“Aw, thanks, Ives. So, there was no study group after all?”
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know the plan, and I was afraid I’d give something away, and I panicked?—”
He laughs. “It’s fine. I’m not mad. Impressed, honestly. Who knew you were such an excellent liar.”
I roll my eyes and change the subject, gesturing at Quinn. “This is my roommate.”
I’m surprised when he doesn’t immediately grace her with his award-winning smile, but once he speaks, I understand why. “Ava or Kinsley?”
Quinn snorts and says, “Neither, thank god. I’m Quinn, and I’m much less of an asshole than the other two.”
Wes looks relieved. “I was worried I was going to have to give you the cold shoulder on Ivy’s behalf,” he says, “but it’s a thousand degrees in here, so I was starting to panic.”
“No cold shoulder necessary.”
“Well, welcome to my home. It’s usually a lot cleaner and less crowded, obviously. Can I get you some drinks? There’s a keg, liquor, seltzers, mixers. They brought out all the stops.”
“We’ll find something in the kitchen,” Quinn assures.
“In that case, I’m gonna make the rounds, but I’ll find you in a bit.” He looks at me, eyes scanning over my face. “You good, Ives?”
I nod. “Yeah, I’m good. You go mingle.”
"I’m really glad you’re here. Both of you.”
He winks at me, and color rises up my neck. My gaze trails after him as he greets others in the crowd, and I’m in awe of the way he commands the room, making every single person feel at ease.
“I see why you like him,” Quinn whispers, before steering me toward the kitchen. She grabs a hard seltzer from the cooler on the counter and then hands one to me. When I protest, she shakes her head and says, “You don’t have to drink it, but it willprevent random guys from trying to hand you shit. We all know how that can go.”
I don’t respond, but her words turn my stomach acidic, and my fingers tighten around the can.
When the crowd becomes too much inside, we make our way out onto the back deck. It’s easier to breathe out here, and we huddle beside the fire pit. I’m not sure what the point is now, but I figure I’ll wait to see Wes one more time before I suggest we leave.
“So, who was that girl on the steps?” Quinn asks. “You’re the last person I’d expect to have enemies.”
I clear my throat and set my seltzer on the deck rail for something to do. “Alexis Cane,” I say finally, looking back at her. “We knew each other in high school.”
She wrinkles her nose. “And this is why I’m grateful I went out of state. I don’t think I could handle seeing girls I knew in high school. Was she always a bitch?”
I think about her question for a moment. “Kind of. But I was on her good side, so it didn’t matter. She turned on me junior year.”
“What happened? She steal your boyfriend? Looks like the type.”
My insides jolt, my chest going tight, and downing my seltzer seems appealing all of a sudden. “Something like that.”
We hang outside for a while, observing the party from the outskirts. There’s no shortage of conversation around Quinn, who can chat about anything for extended periods of time. School. Family. Boyfriend. Hobbies. We touch on every topic before I notice Wes’s housemates wandering over.
“Hey, Ivy,” says Kaden. “I told you I’d find you later. This is Ben.”
Ben waves. “I’m Ben. Wonderful to meet you.”
“You, too,” I say, shrinking back a little, my shyness kicking in. If I was a less socially anxious person, I might mention how much I enjoy his baking, but I’m not, so I don’t. Instead, I gesture to my roommate beside me. “This is Quinn.”
She waves and asks, “So, you two are the masterminds behind this extravaganza?”
“Had to go all out for our boy’s twenty-second,” says Ben. “Last year we did a big bar crawl for his twenty-first, but this seemed more fitting given graduation’s around the corner. A last hurrah, so to speak.”
I don’t hear Quinn’s response, the figure in the doorway drawing my attention instead. I wince as Ben yells, “Hey, birthday boy! Get your ass over here and entertain your guests!”
