And when Wes reaches for my hand that night at a tiny bar crammed full of our friends, I think maybe we could find the things we never had in each other.
After a coupleof cocktails and one not-so-subtle kiss at the bar the night before, confirmation that Wes and I are together quickly spreads beyond our inner circle. The looks and whispers ofFinallyandIt’s about timearen’t exactly quiet when we show up at the gas station du jour to wait for storms to form.
While Wes heads inside to refresh our water supply, I cross the parking lot to where Tracy is sprawled across a picnic table bench sunning herself. Matt is with her, tapping away at his phone with a frown.
Tracy flips her sunglasses up, squints for a couple of long seconds, and then offers a sly grin. “You look awfully relaxed, Sloane. I wonder why that could be.”
“Don’t start,” I warn her. “Not one word from either of you.”
Matt holds up his hands and shakes his head with exaggerated dismay. “I’m just saying, if you could have waited until the end of the season, I wouldn’t be out a hundred bucks.”
Tracy grins and waggles her fingers at her fiancé. “Don’t be a sore loser.”
Matt shakes his head. “You know we share a bank account, right?” Then he turns to me and adds, “Seriously, watching thetwo of you circle each other the last couple of years has been painful. I’m glad you figured your shit out.”
I blink. “Circleeach other?”
“Like two hot lions,” Tracy confirms, nudging her shoulder into mine. “That man has been looking at you like you’re a tasty snack forever. You seriously didn’t notice? Because you look back.”
“Everyone looks at Wes.” I glance back over my shoulder by habit, easily picking him out where he’s joined some chasers I don’t know well, his head tipped back and his shoulders shaking with laughter. Our eyes catch and hold for a few seconds, his expression shifting to molten heat before someone taps his shoulder and he reluctantly turns away.
“Not likethat.” Tracy snorts. “Just be sure to invite us to the wedding.”
“We aren’t…We haven’t…It’s only been like two weeks!” I squeak, throwing up my hands. “I don’t even know what’s going to happen when I go back to Colorado. The whole thing could fall apart.”
“Nah. Hot phone sex,” Tracy says without hesitation at the same time our friend Andrea wanders over with her sister Ashley in tow. They’re more Tracy’s friends than mine, but I give them a friendly wave.
“Who’s having phone sex?” Ashley asks with a little too much interest in her grin. “Hey, Sloane. Haven’t seen you much this season.” Her attention slides across the parking lot to where Wes is holding court. “Saw you were chasing with Talbot. How’d that happen?”
“Um, long story.”
“Heard it was more than chasing,” Andrea says with obvious curiosity as her attention flicks between me and Wes. “Everyone knows he’s been half in love with you for years.”
Everyonehas to be a stretch. I gulp and laugh off the comment. Lust, sure. Wes cares about me, but calling it love is a step too far.
Not in the mood to contemplate that any further, I leave my friends to gossip among themselves and join Wes. He slides an arm around my shoulder almost as if he’s not aware he’s doing it and pulls me into his side. The teasing starts immediately, and though my stomach lurches uncomfortably at my personal life being a topic of discussionagain, Wes endures it with little more than a sheepish grin. He ignores the heckling to plant a kiss on my temple, the sweetness of the gesture at war with the bubbling discomfort I’m trying so hard to ignore.
The more public this is, the more questions I may have to answer next year if it all falls apart.
“You okay?” Wes asks quietly, his lips hovering over the shell of my ear.
I nod. We probably both know I’m not exactly telling the truth, but the steady weight of his arm around medoeshelp. We’re in this together.
Thankfully the conversation turns when Tracy, Matt, and her friends head our way. I didn’t notice when she was lying down that her engagement ring is back in place on her left hand, the diamond sparkling in the sunlight.
Ashley must not have noticed until now either. She lets out an excited squeal and grabs Tracy’s hand. “Oh, it’s even prettier in person!”
Andrea elbows her sister out of the way, cooing over the ring. “I don’t think I’ve heard the engagement story.”
Tracy beams at Matt. “We were hiking. He stopped and said he had to tie his shoe. Then he whips thisgorgeousring out of nowhere.”
“Not nowhere. My pocket.” Matt laughs, his hand on her back. “Myzipperedpocket. You know how terrified I was that I was going to drop it on the trail?”
“When’s the wedding?” Andrea asks.
Tracy’s expression falls, her comment from weeks ago echoing in my head when she manages a tight smile. “No date yet.”
Her parents don’t exactly hate Matt, but they’re less than thrilled that he’s not the good church boy they envisioned for their daughter. She’s told me a little bit about their opinions, but the look on her face says there’s a lot more she’s been keeping to herself.
