Page 23 of Fall Hard

“When life gives you lemons…” she muttered as she took her own swig.

“...make margaritas,” I quipped and Bryn snorted, vodka trickling out of her nose.

CHAPTERSIX

My closet wasfull of clothes and yet, I had nothing to wear. Maybe I was just being too picky. ‘Totally-not-in-love-with-you’ was a hard vibe to pin down and ‘Everything-is-fine’ was an even harder message to broadcast with a mini skirt.

Bryn knocked on my door and I ignored her. It was the third time she’d knocked to make sure I was actually getting ready and not trying to skip this party. As much as I would have liked to do just that, Bryn and Kat had been right—I couldn’t just keep avoiding Jamie forever in the hopes that I would miraculously stop loving her. I needed to be proactive.

I sighed, reaching for a square-necked red dress and climbing into it just as my bedroom door flew open.

“Oh good, you’re getting dressed.”

“Come in,” I muttered sarcastically and Bryn smirked as she sat on the edge of my bed while she watched me pick out my make-up. “Is there a reason you’re sitting in here?”

Of course, Bryn was already done and set to leave. Her blonde hair fell in glossy waves and her top was off-the-shoulder and in a shade of blue that perfectly matched her eyes. I avoided looking in the mirror, refusing to second-guess this dress I’d picked out again. Instead, I slicked on some mascara and some red lip gloss, dusted on some highlighter, and grabbed some chunky heels from the floor of my closet.

“Are you nervous?”

I shot Bryn a look. “You know, most people wouldn’t consider a closed door an invitation.”

“Yeah, well, I figure I’m the one in charge so…”

I rolled my eyes. “You’ve gone mad with power.”

Bryn laughed and I couldn’t help but join in. She stood and smoothed down her white denim skirt. In her beachy heeled sandals, I had to crane my head to look at her face.

“You know, I’m pretty sure nobody will notice if I don’t go,” I tried and didn’t resist when Bryn took my arm in hers and tugged me out of my bedroom and into the hall. “I’ll take that as ano.”

Getting ready with Bryn just reminded me of the time Jamie had taken me to my first frat party. We’d gotten dressed up together then too and before we’d left, she’d pressed her purple lips to my cheek and I’d thought about it all night even as she successfully made her ex jealous by dancing with and generally being all over Ryan. I touched my cheek absently before grabbing a light jacket and following Bryn out the door.

It seemed odd to me that Jamie was hosting the party at Ryan’s, seeing as it used to be the house he shared with her ex (and her ex’s brother and best friend) until he’d been suspended for doing drugs. But that was Jamie all over, I supposed, laughing in the face of anything bad as she dared the world to fuck with her.

It was still light out, so we chanced the walk through the park that sat in the middle of town, connecting the campus to the shops. A lady who looked vaguely familiar was out walking her dog, a tiny little puppy, and I cooed at it as it jumped up at me and I buried my hands in its thick, curly fur.

“You like dogs?”

I looked up at Bryn, jumping a little, so absorbed in the puppy I’d sort of forgotten she was there. “Love them. Never had time for one before and my mom wouldn’t be caught dead with an animal in the house.” I rolled my eyes as I smiled at the puppy’s owner before standing up out of my crouch. “What a sweetheart.”

“Oh, don’t be fooled—she’s a handful!”

We laughed and Bryn and I walked on as I sent wistful glances back behind us.

“I bet Jamie wouldn’t mind if you got one.”

“What?” I furrowed my brow. “No, I couldn’t.”

“Why not?”

I didn’t have an answer to that question really, because there wasn’t one. It was just a habit, like this was still something forbidden. Sure, I hadn’t been allowed a pet in the past, but I was a grown woman now and money wasn’t an issue thanks to the inheritance I’d gained when I’d turned eighteen.

I stayed quiet, letting the idea sit at the back of my brain as we made it out the other end of the park and walked up to Ryan’s door.

Leo opened it, his brown eyes going wide for a second when he saw us standing there poised to knock. “Oh, sorry.” He said nothing else, just stepped back and held it open.

“Thanks,” I said, smiling lightly as I stepped inside to the sound of music and laughter.

Bryn stopped to talk to him and I hovered awkwardly, not wanting to intrude on their conversation but also unwilling to walk into the room without Bryn at my side. Leo stepped out of the door, vape in hand, and Bryn and I made our way through the sparse hallway and into the living room.

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