Page 51 of Wedding or Not

I laugh and take his arm as we walk. “See, that’s why I’m not going to tell you her name. I’m not sure she’s even in the area anymore.”

“Oh, I could find her.”

I feel myself beaming up at him, but I really can’t help it. Because, despite his teasing, he seems to mean the sentiment. That he wants to stick up for me and protect me against anyone who’s been mean to me.

“Anyway,” I go on, trying to shift my thoughts from that dangerous route, “what did Judd do to you?”

“He might have talked behind my back, but I never overheard him. When I was a junior, I decided I was tired of being a nerd, so I made an intentional effort to make more friends.”

“That’s when you joined the soccer team.”

“Exactly. I figured why shouldn’t I change the way people thought about me? I didn’t have to change myself completely. Just try to be more social. Get into things that were more popular.”

“I thought it was strange the way, out of nowhere, you had friends and were playing sports and getting attention from the girls.”

“Oh, was I?” He twitches his eyebrows at me.

“Yes, you were. I heard entirely too much about how cute you were and why you’d never hung out with us before and whether I might find out who you liked.”

That makes Wes chuckle. “I didn’t know that. I figured you were barely aware I existed. But anyway, during that time, Judd was one of the first guys I connected with. I thought we were really friends. But then I started noticing something. Whenever I said something private, he would laugh about it with the other guys, spilling what I shared as if it were all in good fun. And anytime I scored more than him in a game, he’d come up with a hundred excuses for why it happened. And anytime I was interested in a girl, Judd would go after her first.”

“What?” My eyes and my mouth are wide. “Seriously?”

“Yes. He did that.”

I blink, suddenly wondering why Judd asked me to that dance when I’d barely been on his radar before.

“I’m pretty sure he thought I was into you, and that’s why he asked you,” Wes says as if he read my mind. “Not that he didn’t have reason to want to date you, but it seemed to be part of a pattern for him. So I talked about how you and I never got along for day after day until he stopped asking you out.”

“I can’t believe that! What an asshole.” I’m frowning as I think through the past with this interpretation to enlighten it. “It all makes sense now. Including why he never seemed to care about me even as he was asking me on dates. It always felt like he was looking over my shoulder at girls he liked more than me.”

“He’s just that way. It has nothing to do with you. I hope I didn’t make you question⁠—”

“No, no. He never meant anything to me except the excitement of a senior asking me to the dance. I’m not doubting my good qualities now that I realize why he was interested. I wonder why he made a point of coming over to talk to you tonight.”

“I assume it’s because I’ve got a lot of good things going for me right now and he doesn’t. So he wants to slide into our old pattern to feel better about himself.”

We reached the SUV a few minutes ago, but we’ve been standing next to the passenger door, talking. “I bet that’s it. I hope you never call him.”

“I’m not planning on it.”

His tone is gruff, and I study his face. It’s hard to tell because he’s a lot better at hiding his feelings than I am, but I catch something almost vulnerable in his eyes before he glances away.

I put my hand on his shirt. “Did he make you feel bad about yourself back then?”

“Y-yes. Kind of. Mostly in the way it made me doubt my own judgment. Like maybe I had no idea what a real friend was. But then I decided he only did it because I was a pretender.”

“A pretender?”

“Pretending to be one of the popular kids when I’m actually a nerd.”

“Wes!” I slide my hand up his shirt until I’m touching his jaw. I don’t know why. I just do. And I love the feel of the faint stubble against my palm. “You’re not a nerd.”

“I kind of am.”

“Well, it’s long past the time when such labels matter. Nerds often do very well for themselves in the real world.”

“Do they?” His voice and his eyes and his mouth are softer than before.