Page 5 of Sweet Ruin

“I don’t think you should give up on Kaden completely,” I said. “He might surprise you.”

“Maybe,” she said. “But I’m not so sure.”

I felt a hand on my shoulder, and as I glanced up, I found Wes grinning down at me. He gave me a quick peck on the cheek before taking the spare seat at my side.

“How was practice this morning?” I asked.

“Hard.” He grimaced. “You’d think Coach would go easy on us since we won this weekend, but no such luck. My shoulders are killing me already. I’m probably going to be sore for days.”

“That’s what you get for exercising,” Anna said in a matter-of-fact voice.

Wes winked at her before focusing on me. “How was your night?” he asked. “Are you feeling any better?”

“I’m okay,” I said. “A little better after sleeping on it.” That wasn’t strictly true. After I left Wes’s room last night, Noah had reignited my anger to a whole new level, but I had calmed down a bit since then.

“That’s good.” He drew in a breath and looked like he was going to continue, but then he paused. I could tell there was something on his mind and he was carefully considering how to voice it.

“What is it?” I asked.

He exhaled loudly. “It’s Noah and Veronica. I didn’t know they were dating until this morning. I wanted to check how you’re feeling. Seeing them together, I mean.” He frowned as he spoke, and I could see how uncomfortable he was asking the question. I hated he felt he had to worry about how I might be feeling at the sight of my ex moving on.

“It’s news to all of us,” Anna said. I was relieved she’d been the one to speak first so I didn’t have to respond straightaway. I knew Wes was only asking me to be supportive. We’d both been through bad breakups recently, so he knew there was a chance it would be weird for me to see Noah and Veronica together. But the question felt loaded with pressure. There was only one way I could answer without hurting his feelings. Thankfully, after everything Noah had put me through, I didn’t have to lie.

“I’m okay,” I said. “We’re talking about a guy that punched my dad. Dating Veronica sounds like a suitable punishment for him.”

The tension released from Wes’ shoulders, and he smiled at me. “I’m glad to hear it,” he said. There was such a clear look of relief in his eyes it made me wonder just how anxious he was about my feelings toward Noah.

“So, I was thinking about our study session tonight,” Wes said, eager to get off the topic of my ex-boyfriend. “What do you think about ditching the library and coming to my room so we can get takeout delivered while we work? Sawyer’s got soccer practice, so we’ll have some peace.”

“Interesting. What kind of takeout are you thinking?”

“How about your favorite burgers…”

“Toddy’s?”

He grinned and nodded.

“I’m surprised you even had to ask.” I laughed. “That sounds perfect.”

The bell rang, and we started to gather our things to head to class. I said goodbye to Wes and Anna before heading off to English with Cress. I was looking forward to burgers for dinner, but I was most excited about getting some uninterrupted time with Wes. It was just what I needed.

“Are you sure you’re okay about Noah and Veronica?” Cress asked as we walked down the corridor to English. “It would be understandable if you weren’t.”

“I mean, I’m about as okay as I can be.” I let out a sigh. “Don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t sit right with me that he took her to the White Ball and said he didn’t have feelings for her. Clearly, he was lying about that. But I’m too mad at him for everything else to be upset by that.”

“I still don’t like it,” Cress said. “I just don’t understand why he’d start dating her now after rejecting her all these years.”

“It seems he’s fully embraced the dark side.” We walked a little farther down the hall before I continued. “Do you think it was weird that Wes asked me how I felt about Noah and Veronica?”

“I think he was just being thoughtful,” she said. “He knows what you’ve been through. He’s been through it too.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” I said, shaking my head. “I don’t know, it’s just strange talking about my ex-boyfriend with my current boyfriend.”

“Totally,” Cress agreed. “Maybe because you and Wes were friends first, he felt like he could ask you.”

“Yeah.”

“He also probably needed to ask. For him, I mean. I think Wes finds it hard where Noah’s concerned.”

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