Page 68 of Next to Everything We Wanted
Raina wiggled her eyebrows. “Then take it slow and steady.”
I groaned. “Seriously, guys, I appreciate your support, but I don’t want to be a homewrecker.”
“Did Ivan and Celia just break up?” Dallas asked. “Like, right before the concert date?”
“They’ve been broken up for almost a month,” I said.
“A month?” Hayden echoed. “Gosh, how did we not notice that?”
“We must be bad at reading signals,” Dallas murmured.
“You both definitely are,” Raina said, and Dallas nudged her with his elbow.
“I could see if they’d just broken up that it’d be iffy,” Arielle said. “But since it’s been a while, I think you should see how things play out. Trust me, you won’t regret it.”
“Because you know so much about relationships,” Hayden said flatly.
Arielle snapped her head toward him. “Do you know better?”
He held up his hands. “Sheesh, I was joking. You wouldn’t be upset if Caleb said that, would you?”
“It’d be different coming from Caleb,” she muttered, turning away from him with pink cheeks.
Hayden rolled his eyes, and Dallas rubbed his shoulder.
Man, I was counting down the days until Hayden and Arielle got back together. Like Dallas and Raina, they were just meant to be. I could see them decades in the future, telling their kids about their turbulent high-school love story.
“If you guys are done being angsty exes,” I said, getting up from the grass, “I’m taking a break before my next task.” I looked at the dogs I’d been playing with, who all gave me puppy eyes. “Sorry that I didn’t get to play much. I will tomorrow.”
Hayden nodded. “And I’m sorry to every dog here that was traumatized by today’s events.”
Dallas smiled. “At least they don’t know how puppies are made yet.”
I giggled before giving Raina a hug. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the date.”
“It’s okay,” she said. “Make good decisions.
My chest tightened as I went inside, thoughts of Gavin and Celia running through my brain. Gavin wouldn’t have kissed me back and said he enjoyed it if he hadn’t liked it. He hadn’t texted me this morning saying it was a mistake. Something about us seeing each other, his soft lips against mine, felt so right but sounded so wrong.
This had to stop.
But, gosh, my heart didn’t like the sound of that.
Ugh. I needed another cup of coffee.
I went into the break room, stopping when I saw Oliver hugging someone. I realized that it was Kami, Dallas’s older sister who had just graduated last week.
It only took a second for Oliver to notice me, and he jumped back, hitting his back against the counter. Kami jumped back too, nearly tumbling into the table behind her.
“Sienna!” Oliver shouted, putting a hand on his chest. “Gosh.”
“What were you two doing?” I asked.
“We were just hugging.” Kami twirled her black ponytail around her finger. “I just got an email that I got the scholarship I wanted for Arizona State.”
“Oh, congrats!” I gave her a hug, noticing her fast heartbeat. It made sense, given that she was excited, but I wondered if it had anything to do with something else. “I’m so happy for you.”
“Thank you! My parents are going to be over the moon.” She pulled out of the hug with a smile. “Actually, I’m going to tell my mom right now.” With that, she skipped out of the room.
