Page 72 of Sweet Temptation

Cress laughed. “I bet they were nowhere close to leaving, but now he’s gotten FOMO, and they’re already in a car.”

“Definitely,” Anna agreed. “Sawyer gets the worst FOMO.”

“What about Wes?” I asked. “Did he comment on the picture?”

Anna smirked at me. “No, but I bet he was leading the charge to get here when he saw you in that dress.”

My cheeks flushed as I realized how the question might have looked to Cress and Anna, like I wanted Wes to be just as impressed as Sawyer. “I’m sure that’s not true.”

“And I’m sure it is,” Cress said. “You should have seen the way he was looking at you today while we were out being tourists.”

“And how was that?” I asked.

“Like he thought you were adorable.”

“I mean, she kind of was,” Anna said. “Did you hear her squeal of excitement when we arrived at Times Square? And then how she actually gasped when she saw the view at the top of the Empire State Building? It was like watching a puppy being given a treat.”

I poked my tongue out at them. “You guys suck.”

They laughed, and Anna raised her glass of champagne above her head. “Here’s to a fun night.”

We clinked our glasses together before taking a drink. Anna practically downed hers in one gulp while Cress and I only took small savoring sips.

“We should probably head downstairs to meet the boys,” Cress said.

“Yeah, we can grab another bottle of champagne too,” Anna added. “Your parents have excellent taste.” She happily trotted off downstairs, and Cress followed her with a shake of her head.

I went to grab my phone from where I’d tossed it on the bed before I joined them. There was a text message waiting for me, and my stomach tied itself in knots when I saw it was from Noah.

The message had only been sent a minute or so ago, so at least I knew it hadn’t been sitting there unread for hours while the girls dolled me up. I was tempted to delete the message without reading it. But I wasn’t strong enough. I was far too curious to know what he’d sent. With a mixture of dread and anticipation, I opened the message.

Noah: I wish things were different. You’re so beautiful. It breaks me.

I stared at the text, my heart warming and shattering all at once. Why did he send that? And why now of all times?

I wondered if he’d seen Anna’s Instagram post. It was the only explanation I could come up with given the timing. But that didn’t make it okay for him to text me. He knew we couldn’t be together. He knew I wanted to move on. His message only messed with my head, and I hated him for sending it.

I gritted my teeth and deleted the message, wishing I could wipe it from my brain just as easily. This whole weekend was about forgetting Noah. Why did he have to make it so hard? Every time I felt like I was beginning to make progress, he went and derailed it all with a stolen look or a surprise message.

I hated how much I missed him. I despised how my heart still leaped when I saw his name lighting up my screen. I wished things were different too, but there was no changing the past, and I didn’t want to spend another second living in it.

I placed my phone back on the bed where I’d found it, deciding to leave it there for the night. I didn’t need any more cryptic messages from Noah, and I refused to let him ruin the rest of my time in New York. I downed the remainder of my champagne in one gulp before making my way downstairs.

Tonight was about having fun and moving on. Noah’s message had only made me more determined.

CHAPTERTWENTY

Iwas somewhat tipsy by the time we arrived at the club. It hadn’t looked like a massive venue from the outside, but there was a long line snaking around the block to get in. Thanks to Sawyer, we somehow managed to skip the line and were shown straight inside to the VIP section.

I’d never been to a nightclub before, but I was fairly certain they were supposed to check your ID at the front entrance. Apparently, Sawyer knew the owner, and it wasn’t an issue because not one of us was questioned about our age.

The club was loud with a pumping dance floor and dark lighting that flickered and flared around the room. Within minutes of arriving, I decided nightclubs weren’t for me. I could barely hear myself think, let alone actually hear what people were saying. We all had to shout at each other to be heard, and I was worried we’d all lose our voices by the end of the night.

I put aside my initial distaste for the place. I was on a mission tonight to have fun and forget Noah.

“This place is great,” Anna said, grinning as she looked out over the dance floor. We were sitting in a booth high up on a balcony overlooking the whole club. Our area was cordoned off with its own bar and a server who brought us drinks.

“I told you it would be good,” Sawyer said. “It only opened a few weeks ago, but it’s supposed to be the best place in town.Everyonecomes here.” He and Wes must have shaken hands with half a dozen people on the way up to our booth. It was crazy to think they recognized one person here, let alone several, but I was guessing their New York friends all went to the same places.

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