Page 100 of The Lucky One

As time passed, more and more people came through the gate. Danielle and Breana, Leni, Jamie, the new quarterback since Paul dropped out... James, I think? No, Jim, or Jonathan? Something with a J, so that the glittering necklace around Jamie’s neck now shone with two J’s instead of one.

My shock was barely contained when Jamie brushed her strawberry blond hair out of her face and announced, “Guys, meet J. My future husband.”

Aiden made gagging sounds next to me. “I think I just barfed a little in my mouth. Why the fuck do you all need to be dating? Is that like the newest hot trend or what?”

I went over to Jamie and hugged her because a part of me felt bad. “Why didn’t you tell me you were seeing someone?”

“I didn’t want to.” She shrugged, not returning my hug.

“Why not?”

“Why not?” The high pitch of her voice stabbed my ears. “You’re all moody and upset all the time. Anyway, you’re not telling me what’s going on in your life. Why should I tell you things when you don’t even bother?”

My mouth fell open. Jamie was... hurt.

You could add my name to the list of reasons why the Fam fell apart.

“From now on, I’ll tell you everything, okay?” I hugged her again and she nodded against my shoulder, squeezing me a bit too hard with her long fingernails.

“Then how about you start with why you’ve been too busy swooning over Paul to be on your game in cheerleading?”

“Hey, guys.” Paul’s voice came from the gate a few feet away. My axons fired signals for my muscles to flinch when I saw who he’d arrived with.

They lived in the same house. Of course they’d show up together.

“Oops. Maybe we should talk later,” Jamie whispered.

I nodded and put my hand up for a little wave. Emily beamed back at me, but Paul rubbed his head and looked off to the side. Emily leaned in and whispered something to him. My face heated—and I couldn’t blame the bonfire for it. I quickly turned away.

A little while later, we were all sitting around the fire, everyone except for Jon. Emily kept checking her phone as Danielle talked to her. The way her eyes kept fluttering to the gate, Danielle could’ve addressed a tree and gotten the same reaction. To my surprise, Paul didn’t sit next to Emily but between Aiden and Leni, who were immersed in guy talk I had tuned out. I was next to Hannah, who was on Brandon’s lap, and Jamie, who was on the lap of... let’s just call him Jason. He seemed nice so far, but I never trusted football players. Well, except for Paul, but he was different from all the other guys on the team. He was different in general.

Breana returned from the porch with more cups. “Guys, let’s play a game.”

“We haven’t played truth or dare in like forever,” Jamie suggested.

“Can we agree that we’re not playing that game anymore?” Paul laughed, and Jamie rolled her eyes. “C’mon, Jamie. Don’t you remember what happened last time we played?” He gave her a sheepish smile, and Jamie burst out laughing despite the bad memories. There was something in the air tonight, something that reminded me of the good old times.

Only Emily wasn’t vibing with it. She nervously shifted in her seat, staring at her phone screen. She caught my glance and I breathed at her, “Everything okay?”

She nodded and smiled as if that simple gesture meant a lot to her. I smiled back. I didn’t hate her anymore; in fact, I was actually thankful for her. Who knows if I would’ve ever gotten over Jon if she hadn’t shown up? I even felt sympathy for her. If someone understood what was going on in her head, it was me. Jon wasn’t here yet, and she was on edge because she didn’t know where he was.

Then the gate squeaked and someone came in, all dressed in black. Emily jumped up and ran into his arms, and they murmured words I couldn’t hear. Paul’s gaze followed her, and... he smiled. Paul freaking smiled.

I shook my head. I had missed a lot in the last couple of days.

They came into the circle, holding hands. When Jon’s face was illuminated by the bonfire, my throat tightened. What was—

A hand suddenly landed on my shoulder. I pulled my gaze away from Jon and looked up.

“Wanna talk by the lake?” Paul said in a low voice. His cheeks were reddish from the heat of the fire.

I checked around me; everyone was watching Jon and Emily standing arm in arm. “Jon, we missed you, bro!” Brandon said, jumping up and diffusing the tension in the air.

“Sure,” I told Paul. What he had to say intrigued me more than anything Jon and Emily could do right now.

I followed Paul down the steps. When we reached the lake, memories pierced me like a knife. I tried to focus on the good ones: moments with Jon when we were actually happy, lying on the dock, slapping on sunscreen and reading with our sunglasses on.

Looking down at the water, the memories I had tried to forget crawled in. The time he’d almost drowned...

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