Page 110 of Everything Has Changed
38
Gwendolyn
The sun is setting over the mountains, leaving the whole town covered in a soft orange glow. All the extra lights that were specifically placed around the town square light up, giving the area an ethereal feel that makes all my wildest dreams come true. It was everything I imagined and then some.
The crowd is gathering around the gazebo, waiting with excited chatter for what is coming next. Personally, I’m trying not to throw up from anxiety after what happened with Logan earlier.
I knew we needed to keep things on the down low. Hell, I was perfectly fine with it as we tried to figure everything out for ourselves. After the week we had, however, I thought this was going to be the next step in the direction of us going public. Easing into it with a funny little auction date. Something he asked me to do numerous times recently. Did I read it all wrong?
Nibbling on my thumbnail, I feel someone walk up next to me and gently pry my hand from my mouth.
“I thought you outgrew that bad habit,” Kennedy sighs.
“No, I just learned to hide it better. Considering the circumstances, I think I am warranted a little bit of a bad habit. It’s this or I start hyperventilating from stress, so take your pick.”
“I choose none of the above, if I’m being totally honest.”
I take a deep breath and shove my hands into the sleeves of my sweater to keep from biting my nails again.
We are quiet for a minute as we watch the guys participating in the auction gather behind the curtain surrounding the gazebo. Mrs. Spencer flits to each one, a wide smile on her face as she laughs at whatever they are saying to her. Jackson looks wildly uncomfortable when she pats him on the arm, and both of us chuckle at his contorted expression.
“Is he smiling, or did he smell something bad?”
“Probably both. I think one of the contestants got a hold of some Axe body spray from 2009 and bathed in it. Why do you think I’m standing all the way out here?” I gesture to the space I’m taking up, just far enough away from the gazebo that I can still see everything, but no one will pay attention to me.
At least most people won’t. Logan clocked my location immediately, and I can feel his eyes tracking me even now. I caught his gaze a moment ago, flashing him a smile and a cheesy thumbs up I instantly regretted showing him all is good. But truthfully, all is not good. All is pretty bad in my mind right now as I have questions running on a loop wondering if I read the whole situation wrong. If he was having regrets about the time we were spending together now that the event is active and coming to an end soon.
Kennedy hums. “I thought you were standing out here to hide from a stupid boy who put his foot in his mouth.”
I shrug, not willing to put a voice to any sort of lie I might attempt. “That’s not the complete reason, but it’s a reason, nonetheless.”
“He felt bad about it as soon as he said it, if that counts for anything.”
“He still said it, so obviously it was on his mind in some capacity.” I kick the toe of my left boot into the ground a couple times. “Why are you sticking up for him anyway? Weren’t you just this morning telling me to be careful?”
Her nose scrunches. “Me? No, I don’t recall. Oh look, it’s starting.” She points toward the mock stage where Mrs. Spencer walks out to a sea of clapping.
“Thank goodness y’all didn’t start without me.” Piper slides in next to me, slightly out of breath.
“Where have you been? We closed up the booth half an hour ago for this.”
She waves a hand in my direction. “Had some family stuff to deal with.” Piper doesn’t go into detail on what that was, but the redness around her eyes and the bit of smudged mascara on the corner tells me something is wrong.
“Pipes, are you okay?”
She smiles at me, though it doesn’t reach her eyes which lock onto mine. “Don’t worry about it. I’m just glad I didn’t miss the main event.”
I want to question her again, knowing in my gut she’s not being honest. And in what world does my best friend think I’m not going to worry about something that has clearly upset her?
“You seem awfully eager there, Piper,” Kennedy leans around me to smirk at her. “Have your eye on someone special?”
A soft blush erupts on the apples of her already tanned cheeks. Sputtering slightly, she protests the thought. “No, I don’t. But who am I not to participate in something like this? A free date with one of Willow Grove’s most eligible bachelors?”
“You heard how good the winery basket was, didn’t you?”
Piper giggles. “You caught me. I had to help unload them earlier, and I want that cheese platter and red blend.”
I promise myself I’ll ask her about whatever has her eyes red-rimmed tomorrow. For now, I’ll let her pretend all is well.
