Page 2 of Forever Cursed

“I’ll be right back. Rome is here.”

I’m so glad I’m wearing sunglasses because my eyes grow to the size of Florida oranges. Ash jogs down the beach, slipping in the sand.

Gwen smirks knowingly, her tongue poking the inside of her cheek. “Oh, this is about to be the best birthday ever,” she chirps.

I can’t pick my jaw up from the beach towel I’m sitting on. Rome and I arefriends.

Friends who have cute nicknames for one another, like Bubbles and Sir Eats A Lot. I admitted my complex feelings toward him to Gwen last winter. Five months later, nothing has changed.

Since summer break started, I haven’t seen much of Rome because he’s always training or working out. Being one of the best wide receivers in the region is a tough title to keep up with, but he does it with a smile on his face and abs made of steel.

Anticipation churns my stomach into a nervous frenzy at the thought of seeing him. Rome has been my longest-lasting crush, which is an unusual occurrence for me. I think I have undiagnosed ADHD because my interest flips from one guy to another like there’s no tomorrow. The fact that Rome hassecured himself in the depths of my mind is both impressive and terrifying.

“Is it possible he got more jacked since the last time we saw him?” Gwen asks, and my head snaps to the right.

“What? Where? I don’t see him,” I whisper as I crawl closer to Gwen for a better look.

“Gotcha,” she snickers.

“Gwen Roman, you daughter of a bitch!” Our combined laughter fills the air as our hands collide. “You’re going to pay for that, missy.”

“No way, bubbles!” Gwen chuckles as she topples on her back, still holding me back with her hands.

With my knees deep in the sand, a wide smile stretches across my face, causing my cheeks to ache.

“I was only gone for five minutes.” Ash’s voice brings me to a sudden stop. Gwen’s eyes widen just as mine do. If Ash is here, that means that Rome is?—

“Happy birthday!” Rome cheers.

“Okay, Chrissy, get off the birthday girl.” Zack wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me off Gwen.

“She started it!” I tattle as he places me back on my beach towel; quickly discovering that Rome got Gwen a gift, and my heart melts.

“Thank you, Rome.” Gwen’s heart must also be a puddle because her tone is sweet and starstruck.

My eyes linger on Rome as she opens her gift. The first thing I notice is that he cut his hair. The last time I saw him, it was pulled back in a ponytail, nearly the same length as Gwen’s shoulder-length waves. Now, it’s short and neatly slicked back with a bit of height. He’s wearing a white muscle tee with tropical green swim trunks. The sun casts a warm glow over him, accentuating the contours of his body.

Gwen’s squeal frees me from my trance. When I look at her, she’s flipping through a book. “How did you know?!”

“I’m an excellent gift giver.” Rome beams.

“He’s stealing my thunder. I told him that book has been on your TBR for months,” Zack admits.

“But who toldyouthat?” Ash fires back.

The boys go back and forth, not allowing anyone to steal the other’s spotlight. Gwen and I glance at one another. This has been our life since Ash sat next to her in biochem. It’s new, but at the same time, it’s normal. Ash and Rome fit into our circle so easily. It’s like they were always meant to be there.

“Well, no one beats what I got her.” Ash grins as he pulls on his invisible suspenders.

Gwen’s eyes bug out in response. As Ash opens his mouth, she tosses a beach towel over his head.

“Shut up, Waylen!”

“I don’t want to know. La, la, la, la! I can’t hear you!” Zack covers his ears as Ash struggles to untangle the towel from his face.

“I don’t know why you boys are bothering. I won the gift exchange this year,” I say with all the pride I can muster.

“What?! What did you get her?” Ash asks as he frees himself from the beach towel.

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