I had changed outfits three times.
Three.
And somehow, I was right back where I started, standing in the middle of my bedroom in jeans and a tank top, staring at my reflection like it was going to give me answers.
It didn’t.
It just stared back at me, equally confused.
“What are you doing?”I asked myself.The mirror version of me didn’t respond.Rude.
I turned slightly, looking at the side view, then back to the front, tugging at the hem of my tank like that was going to suddenly make everything click into place.
It didn’t.
I dropped my hands and let out a breath, turning away from the mirror and pacing across my room.
The house was quiet.The kind of quiet that made your thoughts louder whether you wanted them to be or not.And mine?Yeah, they were loud.
Jesse.
Jude.
The party.
All of it tangled together in a mess I couldn’t sort out no matter how many times I tried.
I stopped at the window and looked out over the backyard, the pond catching the afternoon sun.
Jesse was going to be here any minute, and I was ready to sink into a black hole.
For years, I had wanted Jude’s attention but never got it.Now I had Jesse’s attention, which I should be over the moon about, but instead, Jude was giving me what I always wanted.
The roar of a motorcycle echoed in the distance, and I looked at the clock.
Jesse was right on time.I grabbed my wallet and phone and headed to the front door.
If only Jude had been on time when I wanted him years ago.
Chapter Twenty
Jude
The party was already rolling by the time I made it outside with a beer in my hand.
People were everywhere.
Club members.Ol’ ladies.Kids.Friends from town.A few faces I knew, a few I didn’t, and enough noise to make it feel like the whole damn county had decided Eden’s graduation was the place to be.
Alice had outdone herself.
Which meant all of us had suffered for it.
Inside, the clubhouse looked like someone had taken every graduation decoration within a hundred-mile radius and thrown it at the walls until it stuck.Blue, green, and purple balloons were tied to chairs, tables, railings, and anything else that didn’t move.Paper chains stretched across the ceiling.A big banner for Eden hung near the bar, slightly crooked, which I knew was going to drive Alice insane once she noticed.
The food was laid out across long tables inside, and Carnie had turned the kitchen into a damn restaurant, with Wendy helping her keep things moving.Trays of pulled pork sliders, baked mac and cheese, pasta salad, deviled eggs, fried chicken, meatballs in barbecue sauce, potato skins, taco dip, fruit trays, veggie trays, chips, dips, brownies, cupcakes, and a sheet cake big enough to feed an army covered nearly every available inch.
And people were eating like they were afraid it would disappear.
