The party at Luther’s was in full swing by the time we arrived. It seemed as though every student at Weybridge was here, and given the number of unfamiliar faces we passed, many kids from the other schools at the regatta had come to the party too.
The sunshine that had felt so warm during the day had disappeared, leaving behind an open night sky and a chill on the breeze. Anna and Cress were wearing short dresses, their skin turning pale from the cool night air. I’d opted for a pair of jeans and a thick woolen jacket, and I’d never been more pleased I ignored my friends’ insistence on wearing something more revealing.
“Oh, thank God,” Anna said as we arrived at the party. “They’ve set up a bonfire tonight.” She didn’t hesitate as she grabbed Cress’s hand and pulled her toward the center of the clearing where the large flames crackled.
Despite the fact there were far more people at the party tonight than usual, the atmosphere seemed more relaxed. The music was mellower, and there was no raving dance floor like there had been at the last party I attended. Even the drinks station was a simpler affair with no lavish cocktails or expensive bottles of champagne anywhere to be seen.
I looked at the other side of the clearing, to the slightly elevated rocks where I’d seen Noah hanging out at my first party here. Kaden was sitting there, a group of guys and girls surrounding him, but there was no sign of Luther or Noah.
“There you are.” Wes looked handsome as he walked toward me under the warm glow of the fire and fairy lights that lit up the clearing. He was wearing a pair of jeans and a knitted sweater. He had far better taste than I did when it came to clothes, and he wore them all too well. “I just passed Anna and Cress; they looked like they were on a mission.”
I smiled. “They kind of tore off toward the fire when they saw it. I barely had a chance to go after them.”
He laughed. “Yeah, those two are hopeless at reading a weather forecast.”
“And they both really like to wear dresses.”
“That too.” He smiled before holding out a hand. “You going to come join the rest of the party or hang out at the entrance all night? Either way, I’m in.”
I smiled and took his hand. “I think I can handle joining the party.”
We walked through the crowded clearing together. It felt right holding hands with Wes. Like I had finally reached a place where I could feel happy again.
“How are you feeling after your big win today?” I asked. I hadn’t seen him since we parted ways at the lake, and given the slightly dopey look in his eyes, he’d been celebrating already. Clearly not as hard as some of his other teammates, a few of whom I could see swaying unsteadily on their feet.
“Pretty good,” he replied with a sly smile. “I’m not sure I’d call getting you to be my girlfriend a big win, but it definitely feels like one.”
I shoved my shoulder against his and laughed. “I wasn’t talking about that.”
“It’s the only win that really matters to me today.”
I shook my head but smiled. Wes was far too good for me. I still couldn’t understand how Sarah ever could have let him go.
We made our way through the crowd until we found Cress and Anna sitting near the bonfire on a bench seat positioned as close to the flames as possible. They’d be lucky if their boots didn’t catch on fire.
“Isobel, Wes, come sit!” Cress called.
The two girls shuffled down, making room for us on the bench. There was barely enough space for one of us to sit, let alone both Wes and I.
Wes placed his hand on my lower back and leaned in close. “I’ll go grab us some drinks,” he murmured before starting toward the drinks table.
“We turned around when we got to the fire, and you weren’t there.” Cress wrapped an arm around my shoulders and hugged me as I sat beside her. She’d had a few drinks before coming tonight and was currently in what Anna called Cress’s fun and flirty stage of drunkenness. It was probably the best stage Cress had when she was drinking, but Anna far preferred it when she leveled up and entered her “can’t stop dancing” stage. I kind of thought Cress rarely stopped dancing even when she hadn’t been drinking.
“Kaden’s looking hot tonight,” Cress continued, letting out a deep sigh. She was gazing over at him, a dreamy look in her eyes. “Then again, he always looks hot.”
“Why don’t you go chat with him?” I asked.
She blushed and shook her head. “I wouldn’t know what to say. He’s so smart. Anything I said would sound dumb.”
“But he’s so nice. I doubt he would ever think you were dumb.” Every interaction I’d ever had with Kaden, he’d been sweet and kind. I really couldn’t picture him judging someone because they weren’t as smart as him. He was so clever, if that were the case, he’d have to look down on absolutely everyone.
“He is really nice. Isn’t he?” Cress sighed. “And he’s pretty to look at.”
“You’re not just looking,” Anna said. “You’re practically undressing him with your eyes.”
Cress quickly glanced away from Kaden, her cheeks growing pink. “I’m not undressing him. I’m admiring.”
“And picturing him naked.”
“Oh my gosh, Anna. I’m not!” Cress insisted.
“Well, you probably weren’t, but I bet you are now.” Anna gave an evil laugh as Cress glared at her.
“I thought you weren’t interested in any of the guys from our school,” I said.
“I’m not,” Cress quickly replied. “I can think Kaden is good-looking without being interested that way. I also think Tom Holland and Liam Black are hot, but that doesn’t mean I want to date them.”
“Ha, you would totally date Liam Black if you could,” Anna said. “You had a picture of him as your phone background for like a year.”
“Because I liked his movie, not because I want to date him.”
“Liar.” Anna grinned. “But we’ll let it pass—for now.”
Wes returned with two bottles of beer and offered one to me. I took the bottle and thanked him before taking a small sip. I’d barely lowered the bottle from my lips when a cheer went up behind me. I stood and turned to where the laughter, whistles, and shouting was coming from, only for my eyes to meet a very naked Sawyer darting through the crowd.
“Oh my God!” Cress squealed at my side, grabbing hold of my hand.
“Stop covering your goods, and give us a real show!” Anna shouted as she jumped up on the bench to get a better look.
My hand went to cover my mouth as Sawyer lifted his arms and waved at Anna who started whistling. She was enjoying this far too much while I kind of wanted to poke my eyes out. I must have been the only one who felt that way. Everyone else at the party went wild as they applauded Sawyer.
“I can’t believe your brother’s actually streaking!” I said.
“Do you even know Sawyer?” he replied through his laughter. “He would have done this even if he hadn’t agreed to the bet.”
“True.” I shook my head and watched as Sawyer’s pale butt made its way to the far edge of the clearing and disappeared into the woods.
Anna jumped down from the bench and grinned at Wes. “Please tell me you and your brother are identical in all ways,” she said, wiggling her eyebrows. “Because, if so, Isobel, you are one lucky girl.”
Wes coughed uncomfortably and glanced away. “I should probably go check Sawyer has some clothing,” he said before quickly following his brother.
“I’m totally taking that as a yes,” Anna called after him.
Cress laughed as Wes disappeared. “I think you scared him off.”
“Oh yeah, he looked terrified,” Anna happily agreed. “You’d think he’d be proud that he shared his brother’s body.”
“You’re so weird sometimes,” I said.
She grinned brightly. “I know. It’s great, isn’t it?”
“Great. Annoying. Same thing really,” Cress replied.
“Hey!” Anna pouted.
Cress laughed. “You know I’m only joking.”
Anna folded her arms across her chest. “Ninety percent of jokes are born of truth.”
“Lucky for that ten percent then,” Cress replied.
“Lucky,” Anna muttered.
We sat back on the bench as the excitement of Sawyer streaking through the party dissipated, and the noise levels around us went back to normal.
“I still can’t believe you agreed to date Wes,” Anna said, changing the subject as she took a swig out of the bottle of champagne she held at her side. I hadn’t seen any champagne when I’d looked at the drinks table, but it was no surprise Anna had found a bottle somewhere.
I frowned. “You think it’s a bad thing?”
“No, of course not. Wes is great. I just thought you two might stubbornly refuse to see how great you are together for a while longer.”
“We weren’t being stubborn; we were being careful.”
“Well, I’m glad you decided to throw caution to the wind. I hated seeing you so upset after Noah. And no offense Cress, but your cousin was a dick for breaking up with Isobel in the first place.”
“None taken.” Cress turned to me. “I’m really happy to see the universe wanted you to move on.”
“Thanks.” I returned her smile, grateful she could be happy for me even if things hadn’t worked out with her cousin.
Wes returned to our group several minutes later, looking completely flustered.
“My brother’s an idiot.” He shook his head.
“What’s Sawyer done now?” I asked.
“Take a look yourself…”
I glanced past Wes and laughed when I saw Sawyer parading around in nothing more than a pair of boxers. “What is he doing?”
“Apparently, he wants to make sure all the girls here tonight know he was the one streaking, and he has to be half naked to do so.”
“Really?”
“Yep.”
I laughed again. “Are you sure you’re both related?”
“I ask myself the same thing every day.” He chuckled, but then his eyes grew serious as he looked down at the bench Anna, Cress, and I were squished onto. A flicker of a smile pulled at his lips before he took me by the hands and pulled me up, swiftly maneuvering around me to steal my seat on the bench.
“Hey—” My complaint was barely free of my lips when he snaked his arms around me, guiding me back down and onto his lap. He didn’t hesitate to cuddle me close.
“There, that’s much better,” he said.
I couldn’t disagree. Especially not when his hand found its way under my jacket and his thumb drew small circles on the skin just by my hip. Yes, agreeing to date Wes was one of my better ideas, and given the way he was smiling at me, I got the feeling he was thinking the same thing.
“Ugh, you two are so cute together it makes me sick,” Anna said.
“Same,” Cress complained. “I need a guy to snuggle me by the bonfire.”
Anna’s eyes flicked across the crowd, and she smiled when her gaze returned to Cress. “I’m pretty sure there are plenty of guys here tonight who would be more than willing to snuggle you, Cress.”
“I don’t want to settle for just anyone. I’m not you, Anna.”
Anna thumped Cress on the arm. “Wow, don’t tell me you’ve bypassed dancing drunk and gone straight to bitchy drunk!”
Cress burst out laughing. “You should see your face. I was kidding.”
Anna didn’t look impressed. “Ninety percent, Cress. Ninety percent.”
“What do you think?” Wes murmured to me. “Is Cress kidding or being honest?”
I glanced between the two girls and laughed. “I think she might be being honest. She’s had too many drinks to be joking.”
Wes grinned at me. “I like it when you laugh.”
“I like it when you smile at me like that.”
“I’m beginning to think I liked it better when you weren’t dating,” Anna interrupted. She was grinning brightly at us when I looked over. “Seriously, you’re making me gag.”
We laughed, and Wes hugged me a little tighter.
The three of us spent most of the evening cuddled up on the bench by the fire. I wasn’t normally a big fan of parties, but this one was chill and definitely the kind of party I could get behind. I couldn’t understand why Luther didn’t throw parties like this more often. I could actually hear what my friends were saying, and I wasn’t being forced to dance. It was a win-win.
“I’m going to go grab a drink of water. You want anything?” I said to Wes when Cress and Anna started a debate over which school from the regatta had the cutest guys. I was obviously team Weybridge, so I didn’t have much to add to the discussion.
“Nah, I’m good,” he said. “Want me to come with?”
I smiled and jumped from his lap. “I’m not going far. I’ve got this.”
He gave me big, puppy-dog eyes, like he didn’t want to be left in the middle of Anna and Cress’s discussion.
“Stay warm by the fire.” I laughed. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
I turned and headed over to the drinks table. There were huge tubs of drinks on the table and under it, but as I searched through them, I couldn’t see anything other than alcohol.
“After anything in particular?”
I glanced up and found Luther at my side.
“Water or even just a soda. I’m overheating from being so close to the fire.”
“Ah, yes, I’m guessing having an oversized yeti cuddling up to you doesn’t help the situation either.”
I tilted my head at him. “Wes isn’t a yeti.”
“I didn’t say it was a bad thing.” His lips teased a smile. “In fact, if it was snowing, it would probably be a great thing to be snuggled up to.”
“Be nice, Luther.”
He let out a sigh. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
My eyebrows shot up. Was he actually apologizing?
“And I’m also sorry for being so hard on you in the library. I still think you and Noah belong together, but I guess I have no choice but to accept it’s not going to happen.”
If I thought I was surprised before, it was nothing compared to how I felt now. “Why the sudden change of heart?”
“I guess because you’re finally starting to look happy again, and I know you wouldn’t be if you were waiting for Noah,” he said. “Plus, Noah might have pointed out to me that if he’s had to accept it then so should I. I’m not going to stop hoping that somehow you find your way back to each other, but I can stop being a dick about it. Despite everything, we’re friends. And friends shouldn’t be dicks to each other.”
“Thanks, I think.”
He gave me a crooked smile and nodded to the drinks table. “I haven’t seen any water or soda out here in a while, but there’s always some in the storage shed.”
“The storage shed?”
“You would have passed it on the way here tonight. It’s just behind those trees.” He pointed to the edge of the clearing and the path that led back to the house. I remembered seeing the shed and knew it wasn’t far.
“You know, I’m pretty sure this is how most horror films begin,” I said.
He chuckled. “Do you need an escort? I have a scarily girlish scream, so I can be the sacrificial maiden who gets caught while you escape if you like?”
I laughed. “As much as I’d love to hear this scream, I think I can make it alone.”
“Suit yourself,” he said. “But if you’re not back in five minutes, I’ll warn everyone at the party to run.”
I laughed again. “Glad you’ve got your priorities straight.”
I made my way to the edge of the clearing and started down the path that led through the forest beyond. The storage shed wasn’t far from the party. The flickering glow from the bonfire could still be seen through the trees and the hum of music was only slightly dampened by the distance.
A soft light spilled out the open door as I approached. I walked into the room only to find a couple making out on top of the crates of drinks. The girl’s top was open, and the guy’s hands were roaming everywhere. I let out a surprised squeak as I darted backward, squeezing my eyes shut as I stumbled back into the night.
“Oh my gosh,” I muttered as I tried to erase what I’d just seen from my mind.
A soft chuckle came from the darkness. “I probably should have warned you about them.”
I turned to find Noah sitting against a tree opposite the storage shed.
“Noah, what are you doing out here?”
He slowly stood and took a sip of the beer he cradled in his hands. “Getting a bit of fresh air.”
“Getting fresh air and listening to a couple of students making out?”
He shrugged again. “I was here first, and it’s not like I can hear them over the noise of the party.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” I thankfully couldn’t hear whatever was happening in the shed either.
I wondered how long Noah had been out here. I hadn’t seen him all night. He appeared tired but not drunk. In fact, there was a clarity to his gaze I hadn’t seen in weeks.
“Are you enjoying the party?” he asked.
“Ah, sure.” It felt awkward talking to him this way, especially now that I was with Wes.
“You look like you’re having fun.”
I slowly nodded, not sure what to say. “I should probably head back.”
He glanced toward the shed. “You’re leaving empty-handed?”
“Oh, right, my water.” I’d completely forgotten it, but I suddenly wasn’t that thirsty. Not if it meant going back into the shed. “I’m sure I’ll survive without it…”
One of the corners of his lips lifted, and he raised a finger, indicating for me to wait. “Give me a sec…” He turned and walked into the shed. “Knock, knock, coming through,” he said loudly as he entered. I heard a girly squeal and some muffled voices, and then a moment later, Noah returned with a bottle of water in his hand.
“You didn’t have to do that,” I said as he passed it to me.
“You’re welcome.”
This whole conversation was too amicable, but I guessed this was our future now—polite conversations and both of us pretending that we hadn’t once meant so much more to each other.
I gave him a tight smile and turned to leave, but Noah reached out and gently touched my elbow. The contact sent sparks across my skin and tugged at my gut. I stopped and turned to him, and he was standing far closer than before. I didn’t want to have a reaction to him, but every cell in my body seemed to come alive at his proximity. Apparently, we could pretend all we wanted that we’d moved on, but my body was always going to betray me when he was near.
“Isobel…” he murmured. His eyes stared deeply into mine, making my heart drum wildly against the confines of my chest.
“Don’t look at me that way.”
“I’m not looking at you any way.”
“You are, and you know it.” I took a quick step away from him. “I’m with someone else now.”
His throat bobbed as he swallowed. “You’re right.” He ran a hand through his hair, and he squeezed his eyes shut. It was almost like he wanted to pretend this wasn’t real. When he opened his eyes again, they were empty of the charged emotions I’d seen moments before. It was almost like looking at a completely different person. I had no idea how he was so good at acting, but it made me wonder if he’d ever used these skills on me before.
“Was there a reason you stopped me?” I asked.
“I just…” He looked away. “I just wanted to say it’s good to see you happy again.”
I got the feeling he’d wanted to say something else, but I wasn’t brave enough to push him for the truth.
“Anyway, I’m sure Wes is wondering where you are,” he said.
His words were clearly meant to bring the conversation to an end, so I nodded. “Have a good night, Noah.”
“You too, Isobel.”
I walked away, but as I moved through the trees, I glanced over my shoulder at him. He was sitting on the ground again, staring up at the stars. Whatever act he’d been putting on when we were talking was gone, and there was a look of pain and longing on his face that reverberated in my chest. We were both supposed to be moving on, but why did I feel like Noah was still living in the past?
