Half the house is covered in a thick layer of smoke, the skunk-like scent of weed permeating the air, three guys in the room next to us are cutting lines of coke, and Fletcher must have someone on booze duty because as soon as one keg empties, another replaces it. There’s beer pong wherever people can find a surface, and I’ve already walked in on two girls scissoring in one of the rooms upstairs when I was trying to find the bathroom.
She says something, but I can’t place the words with the thump of the music blaring overhead. There’s a DJ station set up near the front of the house—really, it’s just a guy who’s flipping through his Spotify playlists.
I step closer and ask, “What did you say?”
“Look.” She points over my shoulder, and I have to twist to see what she’s talking about. Sebastian, Webber, and Colson make their way through the crowd. “Tristan didn’t say they were coming.” She grabs my arm. “Let’s go say hi.”
She’s dragging me toward them before I have the chance to talk her out of it. They’re our friends so we should go say hi, but I haven’t talked to Webber since we had our talk at the start of the semester.
Everleigh pushes a few people out of our way to reach them. Sebastian breaks out in a huge grin when he sees us.
He lingers in my ear when he bends down to hug me. “Can’t say I’m sad to see your face. Have I told you I miss seeing you around the apartment?”
I grin. I spent a lot of time around Sebastian at the guys’ apartment when I dated Webber. Outside of Ev, he’s probably my favorite person out of the group to be around. “You haven’t, but don’t worry, I’m only a few stories below if you ever get bored.”
He chuckles and pulls away. “Bro code makes it damn near impossible for me to even consider that invitation.”
I slap his arm playfully, shouting over the music. “Stop. You know I mean as friends.” His cheeky grin tells me he knew that and was just ruffling my feathers. Sometimes I wonder how it’s possible that Sebastian has been single since I’ve known him. He’s sweet in that charming way of his and an all-around good guy. I’m happy I get to call him a friend.
He clasps a hand on Colson’s shoulder after dipping to hug Ev, his cousin seeming tenser than I felt when Olive called meout earlier for not calling home. His gaze meets mine for a long second, then with pinched brows and a frown, he follows Sebastian into the kitchen where I’m sure they’ll both go crazy on the free alcohol.
Webber says something in Everleigh’s ear before she hitches a thumb over her shoulder and follows the guys. His gaze focuses on me straight away. I rest my cup on my lips. Anything to make me feel less awkward because his eyes are heady, his grin sultry.
His palm lands on my hip, and his mouth closes in on my ear. “You look good, Vi.”
His breath fans over my skin, and it’s as warm as the air in the house. It curls around my ear, tempting me to lean away. Lips brush my cheek, and it only makes me more uncomfortable. “What are you doing, Webber?”
He squeezes my side. “I’m appreciating the view. I can’t get over that sheer top. Leaves little up to the imagination.”
I glance down at the black see-through top I yanked out of the back of my closet. I felt inspired to wear something sexy after talking with my sister. That, and she made me promise—without spitting into my hand—that I’d wear something that would lure in the hunk of man meat she described.
I scoffed when she said it. She’s a newbie to college life. All guys need at this age is a wink and they’re ready to go. A top like this is foreplay, and apparently it has Webber ready to pounce.
He presses another kiss to my cheek and murmurs, “Tell me you’ve missed me.”
Is he really putting me on the spot right now? In the middle of Fletcher’s house with all these people around?
“Come on,” he draws out, pressing a third kiss at the corner of my mouth. “I’m not afraid to admit I’ve missed you.”
I wish for that electric current I felt when Webber and I first met to dance across my skin. Even if it were alive and well, I’dstill push him away because if he really knew what he wanted, he wouldn’t be doing this in the middle of a college house party.
My hand finds his chest, and he straightens, his eyes glancing down at it. His hand curls around mine and I end up closer to him than I was. “Vi, tell me you’ve missed me these last few weeks.”
While we’ve spent the last two years with each other, I can honestly say that seeing him at the start of the semester didn’t spark this desire to get back with him. Sure, our relationship’s been on and off, but we’ve given what we can of ourselves to one another. Truth is, it’s been a weight off my shoulders. I haven’t overthought what’s going on between us or how to fix something I’m not even sure wasn’t broken to begin with. If anything, it’s become more evident that I’m not Webber’s person, and he’s not mine.
But I do still care enough not to break that to him at this very moment. His eyes drop to my lips, and I say, “This isn’t a good time to talk about that, Webber.”
“Why?”
Because you won’t like the answer.
“Because we’re at a party.”
His green eyes narrow but remain hopeful. “Is that the honest answer?”
When I don’t respond, he curls his lips into his mouth and nods once. That quick, he lets go of my hand and steps around me. I watch him retreat, but I don’t feel bad.
Why should I?
