Page 16 of Forever Cursed

“That dick gave me shit for inviting all these people. Look at him now.” I throw my hands up in the air.

Gwen rests her hand over her forehead as we observetheAsh Waylen in action. A group of guys and a few random girls huddle around him. He’s talking with his hands and grinning ear to ear as he tells whatever crazy tale he’s sharing.

Gwen’s cheeks flush red as she fixes her bathing suit strap. She’s growing self-conscious, and that one nervous tick is too familiar.

I drape my arm over her shoulder and rest my head on hers. “Do you want me to get him for you?” I whisper so Zack doesn’t hear me.

With a gentle shake of her head, I nod and kiss her temple.

“Zack, will you go out there and make sure no one fucks in the pool or trashes Mr. Lawyer Man’s property?” I ask while secretly gesturing to a nervous Gwen.

Zack recognizes my protective stance over Gwen and agrees.

“Anything for my two favorite people in the world.” Zack offers Gwen a smile before going outside.

We watch as he charges Ash, pulling him into one of his famous bear hugs. Gwen doesn’t have anything to worry about regarding Ash. This is her anxiety over crowds creeping in. She wants to be with Ash, but her fear is stopping her.

“You can go outside and have fun. I’ll manage the fort from here.” She pulls away and puts on a strong front.

“I promised Rome I would wait for him. He should be here any minute. Speaking of which. . .”

“Oh no,” Gwen mutters.

“What do you mean,oh no?”

“What master plan do you have up your sleeve today?” She chuckles, and I grin.

I remove my black tank top, adjust my bright red bikini top, and then ruffle my hair to give it volume.

“No trick today, my Gwen.” I wink at my best friend as her jaw drops to the floor.

“Zack is going to murder you,” she chuckles breathlessly.

“Zack can suck on a donkey’s tail. I have a blond football player who needs wooing.”

I haven’t seen Rome since the fancy pancakes incident; it’s been nothing but casual texts. I almost got him to spill a tidbit from his past, but Zack ruined the moment, and Rome shut down. He wore a brave face and acted like his usual, light-hearted self. Which only makes me wonder, how much of his pain is he hiding? And how often does he hide that trauma with a charming grin?

My feelings toward Rome are becoming overwhelming. I think about him nonstop, waiting for my phone to buzz, hoping he’ll text or call me. Or that he’ll show up at Ash’s while I’m there. Being around him fills a void in my chest that I didn’t know was there, and I’m tired of waiting for him to make the first move.

“How do I look?” I do a tiny twirl, and when I face her, her eyes are still wide.

“Like your boobs are going to fall out.”

“Perfect.”

Unlike Gwen, I don’t have gorgeous curves or a nice set of tits. My body curves to a point, and my breasts aren’t small, but they’re not big either. I was made fun of a lot in middle school for having small boobs and no ass. I grew since then, and with a lot of self-affirmations, I learned to love my body. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have my bad days.

“Hey, Gwen!” A familiar voice sounds behind me, but it’s not from the man I’m looking for.

“Hey! How are you?” she asks as Miles pulls her in for a hug.

Patting his back, Gwen keeps her eyes on me, unsure how this scenario will play out. I haven’t seen Miles since we ended things last winter. As far as I know, we left on good terms.

“I’m good. How are you?” Gwen asks as they pull apart.

“Great. I haven’t seen you or Ash in a while. Let me guess—he’s outside?” Miles looks outside and nods his head. “Yep, that makes total sense.” He turns around, finally noticing me, and he smiles at me.

“Hey, Chrissy. How are you?” His caramel eyes shine as he looks at me.

---