Page 12 of Promised Summer
“I figured I should warn you so you could try to avoid him in the future,” he said casually.
“Oh. I actually made plans with him after brunch.”
That had him stopping us right in the middle of the busy diner. People shot us glares at the sudden stop, then huffed as they moved around us.
Ryker was oblivious to it all and continued to stare at me, his face wrinklier than ever. “Why would you meet him again? You were so mopey our entire senior year after you lost contact with him.”
“I wasn’t mopey,” I grumbled, which earned me a side-eye from my so-called best friend.
“You were always differentwith him. I remember you used to disappear every summer because you refused to let the rest of us hang out with him. I never understood why you were always so possessive of him…” He paused for a moment, his eyes going comically wide. “Jones, don’t tell me you liked him. Wait, do youstilllike him? Is that why you’re meeting up with him now that he’s back in town? Or is this to get revenge? Or do you have some kind of masochistic kink I don’t know about?”
I let my mouth fall open at the sheer number of words that tumbled out of Ryker. He was usually the quiet one, so his speech was already surprising enough, much less what he said.
“No! I’m not doing this for revenge,” I denied, after soaking in his words. “And I’m not a masochist!”
“And it’s okay if you are. You know I’ll always love and accept you,” he replied.
“Well, I’m not!”
I didn’t know whether I should be touched by his quick acceptance or worried that my best friend thought I was into pain.
More people stepped around us, giving us a wide berth, and making me realize I was being a tad too loud. Our friends were openly watching us with amusement, while other townsfolk were more subtle in their glances our way.
Fuck, I could just imagine the wild things that were bound to spread through the rumor mill.
“And this conversation is over. C’mon,” I called tomy best friend as I turned to walk the rest of the distance to our table.
Behind me, I could faintly hear Ryker grumble, “But you didn’t answer my first question!”
Yeah, I didn’t. I continued walking, purposefully ignoring both Ryker and the question itself.
The rest of our group were all sly grins as we took our seats, but they were tactful enough not to bring up the scene we’d caused just seconds before.
Atlas soon came by to take our order. His usually perfectly styled blond curls were a bit disheveled. The brunch rush probably had him a bit frazzled. He quickly took our order before rushing to help another table.
My friends chatted with each other, and I tried my best to participate too, but my mind was still on the question Ryker had asked and I’d chosen to ignore.
DidI still like Ryan? Even after all these years? I would be a fool to still be hanging onto feelings that had been cruelly rejected a decade ago. But seeing him yesterday with his daughter, and with the anticipation of seeing them again today, it had me tossing and turning all night.
Surely, I was no fool, right?
By the end of brunch, I was still all up in my head, though thankfully, my friends were caught up with their own things to notice. Sam and Ryker were flirting not-so covertly, and Clay and Dan were apparently in another one of their squabbles over who knew what.
While they were distracted, I paid the table’s tab asthanks for their help this past week. When Atlas came back with my receipt, he placed a plate of apple pie right in front of me.
“I didn’t order this,” I said, thinking he’d delivered it to the wrong table.
Atlas’ usually bright smile turned a bit sympathetic. “I heard what happened, but keep your chin up! Good things are coming your way. The same thing happened to me when I first came to Kither Springs, but it all worked out for the best.”
He shot me another grin and shuffled away before I could even get a peep out.
I was more shocked that a darling like Atlas had been cheated on than him knowing my own affairs. Even the walls had ears in this town.
But what shocked me the most was the fact that Deke’s betrayal hadn’t even crossed my mind until Atlas brought it up.
I hadn’t thought about my ex since running into Ryan yesterday. And if that didn’t tell me I was well and truly fucked, then I didn’t know what would.
Chapter Seven
