Page 7 of To Love or to Lose
“So, he’s going to school with us?” Winnie glances between Logan and his new friend.
“Yup,” he replies in a chipper tone. “Well, it’s been nice talking to you ladies, but I should probably head back over.” He points over his shoulder back toward his group of friends.
“We’ll join you,” Eloise says, and I can instantly tell by the look that she gives me this is what she was planning all along; why she asked about Jameson in the first place.
“Great,” He smiles, leading the way across the sand.
“This is a bad idea, El.” I grid through my teeth, dragging my flip-flops through the sand.
She grabs my arm, beginning to drag me along. “Come on, Gen. This is supposed to be fun.”
“If having fun were your intentions, you would not be dragging me over to stand with a group of douchebags,” I tell her pointedly.
“I heard that!” Logan yells, looking back.
“What other motives could I possibly have?” She asks, almost sarcastically. “It’s not like I’m the master of the male species.”
She has a point; Eloise has made it known since freshman year that she was strictly into girls. Therefore, she has no use for boys in any way other than platonic ones.
It isn’t a secret that Eloise’s greatest passion project is my love life, and she is well aware of my hesitation.
It is quite clear as soon as she caught a glimpse of thesomewhatattractive English boy, attempting to set him up with me was her priority.
I roll my eyes at her antics. This is such an Eloise thing to do. “This isn’t funny. You know I’m not interested.”
“Not interested in what?” She smirks continuing to pull me along.
A large group of Logan’s friends quickly surround us, including the English one, and all of them are already gawking at either Eloise or Winnie. It’s hard to decipher which though, and I don’t really care to. I’m just glad it’s not me who has their attention. I don’t want it.
“Winnifred.” Noah Sommers nods at her in greeting as he scans over her Dior bikini, which accentuates her slender frame and long blonde hair.
Logan looks over when he hears her name, and we all know why.
Noah Sommers is a known player, like a‘Willing-to-sleep-with-any-girl-with-a-pulse”type of player.
Partly because he is one of the most attractive boys in our school, but also because he has an incredible sense of charm.
One that Winnie and I refuse to fall for.
And since Winnie is one of Logan’s closest friends, it makes sense for Logan wants to put a divide between her and Noah.
He doesn’t want to see her get hurt. Ever.
I take a step back, opting to stay toward the outskirts of the group, and eventually both Winnie and Eloise do the same.
Standing in a circle, the sand burning my bare feet; the conversations seem to flow easily, except I’m not saying anything.
Usually I choose to not partake in any large group discussions like this one, because I’m too logical to converse as easily as everyone else is right now, but also because most people think I talk as intelligently as I do because I’mtryingto hurt their feelings. (I’m not, but I’ve been told that I talk like I am.)
So, to avoid confrontation, I stay quiet.
Until I’m spoken to directly, then my game of silence is over.
“Evie, what did you get on the SAT?” Luke Shepard asks.
“1580,” I say. I know higher than average scores are expected of me, but most of the time people still feel the need to boost my ego, which is entirely unneeded. So, I wait for it to pass.
“Holy shit,” multiple of the boys say.
