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“Breakup buddies?”

“Buddies who help each other through breakups.”

He smiled. “We are pretty good at that, aren’t we?”

“The best,” I agreed.

He exhaled loudly as he leaned back and put his glasses on. “It really is too bright out here.”

I laughed and nodded at his burger. “Maybe if you eat something, you’ll feel better.”

“You think this burger has the power to dial down the sun?”

“Well, it is a pretty good burger.”

“True.” He took a bite and chewed it cautiously. He normally devoured his food like it was going to disappear if he didn’t eat it quickly enough. Today, he was taking it awfully slowly. He must have been in a world of pain.

I considered taking a bite of my burger, but a laugh drew my attention, and I glanced up. A group of people were walking around the edge of the lake, coming back from the direction of the old boathouse. It was a mix of girls and guys. Luther and Kaden were in the group, but Noah held my gaze.

It felt like he was always around. Always there when I wanted nothing more than to escape him. It would make it so much easier to move on if I could. Instead, my heart lurched out of my chest whenever I saw him.

“Isobel?”

I turned to Wes. He hadn’t noticed Noah. I doubted he could see anything beyond his burger right now. “Yeah?”

“Promise to remind me to never to fall in love again.”

I felt an echoing twinge of pain at his words. I still wasn’t over Noah. Not even close. “I will, but you’ve got to promise me too.”

“Done.”

“Thanks, breakup buddy.” He lifted his burger as though to cheers mine, and I knocked my food against his. “Here’s to never falling in love again.”

I nodded but couldn’t help glancing in Noah’s direction once more. As I felt the ache in my chest return, I knew I was more than happy to live by those words.

CHAPTERTEN

On Sunday morning, we woke to a knock at our door from Lisa, our dorm mom, letting us know she’d called an early house meeting. Everyone in our hall was expected to go—no exceptions.

Cress had been slow to get ready, so most girls were already there when we arrived. They were perched on sofas and sitting on the floor. The one benefit of the meeting was that Lisa had ordered in food, and the smell of fresh coffee and croissants had me salivating.

“This has to be some kind of cruel joke,” Cress murmured as we both grabbed a coffee. She took a deep drink and let out a happy sigh before she continued. “No one should be expected to get up before ten on a Sunday.”

“Lisa’s probably pissed no one listens to curfew,” Anna said as she joined us. She picked a croissant off the table and took a quick bite. “What better punishment is there when we’ve been out too late than making us all get up early?”

Funnily enough, Cress, Anna, and I had stayed in watching movies in the common room last night. We hadn’t even been close to breaking curfew. Not that the girls were ever all that worried about breaking the rules. They were both far too skilled at talking their way out of trouble with Lisa.

We took a seat at the back of the room and waited for the meeting to start. Lisa walked in moments later, her usual smile and warm expression completely missing.

She let out a sigh as she went to stand at the front of the room. “Good morning, everyone,” she said. “Sorry to drag you out of bed so early on a Sunday morning, but if people can’t respect the rules around here, I can’t be expected to respect your sleep.”

“Told you,” Anna whispered with a smile.

“I wanted to bring you all in here to remind you that, with no exceptions, boys are not allowed in your rooms after curfew.”

The girls all broke into titters of laughter, and Anna and Cress snorted at my side.

“I wonder who got caught?” Cress murmured.