Page 20 of Nothing Like the Movies

CHAPTER NINE

“I mean, I know it’s been awkward as ass, but there’s no need to leave.”

—Bridget Jones’s Diary

Wes

I was done.

Everyone was still partying, but I needed to get the hell out of there. After the Clark bombshell, I’d sat in the kitchen for a solid hour, pretending to be into the card game while my brain kept exploding over and over again.

Liz had a boyfriend.

I’d always known it was a possibility, but I guess I hadn’t truly accepted that possibility because I feltflooredby the revelation. And before I had a moment to get a grip on the shittiness of that little morsel, Wade informed me that Clark was her roommate.

Herroomfuckingmate.

Shelivedwith her new boyfriend.

I felt sick. My gut was literally churning and it was very possible I was going to vomit, so I needed to get out of there fast. I’d lookedfor Liz after she left the kitchen—God only knows why—but she seemed to have disappeared completely.

I made my way through the packed living room, bouncing off the jumping people who all seemed to be singing along to “DJ Got Us Fallin’ in Love,” until I reached AJ’s side. I tapped him on the arm and shouted, “I’m going to walk back.”

“What?”He stopped dancing and leaned closer to hear me, looking at me like I was nuts. “You’re going to walk back?Now?”

“Yeah,” I snapped, absolutely uninterested in talking about it.

“Why? Do you even know how to get back from here?” He took a drink of his beer before saying, “Why the hell would you want to miss this?”

“I just do.” I was going to lose it if I stayed another minute, so I said, “I’ll see you back home.”

“Wait,” he yelled as I walked away, but I needed to leave. I pushed through the people, not even bothering with “excuse me” as I elbowed through the crowd, and I’d made it to the front door when he grabbed my arm. “Bennett!”

I turned around and it was almost comical how sweaty he was and how confused he looked. Thankfully the foyer was quieter than the rest of the apartment, so I didn’t have to yell anymore.

“Dude, I have to go,” I said, shaking my head.

“You okay, though? Wandering through the streets of LA in the dark seems like a bad idea.” He sounded like a worried parent when he said, “I don’t know how much you’ve had, but I’ll wait for an Uber with you if you want.”

God, he’s such a good dude.I didn’t know what to say or how toexplain my behavior, so I said, “I’m totally sober; I just can’t be here anymore.”

“Well, maybe we can—”

“Remember my ex?”

He stopped talking and didn’t get it for a second, muttering, “No, I don’t think so,”under his breath before saying, “Wait—the redhead from high school?”

I’d gotten hammered one night during summer league and spilled alotto AJ, probably more than I’d ever shared with any other human. We’d never really discussed it after that night, but I somehow knew he remembered all of it.

He was just that guy.

“Yeah.” I nodded and said, “Well, apparently this is her apartment.”

“What do you mean this is—oh my God!” His eyes got huge, and he said,“Liz?”

“Shhhhhh,” I said, looking behind him to make sure no one was listening. “Shut up, will you?”

“Are you telling me,” he whisper-yelled, “that Buxxie is your ex?”

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