Page 98 of Come Break My Heart Again

“So, shouldn’t I go more?”

“Why should you go more?”

I shake my head. “Stop asking questions. You only got the one.”

“We could play again,” he suggests.

“That’s a bad idea.”

“Why?”

“Another question. And you know why.”

The bartender appears with two glasses. “Here are the waters.”

I thank him, then take a long sip of one.

Ryder doesn’t touch his. He’s staring at me, and I feel like I’m standing at the edge of a diving board, having to decide whether to walk back or jump. I’m so, so close to admitting what I’m afraid Ryder has already realized—I’m not over him. I don’t trust myself around him. Not even here, in a busy bar with my boyfriend nearby. I’ve never had to be alone with Ryder to feel like I am.

“That guy, Elle? Really?”

I freeze, my mouth full of icy water as my veins surge with heat.

I’ve been careful. To keepusin the past. To coexist. To support Keira and Tuck without causing any conflict.

With four words, Ryder blew it all up.

Howdarehe?

I’m furious, but I’m even more stunned. Smacked straight in the face with a foul ball.

Ryder walks away before I can manage a single word.

I watch him until the door shuts behind him and he’s out of sight.

Keira’s drunk. Giggling as she leans heavily against a grinning Tucker. Juliet’s spinning on the sidewalk, Gavin’s full attention on her.

Prescott and I are the awkward, squeaky wheels tagging along with two happy couples. Standing with a foot of space between us.

Any buzz from the two martinis I drank has long since faded. I’m somber and sober.

Keira stumbles toward me with open arms. “Soglad you came.”

“Me too,” I lie, hugging her back. Glance toward Tucker. “Get her home safe.”

He grins. “Always. Ry took my truck, so I’ll drive her car home.”

Juliet gives me a hug too. “See you in two weeks. Maybe sooner.”

“Two weeks?” I try to do some quick mental math on dates. Now that school has finished, all my days look the same. I barely know what day of the week it is.

“The Fourth of July!” Keira exclaims. “You said you’d come to the beach house.”

“And to celebrate your birthday,” Juliet adds.

Crap. I remember committing to that, back before graduation. It feels like a lifetime ago.

“Hopefully you can join us, Prescott,” Keira says, glancing at him.

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