Page 50 of Little Do You Know

“The first night I got back, she came over and brought some other people, telling them there was a huge rager happening that night at my apartment. It was too late to stop it, but I didn’t mean or want to throw a party that night. I had jet lag, and I wanted to sleep. When Owen and Sebastian got back, she pinned the entire thing on me, further escalating the fighting between Bash and me. He was unhappy about the party—to put it lightly.”

It feels good to say this out loud. I could try telling Bash, but he’s known her just as long as I have. He might think I’m insane, but telling Penelope is refreshing. She doesn’t have the years of history clouding her thoughts.

Her gasp tells me I’m not imagining the wrongness of the situation. “Okay, not cool. You let me do shots with her!”

I bump her with my hip. “You would have done shots with her regardless. Probably would have done more so she’d feel as crappy as I did this morning.”

The fresh air feels great, and it reminds me of how we used to walk through the market when grocery shopping. We used to go every few days because everything was fresh. None of the preservatives pumped into everything here.

“Why is Vera doing all that if you are supposed to be best friends? You’re my best friend, and I’d never do that to you,” Penelope reassures me, and I smile, holding tightly to her arm.

“Because you’re the best. I have no idea why any of it has happened. That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out, and it’s been driving me up the wall on top of everything else that was going on with Bash. At least I have that solved for the time being.” It’s nice not fighting all the time with him. We coexist when Owen’s home, but I live for the moments when he isn’t there, because we get to be something other than roommates. Something other than his best friend’s little sister. We get to be Thalia and Sebastian.

I still plan on calling him an asshole when he deserves it, but I can’t call him that for no reason anymore.

“I can’t believe it took you so long to jump his bones. None of the pictures you showed me did Sebastian justice. I hope you know how lucky you are. He embodies what I meant when I asked for photos of hot American men.”

He is pretty hot. She’s right, though. None of the pictures do Sebastian justice. He’s tall, has whiskey brown eyes that can see right into your soul, a strong nose, his lips are full, and in my opinion, Bash’s dark hair is the perfect messy length right now. I wouldn’t change a single thing about him.

“I know. You were right. I wish it were simple and that he was literally anyone else. Even though he’s Owen’s best friend, I think we are a good match. There’s a lot for us to figure out, but for now, everything’s great.”

“Good. You deserve happiness. Now tell me what we’re going to do about this snake?”

I throw my head back and laugh, attracting the attention of a few people, but I don’t care. “What do you think we should do? I don’t know anything for sure, but my guess is that something happened while I was in France. I don’t know what. Bash and Owen haven’t mentioned anything.”

“Is it possible you’re both different people now? Lia, you are not the girl you were when you came to France, so why would she be the same person as when you left?” she asks, and I consider that possibility. That is what everyone keeps suggesting. It’s frustrating to hear, because why do I have to bring it up when Vera is the one with the problem? Penelope has a good point. It’s not fair of me to expect Vera to be the same when I’m not.

“You could be right. Maybe I should try talking to her…”

“Talking won’t excuse everything she’s done. We can still give her a taste of her own medicine if that’s the route you want to take,” she suggests, and it’s honestly really nice hearing her validate my suspicion.

“Oh, Pen, what will I do without you?”

“You don’t have to find out for a little bit, lucky you.” Penelope hugs me tightly, and I can’t imagine my life without her in it.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Thalia

“ARE YOU SURE you have to work on that assignment right now?” Sebastian asks, lying on his side, watching me. I built a pillow wall to keep him from invading my space. As much as Bash claims I’m a distraction, he’s just as distracting to me.

“Well, I didn’t get to work on it earlier, and Penelope is out exploring. This is my only time to do it without any distractions, no matter how hard you try to distract me,” I reply, refusing to look in his direction. If I do, there’s no way I’m getting this assignment done.

Sebastian groans, continuing his mission to distract me. “I can sit here all day watching you do your homework, but Owen is at Amelia’s, so we have the place to ourselves for once.” I know what he’s implying we can do instead, but I’m caught on the part about Owen.

My head quickly snaps to look at Bash. “That’s where he is? He said he was going to meet Blake.”

His widening eyes tell me he wasn’t supposed to tell me that. “Shit. Any chance you can forget I said that?”

“You are terrible at keeping anything a secret! I’m genuinely surprised you have lasted this far without blurting our relationship to Owen.” I shake my head, laughing at him.

Sebastian moves the pillow wall I created, pressing his lips against my cheek before trailing his way down my jaw. “Thalia, come on. You know you want to make out with me.”

Ignoring Bash is extremely hard because he’s relentless when he puts his mind to something. “You’re an annoying asshole,” I say, turning to look at Bash. He smiles, pulling me to straddle his waist.

“Have I told you that it’s a turn-on when you call me an asshole now?”

“I’m pretty sure it used to upset you,” I rest my hands on his firm chest.

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