but I don't care about any of that right now. I just need to see it.
"It's still raining," I complain.
"Again, better than snow," Bash reminds me.
"I suppose, but I'm kind of excited for the first big snowstorm. We can be stranded here with hot chocolate, movies, popcorn, and my bed," I tell him with a wink.
He growls and pulls me into a hug, our bodies flush. "Mother Nature needs to get her seasons straight. Where's that damn snow?" He kisses me slowly then winks.
I snicker—up until Bash rests his hand on the doorknob.
"You ready?"
I nod, closing my umbrella. "Yep. I already know what I'm going to see."
He wraps his arm around me and pushes the door open. We walk into a room packed full of people, partying and dancing, music so loud I can't hear myself think.
It only takes about ten steps for me to see them. They're sitting in the same chair Cam was in when I saw him with Brittany. Now he's got an even viler bitch on his lap—and she's straddling him and rubbing against him in front of everyone—like no one else in the room matters but them—and he's just as into it. His hands cupping her ass as he devours her mouth.
I see a line of shot glasses on the table next to him—I count six—and I'm really glad I'm not on the receiving end of his sloppy kisses. I curl my lip and look at Sebastian. He's watching me, angry—not at me, but at what we're both seeing—the betrayal from someone I'd foolishly trusted.
Brax and Dekker notice us across the room and their eyes widen. I just roll my eyes, flip them off, and head for the door. They're just as guilty as Cam—and they never once came to see how I was. That goes to show me they were only my friends for as long as I was with Cam.
When we get back outside, Bash closes the door behind us and we stroll down the walkway hand-in-hand.
"You all right, love?" he asks.
"Yep. I'm just fine." I pull him to a stop. "I don't love him, babe. I don't think I ever did because right now I don't feel anything," I admit, a bit embarrassed at how easily I called it love.
"What about me?" he asks. "Do you know you love me? I meanreallylove me?"
I don't hesitate. "Yes," I nod.
"How do you know?"
"You are my best friend. The one I can talk to about anything and everything—even the most embarrassing things because I know you'll never judge or ridicule me. You respect me as much as I respect you. Icanbe just Olivia now. I've learned who I am and I really like myself. I know what I want and I know I won't settle for less, but I prefer Olivia with Sebastian—Livvy and Bash." I stand on tiptoes and kiss him softly. "I'm not the best me without you."
"A lesser man would cry at those words," he tells me softly.
"But not you?" I ask.
"Nope, not me. Those are words I'm going to hold close every single day because I know you'd never say them unless you truly meant them. You've made me the happiest man alive, Livvy. I only hope I can do the same for you."
"You already do," I answer.
The rain starts again without warning, coming down in big, fat drops. I take my umbrella and just as I'm about to open it, Bash grabs it and throws it across the front lawn.
I'm stunned. "Why did you do that?"
"Because, love, you don't need that fucking umbrella. The rain coming down isn't punishing you anymore, right?" he asks.
"Right," I agree.
