Page 13 of My Return to the Walter Boys
Nathan gently pushed me in their direction. “Positive. You’re riding home with us, right?”
“That’s the plan,” I said, scrutinizing his expression as I slowly walked backward. Thankfully, nothing in his easygoing smile betrayed signs of disappointment.
“Okay. If you don’t make it over to the music tent, I’ll see you then. Remember—”
“Eleven fifteen or else,” I finished, wagging a finger. He laughed and offered me a salute before receding into the crowd. When I turned back to my friends, Riley launched herself into my arms.
“Jackie! You’re finally back.” She squeezed me so hard I let out a strangulated squeak. “Summer was so lonely without you.”
The strength of her hug spoke volumes, and I turned to Skylar and Heather with raised brows. The girls—not including Kim, as she spentequal amounts of time with Alex—were inseparable, and although Skylar tended to be more independent, Riley and Heather were his best friends. Had somethingelsechanged while I was away?
Skylar waived off my questioning look. “Don’t mind her. She’s being dramatic,” he said before instructing me to grab a drink from the cooler and get comfortable. As I selected a lemonade and kicked off my sandals, he launched into an explanation about how, while Heather was away in California visiting her father and stepmom, he’d been busy working as a summer camp counselor, leaving Riley to languish—her word, not Skylar’s—by her lonesome.
“Well, what about Kim?” I asked. “Didn’t you see her at all?”
The smile on Riley’s face faltered.
When Skylar and Heather exchanged a look, I rolled my eyes and added, “You guys don’t need to break the news to me about them. I already know they’re dating and don’t care.”
“Really?” Riley perked up. “You’re not upset at all?”
“No, our breakup was…” I trailed off as I searched for the right word.
Skylar arched a brow. “A foregone conclusion?”
“Inevitable?” Heather suggested.
“Fated?” he shot back.
“Amicable,” I finally settled on as I gave them the side-eye. “We both came to the realization we were dating for the wrong reasons. Alex even admitted he wasn’t over Mary, so I guess I’m just confused about how he and Kim got together so quickly? Nathan said it was only a few days after I left.”
“Kim has had a crush on Alex since middle school,” Riley admitted as she dug around in the cooler for another drink. She settled on a cherry cola, shook off the water, and popped the tab before continuing. “She planned on confessing after the Mary drama blew over, but you arrived out of nowhere, and Alex—well, let’s just say he was enamored.”
“Obsessed,” Skylar said with a fake cough.
Heather, who’d been nodding along with the explanation, was quick to cut in. “When Alex told her you guys broke up, Kim just went for it. She didn’t want to miss her chance again.”
“Oh my God,” I said, gaze darting to each of my friends as I pinched the skin at my throat. “I had no idea. She must hate me.”
“No,” Riley said tersely. “Kim isn’t like that. She’s one of those annoyingly good people who just wants everyone to be happy.”
“Things worked out better for her anyway,” Skylar added. “She’d rather be the forever girl than a rebound.”
“I guess that’s fair, but are you sure she’s okay with me?” I asked. “I want to be friends, but I can’t help that I live with her boyfriend. What if she’s secretly wishing misfortune on me and all my descendants?”
Riley laughed. “It’s hilarious how worried you both are of being hated by each other. Kim’s practically given herself an ulcer. She’ll be so relieved to hear you don’t care about them dating.”
Alex had said something similar, but boys could be naive when it came to these kinds of things, so having confirmation took the load off my chest.
“Not relieved, ecstatic,” Skylar said. “She wants all of us to be a big happy family so we can run a D and D campaign together, remember?”
“Oh God.” Riley groaned and flopped backward onto the blanket. “I completely forgot about that. Please don’t remind her.”
“I wouldnever. Last time I was at her house, I hid her player’s handbook and collection of dice sets.”
“Hey! Focus, people.” Heather snapped her fingers at Skylar and Riley to get their attention, then turned back to me. “I need more details. Was it really that clean of a breakup? Because rumor has it you’re heartbroken over Alex and that’s the real reason you went back to New York.”
Ugh, this was what I hated about small towns. It was so much easier to stay anonymous in the city. “That’s ridiculous,” I told her. “Katherine offered to let me spend the summer in New York, so I was thinking about going even before we broke up. Alex had nothing to do with my decision. Actually, he was the one who convinced me to leave, now that I think about it, but not by breaking my heart. He helped me realize there was some stuff I needed to deal with at home.”
