I turn and glance at him. His expression is hard as he digs out a cigarette while we exit the building near the quad. Within seconds of stepping outside, he lights up, letting the smoke curl into the air.
Rachel shoots me with a skeptical look as we make our way down the concrete stairs and onto the path. “You don’t need to know anymore.”
“Are you kidding me?” I differ. “Have you seen how much this girl affects him?” I gesture with my head behind me. “This is someone I need to meet.”
“Didn’t you and Rachel see her at the diner?” Shelby asks, referring to Abigail.
“I didn’t really look at her. If you placed her in a lineup, I wouldn’t be able to pick her out. I only noticed how much she affected him. I think I’m going to keep bringing her up until he does something about it,” I thumb Seth.
“I’ll punch you in the face,” Seth growls as we stop and form a loose circle on the sidewalk.
“No, you won’t,” I reply cockily. “All I’m saying is the next time you see her, don’t be a coward. Just talk to her.”
“Leave him alone,” Shelby laughs. “He has Georgina.”
“And Harper. And Laci,” Christian adds.
“And the countless others,” I throw in.
“Fuck off,” Seth grunts as the smoke curls around his face. “You all need hobbies.”
I just laugh as his eyes roam anywhere but on us. “Oh, did you not catch the names of the two you slept with on New Year’s?” I add, ribbing him further.
“Two?” Shelby echoes, eyebrows raised.
Christian sucks in a hard breath, almost mocking Seth.
Shelby turns to him. “Well…how many have you had at one time?” she asks.
I bark out a laugh I can’t hold back when Christian’s face falls in panic.
Rachel swivels to me, her eyebrows now raised in question. “Well, how many haveyouhad at once?”
My face falls flat. “...Anyway, we were talking about Seth,” I say, pulling Rachel hard and firm against my chest and pressing a kiss to her forehead
“So just because you were a pathetic, lovesick pussy when Rachel wanted nothing to do with you, I have to act like one too?” Seth exhales, smoke billowing upward and acting like a shield between us.
“Hey, I wasn’t that bad.”
“I beg to differ,” Christian comments.
“Threesomes,” Shelby taunts.
“Fine, I admit it. I was pathetic. Desperate. Strung-out, wrecked. A hollow, moody shell. I only want you, just you. Fuck the past. Nothing before you even matters.” I reach down, locking my lips with hers.
“Awww…” Shelby gushes.
“Well, Randy has admitted it, maybe it’s your turn. Stop living with the shadows of your past and do something about it.
“She was an ex, right?” Shelby asks.
Rachel’s eyes widen. “Oh, so we are inregret territory?”
“She wasn’t just an ex,” he mutters. “She was... more.”
“Major regret territory,” Rachel murmurs, still tucked hard at my side.
“I’m done with this conversation,” Seth deadpans, taking a deep pull on his cigarette, eyes roaming the quad like he couldn’t be more bored.
