Page 29 of Sweet Temptation

“Why wasn’t I enough?” His voice was raw and filled with emotion.

“For the right girl, you will be,” I replied. “No matter what hurdles or distance are put in your way.”

He let out a hard breath and nodded. He slowly let go of my arms, and we continued back to school in silence.

My words to Wes played on repeat in my mind. If Noah was the right guy for me, then nothing would have stopped us from being together.

Nothing.

By the time Wes and I reached the school buildings, he was struggling to walk straight, and I had to prop him up to stop him from stumbling into walls. We only had a short way to go before we arrived at the boys’ dorm, but Wes was starting to lean on me more and more. He was big and heavy, and as I tried to keep him upright, I was worried we might not make it much farther.

When we somehow made it to the dorm, I had to keep shushing him as we made our way through the entrance, up the stairs, and along the hallways. He’d been so quiet for most of our walk back, but he suddenly seemed to have a lot to say. He was still slurring and had no control over the volume of his voice. He was obviously drunk.

“Sarah had the most beautiful hair,” he mumbled. “It was like the night’s sky.”

“I know. You told me just before—”

“And her eyes. Did I tell you about her eyes?”

“Yes.”

“They were so big and beautiful. I don’t know if you know this about me, Isobel, but I’m an eyes guy. It’s all about the eyes.” His words were tumbling into one another, and it was difficult to make sense of most of what he said. “I wish I could have seen them one last time.”

“Wes, you have to speak quietly, or you’ll wake everyone up,” I said. The last thing I wanted was to draw attention to us. If we were caught, there was no way Wes would be able to act sober enough to avoid getting in trouble.

He ignored me. “Do you think she’s found someone else?”

“I’m sure she hasn’t. From what you’ve told me about her, she doesn’t sound like the kind of girl to cheat.”

“I bet she has,” he said. “She’s so damn beautiful.”

“You can’t torture yourself with guessing,” I replied. “You need to focus on mending your own heart.”

“I wish it were that easy.”

I wished the same thing too.

Somehow, Wes managed to direct me to his room without causing a scene. He’d done little to keep his voice down, so we’d gotten a few funny looks from other guys who were wandering the halls, but thankfully most just ignored us.

Wes fiddled with his swipe card, dropping it on the ground twice before he finally got the door to his room open. I helped him inside, turning on the light as I went.

There were two beds in the room. I knew Wes shared with Sawyer, but his brother was nowhere to be seen. I hadn’t noticed him at the boathouse earlier, but he must have been there somewhere.

The two halves of the room were so different. One side was a total mess. The bed was unmade, and clothes were strewn across the floor. The other side was so neat it barely looked lived in. Of course, Wes stumbled over to the clean side of the room. It didn’t take a genius to realize Sawyer was the slovenly one of the twins.

He collapsed down onto the bed in a heap and groaned as his head hit the pillow. I went into the bathroom and grabbed him a glass of water.

“I feel like crap,” he moaned as I returned.

I sat on the bed next to him and gently rubbed his back. “I know. And you’ll probably feel even worse tomorrow.”

He turned his head and peered up at me. “That doesn’t make me feel better.”

I shrugged and gave him a smile. “I’m not here to baby you. But I am here to help. Drink this.” He propped himself up, and I handed him the glass.

He only took a couple of sips before he lowered it from his lips. “I think I prefer the vodka better. At least it helps me forget.”

“It’s not exactly a healthy way to move on though, is it?”

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