Page 63 of Inevitable

“He’s only, like, the hottest singer this summer. How have you not heard his song—‘Buy Me’?”

“I’ve been a little busy.”

“What’s up with you tonight?” she asked, guiding me over to the bar where we ordered drinks. “You seem tense.”

Instead of answering, I surveyed the crowd. I recognized a few celebrities. Piper had told me about these types of parties before, but it was different experiencing it firsthand rather than through her Instagram posts.

When the bartender returned with my drink, I thanked him and took a few sips. The flavor of the cocktail reminded me of one I’d had in New York, and I stared into the glass as if it held the answers. Between pretending everything was fine at work and keeping the secret from my dad and Lea when I couldn’t avoid them, I was exhausted. The only reason I hadn’t told Piper yet was because I wasn’t ready to dissect what had happened. But I couldn’t hold it in anymore. If I didn’t talk about this with someone, I was going to explode.

“I did something stupid.”

“Are we talking kissing-Carson-with-braces stupid or…”

My thoughts immediately went to Jonathan caging me in in the airplane bathroom. His breath hot on my neck, my muffled pants. I swallowed back those thoughts, heat flooding my cheeks.

“I slept with my boss.”

“Oh shit.” Her eyes went wide. Then she settled back into her seat, seeming to realize I was serious. “Well, was your dream man everything you hoped he’d be?”

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “And more.”

She squealed, drawing the attention of some men nearby. “Yas, girl. Get it.” She took a sip of her drink. “Wait. Why do you seem so upset, then?”

I hung my head. “Because it’s over. Well, it never really started, to be honest. And now everything is such a mess.”

“Aw, Sumner.” She wrapped her arm around my shoulder and pulled me into her side. “I’m sorry. I know you’ve always had a thing for him.” She pulled back to look at me. “He wasn’t an asshole about it, was he?”

I shook my head, my eyes stinging. Even though I was mad at him—at the situation—I couldn’t honestly say he’d been an asshole. “No. Not really. He was never anything but honest.”

She nodded, then seemed to consider something. “Hey, do you want to get out of here?”

I did, but I also knew how excited she’d been about the party. “Already? We just got here.”

“So?” She lifted a shoulder. “There will be other parties. I only have one best friend.”

And then I really did almost cry. “Aw, Piper.” I tugged at the corners of my eyes. “You’re going to ruin my makeup.”

“Come on,” she said, escorting me toward the deck. “Let’s blow this joint.” Her heels clicked against the deck. “Wait—” She turned to me. “Maybe that’s what we should do.”

“What’s that?” I asked.

“Smoke.”

I shook my head with a laugh, though the idea was tempting. How nice would it be not to care about anything for a while?

“At least now you’ve gotten him out of your system. You’ve checked off that fantasy, and you can finally move on.”

The problem was, I didn’t know if I could.

Chapter Eighteen

“Wolfe?”

“Isla.” I glanced up when I heard a knock at the door. “What can I do for you?”

She stepped inside, taking a seat across from me. “I just wanted to stop by and say thank you for the coaching lessons. Sumner’s been wonderful.”

I nodded, thinking that I couldn’t agree more. Sumner was wonderful. “Good. I’m glad.”