This was two people choosing to sit in the quiet together, not because they had to, but because neither of them wanted to be alone tonight.
CHAPTER 16
ROXIE
There was a version of Ledger I’d almost forgotten existed.
Not the quiet, careful man who folded himself into the edges of rooms. Not the one who moved through our apartment like he was always calculating cost versus reward, risk versus outcome.
This Ledger was loud.
Laughing too hard, leaning back in his chair at the bar like he owned the place, arm slung casually over the back of the booth as he listened to Ridge tell a story I was pretty sure he’d already heard twice. He had a water in his hand, sticking to his strict athlete diet, and a grin on his face that reached his eyes.
He looked happy.
Really happy.
And the realization hit me harder than I expected.
It had been a week since brunch with my parents, and we were at O’Malley’s, the same local bar we’d beengoing to since college. Same scuffed floors, same dartboards along the back wall, same sticky tables that never quite lost the smell of spilled beer and citrus cleaner.
Livvi and Talon were across from us, deep in their own conversation—close enough to be present, distant enough that Ledger and I had our own little bubble.
Ledger caught my eye mid-laugh and lifted his water in a silent toast.
“What?” I asked, smiling despite myself.
“Nothing,” he said easily. “Just feels good to be out.”
It did. And not just because the music was loud or we weren’t in our tiny apartment anymore.
Ledger had been lighter lately. More himself. The weight he’d carried, the money stress, the uncertainty, the fear of what came next, had eased now that sponsorships were lining up again and the US National Championships—Worlds trials—were on the horizon.
Swimming was no longer a question mark.
And it showed.
He was magnetic tonight. Charismatic in a way that drew people in without him trying. The Ledger who cracked jokes, who clapped Talon on the shoulder, and who challenged Ridge to darts like it was a personal mission.
That version of him had always existed.
Maybe it had nothing to do with me. Maybe it was just relief, momentum, confidence returning now that the ground beneath him felt solid again.
But I couldn’t help wondering if being friends—if beingseen—had given him room to breathe.
I’d just never been on this side of things, of not being preoccupied with how much I disliked him.
“You’re trouble tonight,” Livvi said, eyeing Ledger with amusement.
He grinned. “Always am.”
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t encourage him.”
“Oh, I absolutely will,” she said. “It’s been too long since I’ve seen him like this.”
Her words lingered.
Too long.
