Page 176 of Always You

“Nah. But I’d like to. Wanna change that?” The mocking look on his face makes me silently chuckle, while Charlotte watches them with a smirk on her pretty face.

“No,” Julie says, a scowl in place.

“Fine.”

“Is this what we sound like?” I point my finger at Charlotte, and I instantly regret the question when they both bellow in sync.

“Yes!”

“Right,” I mumble, with Charlotte giggling beside me, and I give her a soft push.

“Okay, my turn. Never have I ever—kissed my best friend,” Jason calls out, and my heart stops for a beat.

“I’ll smack those shady grins off your faces if y’all don’t drink real quick,” Julie says with a reprimanding finger in the air toward Charlotte and me. We both take a drink as the tension closes in on us.

“Good,” Julie says, then gives me ado-somethinglook, and I glare at her in response. Looking up at the sky, I think of a question I’d want to know the answer to. I know one, although asking it feels as much as looking for an answer as confessing my own shit. I’m ready for it, but I’m still unsure about her.

When I finally decide to go for it, I glance at Julie, who’s giving me a wink of encouragement before I open my mouth.

“Never have I ever—been in a relationship with the wrong person.” I quickly take a pull from my beer, avoiding Charlotte’s shocked gaze burning through my skin. Locking my eyes with Julie, she gives me a smug grin, then points her attention to Jason.

“Jay, can you help me with my Jeep? I heard something rattle on the way over here.”

“I don’t know shit about cars, Jules.” He gives her an incredulous look.

“You can look anyway,” she says through gritted teeth, her eyes glaring at him as she softly points her chin at me.

“Oh, right.” He jumps up, giving me a wink, then follows Julie back to the cars.

“Yeah, real subtle,” Charlotte yells at their backs, and I let out a laugh, throwing my arm over her shoulder. My hand starts to rub her arm, feeling the goosebumps under my palm.

“Are you cold?” Not waiting for her answer, I grab the hem of my hoodie, pulling it over my head. “Arms up.”

She puts her red cup on the ground between her legs, then brings her arms up so I can help her put the hoodie on while I place one of my legs over the log so that I have a leg on either side of hers. I smile when her gorgeous head pops into the hood with a sweet look.

“Better?”

She nods in agreement, and I wrap my arm around her neck.

“Come here.”

Tugging her back against my chest, she mimics my stance, bringing one leg over the log so that she can settle against my body. I wrap my arms around her waist, pulling her closer, pressing a kiss on her hair.

She lets out a long, content sigh, placing her warm hands over mine, resting her head against my chest.

“You know at some point you have to tell me about whatever is going on with Ben, right?”

“What do you mean?”

“I know there’s something you’re not telling me. Something that’s making you lie to him. You don’t lie, Charls,” I point out.

“Yeah.” She pushes out a breath, not even denying it. “I know. You know at some point you have to tell me what happened with Laurie?”

That’s easier than she might think.

“Nothing to tell. We started dating for publicity, and before I knew it, we became something bigger than that, which never should’ve happened.Ishould’ve never allowed it to be. It was a bullshit relationship that I stayed in because I thought it wasexpected of me. I never loved her, and when I realized that, I ended it.”

“That simple, huh?”

---