Page 62 of Pretty Broken Things

“How are you really doing?” Benji whispers to me.

My lips twist as I try to hold back the emotion that always swells up when I think about Ford or my past here. “I’m hanging in.”

“No, what you’re doing is holding on, but to what?” he asks.

He’s not wrong. Ford gives me a weak reason at best to stick around, and I cling to it. He says we should be friends, and then ignores me for months, and yet here I still am.

“I don’t know,” I whisper to him in reply.

“Come back to Seattle with me when I go,” he says. “I know you were going to live with Tracy, but we could do it. Let’s get a place. You can go to community college in Seattle and transfer to UW. You’re not happy here. Don’t you think it’s time to let go?”

I nod my head. I think it’s long past time actually.

“Don’t be mad,” Jen interrupts our conversation.

My stomach sinks. “Why would I be mad?”

“I swear, I didn’t think about him bringing anyone,” she rambles.

“Jen, tell me you didn’t tell Shane to meet us here,” I beg.

She winces. “So, you want me to lie? I can do that. It won’t last very long though, because they’re making their way through the crowd now.”

“They. As in, he brought Ford with him.” Like Shane would have brought anyone else. Maybe Teddy, but he always seems uncomfortable in large crowds, but even if Teddy came along he’d still bring Ford. The two of them rarely do anything apart.

She doesn’t get a chance to say anything more before the two of them are standing next to our table. Ford’s eyes are hard while he glares at the closeness between Benji and me. I could explain to him that there’s never been anything romantic between us. We met on a blind date, but almost immediately we realized there was no sexual chemistry. However, there was an immediate familial type connection. He’s been like my brother since that night. Needless to say as a date, the evening was a complete failure, but the best kind.

Ford’s attention shifts to Jess, but I can tell by the malicious smirk on his face he’s trying to prove a point to me. “Jessica, come dance with me.”

I think Jess might be the only girl who ran with his crowd that he hasn’t slept with. Not for a lack of trying on her part. Of course she jumps at the chance to be in his arms in any capacity and practically scales Jen to get out of the booth we’re hanging out in.

Shane slides in next to Jen. “She’s a little too eager.”

“As always,” Lydia comments.

Benji leans closer and whispers in my ear. “He’s trying to make you jealous.” He tugs on a lock of my hair, and slowly tucks it behind my ear. “He looks like he wants to kill me. Maybe we should dance.”

“I don’t want to play games. Weren’t you just encouraging me to move on? This is kinda the opposite of that,” I tell him.

Benji looks back at Ford and Jess. “I think maybe I was wrong. You need to see this through.”

He slides out of the seat and holds out his hand. “Come dance with me, beautiful. I’ll pretend for one song it doesn’t make me feel like I’m trying to feel up my sister.”

“Awww,” I draw out. “You’re so charming. No wonder girls practically faint at your feet.”

He gives me a look. “You’re the only one who is immune to my charms.” He pulls me to my feet and turns me around to face the floor. We move to the music, and I have to admit he’s an amazing dancer. It’s too bad I can’t feel anything romantic for him. “But,” he says as Ford continues to glare at us, “you’re not immune to his. And no matter what he says, that man is not over you.”

ChapterTwenty-Eight

Ford

“I am sohappy you’re finally giving me a chance,” Jess babbles.

Her hand roams up my chest, but I barely notice because all of my attention is on the douche snuggling Tessa.

“Who is that guy with Tessa?” I interrupt her.

There’s a familiarity between them that makes me see red. Why did she give me so much shit about dating Jen if she’s clearly been with some preppy asshole in Seattle? I’m sure he’s from the world she supposedly gave up. My ass she walked away from that. She might have Tracy fooled, but no one walks away from a trust fund with literal millions of dollars in the bank.

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