My finger taps on the table, a tic that Ellie knows all too well. I stop and resist the urge, moving my hand to my lap and out of sight.
“I didn’t. I opened it. Read it. And left the text on read.”
“Oof, the dreaded read text. That’s gotta hurt.”
“If it hurt just as much as when he told me he cheated on me, then fine. But I doubt it.”
My smile falls. I wish I could reach out and hold her hand. I wish I could move over to her side of the booth, wrap her in my arms, and tell her how I think about her every day. That I think about how if she were with me, I would remind her every day just how fucking crazy I am about her.
“Where’s our food?” she draws out.
I look over to the cooking station near the counter where people enjoy their breakfast. The server has a tray filled with our dishes. Balancing them perfectly.
“French toast and milk,” the server says, then places a plate in front of Ellie, “and the works.”
She gives us a smile, asking if we need anything else, and heads back to the kitchen.
Ellie opens her eyes and whips her head down to look at her plate, which is full and stacked high. The maple syrup drips off the edges of the bread that is fried to perfection. The chocolate chips start to slowly melt on top. Strawberries are scattered on the plate, along with powdered sugar and whipped cream.
She pulls a hair tie from her wrist and wraps her hair in a loose bun, not taking her eyes off her dish. She gets everything in order. The napkin goes on her legs. She poursmoresyrup on her plate, grabs her fork and knife, then starts to cut into the bread.
“Rowan,” she says without looking at me.
“Yeah?”
“Stop staring at me and eat your food.”
fifteen
ROWAN
“El,can you make sure my hair looks okay from the back? I don’t want another tragedy like prom where you can see all the clippings from my extensions,” Riley asks, turning around in the backseat.
Ellie, Riley, and Hailey are squished together in the backseat, the three of them laughing and chatting, their voices mixing with the hum of the car. Ellie leans against the window, her eyes flicking between the passing city lights and her phone, probably checking messages or snapping photos.
I’m upfront with August, the familiar sound of his music filling the space between us. His hand taps on the steering wheel to the beat, and every now and then, he glances at me with a grin when he hears Riley talking. Beau and James will be meeting us at the nightclub, but for now, it’s just the five of us, the laughter and energy building as we near our destination.
“The back of your head looks fine,” August drawls, looking at Riley from the rearview mirror.
“August, shut up. I didn’t ask you.” Riley glares at him. “I cannot wait to get to this place. All I want to do is dance with my bestie and sister and have a fun time. I do not want any guys bothering us.”
“Your hair is good to go, Ry,” Ellie says.
“Thanks, boo. I’m proud of my outfit tonight too. I thought long and hard about it.”
“I have something long and hard that you can think about,” August says with a grin.
“Ew, August.” Ellie grimaces.
“Augustus, you would be so lucky if I were to think about your shriveled penis.” Riley smiles at him brightly with playful eyes.
“Hey, it is not shriveled. It is large and in charge. It is a showeranda grower. You would know if you took a chance on me.” August places a hand on his chest.
“In your dreams, playboy.”
Pulling into the parking lot, I see flocks of people stepping out of their cars. The five of us pile out while other partygoers rush toward the music. The sound thumps from inside when the black doors open and close. Groups are separated outside, talking or waiting for others to show up.
“Finally,” Beau yells from the sidewalk.
