Page 54 of Roses in Summer

Seraphina: And you’re sure you’re going to come tomorrow? You won’t say you have a shift or have to work last minute?

I didn’t want to ask these questions through text, knowing that my best friend could easily ignore them and choose to disengage. I would have preferred a more direct tactic, like cornering her in our kitchen and plying her with wine until she opened up.

To my surprise, Liv texts back immediately, not making me wonder if she’ll ignore my questions.

Livvy: I’ll be there. Now stop distracting me, and let me get back to work.

Biting back a curse at her response, I drop my phone into my bag and step toward the door, wincing as I push down on the handle. Heavy bass bangs into me as I step over the threshold, and part of me wishes that I had called Ava, offered myself up to a night of wedding planning, and avoided the apartment entirely.

Looking around, I’m surprised that only four girls fill our living room and kitchen area, and I offer them a small smile as they turn their heads at my entrance.

“Oh, good, you’re home. How did the interview go?” B runs over, throwing her arms over my neck and squeezing tight.

Coughing at the rough display, I grab her biceps and pull them off me. “It went well. I start at the end of next month. Are you going out tonight?” I look over Bianca’s shoulder and see shot glasses and a bottle of tequila on the counter. The bottle doesn’t look cold, and I shiver at the room-temperature alcohol.

“Yes. And since you’re here, you’re coming with us.”

I immediately shake my head. Even though I offered to hang out with Liv at the bar, venturing out for a night of drinking with my sister is another story. “Oh no. I’m good. I’m going to stay in tonight and read.”

“Seraphina Rose Gregori.” Bianca scowls, using the weight of my full name against me. “We’re leaving at nine; that gives you almost two hours to shower and get ready. I don’t ask you for much, but I’m asking you to go out with me tonight.”

I can’t contain the laugh that rips from my throat. “You asked me for fifty dollars yesterday, to borrow my shirt last week, and for rides to and from work since your car is in the shop. Don’t even play the victim card with me, Bianca Helena. I can promise you you won’t win.”

My sister rolls her eyes, fluttering her hands as though she’s batting my recollection of events away. “Those don’t count. But you’re coming tonight. Go put on something hot.”

“B…” I groan, looking up at my little sister. It’s humbling when even your youngest sibling is taller than you. “I said I’m staying in. Go out with your friends. You’re going to have a great time with them.”

Squeezing on my arm, Bianca drags me to the far corner of the room, away from her guests. “I-I don’t know these girls well, Ser. They’re from my sorority, but they aren’t part of the group I normally”—she pauses, clearing her throat—“used to hang out with. They’re nice and have been nothing but sweet, but I don’t really know them. Please don’t make me go out by myself. I thought Liv would be here and both of you would want to come out with us, but she left as soon as I brought it up.”

My sister’s eyes have unshed tears, and I can’t help the concern that washes over me. “B, what happened with your friends? What’s going on?”

She gnaws on her lower lip, eyes downcast to avoid my gaze. “Most of the girls I was friends with graduated. I still talk to them, but they moved away, started their careers, and grew up. But at the end of last semester, I was seeing someone, and it just got too awkward.”

My eyes widen at her confession. For the entire time Bianca has been at school, she has never once mentioned a guy in a serious way, other than the random hookups she’s had. “What do you mean it got too awkward?”

She blows out a breath, fanning the hair in front of her face with the oxygen leaving her lungs. “He was—is—the brother of one of the other sisters in the sorority. When we ended things, even though it was fine and we were cordial, she started to ignore me. She wasn’t mean or cruel or anything, but for whatever reason, she thinks I broke her brother’s heart.”

“And did you?” Bianca is beautiful, lively, and a bomb of sass; it’s not farfetched for her to break someone’s heart.

She scoffs at the idea. “Hardly. He moved on quickly, and I don’t blame him. We just weren’t right for each other, and that was that. But she—Zoe—won’t speak to me now, even though we were friends before I went on a handful of dates with Liam. I’m trying to venture out of the little bubble I found myself in within the sorority and speak to more of my pledge sisters and more girls from other classes. I know I didn’t do anything wrong and that Zoe is only being protective over her brother, but it still sucks to have most of your friends graduate, and your few remaining friends think you’re some asshole who breaks guys’ hearts left and right.” She looks at my face, eyes flitting from my hair to my eyes to the grim line of my cheeks. “Come out with me tonight, Ser? I promise you’ll have fun.”

Wrinkling my nose, I know I’m the world’s biggest pushover when I say, “Fine.”

—

I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my short life. Admittedly, most of them have been self-imposed. Tonight is no exception.

I should have asked Bianca where we were going.

I should have stood firm against Bianca’s tears when she told me about her friend situation.

And I should have stayed home.

But I did none of those things, and now I’m adding one more mistake to my ever-growing list.

“Bianca, are you kidding me?” I groan as the Uber pulls up to a restaurant and club I know all too well. I feel like I’m having déjà vu as I step out of the three-row truck and wait on the sidewalk for my sister and her friends to exit the car. “Why wouldn’t you tell me we were goinghere?”

I wave my hand at the sign behind me, the biggest hotspot in New York and the restaurant where Lincoln works. “You don’t think I should have been told that we were going to Garganello’s for the second weekend in a row?”

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