“What way do you think? He’s all, ‘Paige this, Paige that...’” Jazmine rolled her eyes. “Ugh, at first I thought it was kind of adorable, but it’s getting annoying. And I’ll tell you one thing. You’re going to have to nip that shit in the bud before he embarrasses himself and gets hurt. He’s an emotional wreck under all that swagger, you know.”
I did know, but all my brain could think was:
Seb. Obsessed.Me?
My stomach dipped like it did when I was a ten-year-old kid riding the log flume down the big hill at the Little Dutch Boy waterpark north of town.
I was being ridiculous. Jazmine was probably wrong about this.
But what if she isn’t?
I realized I’d been quiet for too long by the way her eyes squinted at my face. I regretted bringing up the cave grope. Did she suspect any of my feelings about Seb? How could she when I didn’t understand them myself?
I wasn’t sure I wanted to delve into them right now, either.
Deflect! Deflect!
“Very interesting,” Jaz said in a teasing voice. “You know, I seem to remember sitting on this very balcony at the start of our senior year and you thanking the stars above that we’d both avoided dating another Wag.”
“Oh yeah? Well, what about Benny?” I countered. “Come on, Jaz. It’s clear to see that you’ve got some feelings for him that you didn’t have before I left for school.”
“Benny?” She squinted at me. “I don’t think so.”
Oh. Huh. She was being honest. “You were so angry about Lulu, I just assumed...”
“Lulu? Ugh, no. She’s absolutely wrong for him, and I’d like to throw her down some rickety basement stairs, but only because I care about my friend.”
“Fine, but only because I feel exactly the same way about her,” I said, and we both chuckled good-naturedly.
“Hey, Paige?” Jazmine said, looking through the balcony railing to peer out over the dark marina. “Are... you and I really okay now? Because I need for us to be okay. I need... the gang back together. I know it sounds dumb, but I need it, Paige. I don’t really care that much about actually finding the Golden Venus, but I want us all to feel normal again. Like we used to when the Wags were still Wags.”
Water lapped against the docks below us while distant music played from the food truck court at the marina’s entrance. When I looked at the person sitting in front of me, I saw a little of the pain she’d talked about, but I saw hope, too. With all my heart, I believed in the same truth that I’d known back when we were just those kids in paper pirate hats that now hung in her hallway:
Nothing could ever break our friendship apart.
Not permanently. I would always have her back, and I knew she’d always have mine. Benny, too. And sure, the past few years I’d given up on Seb, but maybe the boy we once knew really was still there.
I picked up Jazmine’s hand and cradled it in mine. “You and I will always be okay, no matter what. Love you. Always.”
“Love you, too,” she whispered, and I knew by how her upper body suddenly relaxed that we were back to normal.
“Hey,” I said. “It’s still early. Want to—”
“Shit...” Jaz’s eyes were fixed on the balcony door.
I squinted through the glass and saw a shadowy figure walking toward us. A man, not big enough and far too fair to be Jaz’s father. “Umm... ?”
“Totally forgot,” Jazmine said. “After Benny texted about you, I freaked and texted Seb. Donottell him I told you about being obsessed with you!”
Oh God.
The door slid open a few inches, and Seb’s upper body poked through. His gaze quickly evaluated Jazmine before flicking to my face. “Evenin’, ladies. Is it safe to come out there, or do I need to arm myself?”
Chapter 13
Jazmine, Seb, and I settled into patio chairs and chatted like we did when we were all the best of friends, about nothing at all, silliness. Jokes and observations that made Jazmine’s relationship with Pretty Paul fade into the background.Look at us, just like old times.There was nothing we couldn’t overcome.
Well.
