Page 25 of See You Next Winter
“You knew?”
“Er, yeah. Look at them,” she says, waving her hand in their direction. “I knew the second I laid eyes on him they were hot for each other. God, Ryan, you’re such a dumbass. How did you not notice?”
I grip the leg of her stool and drag it closer to mine. “I must have been too busy looking at you.”
“I thought we were being subtle,” Hannah says, burying her face in her hands.
“Please,” Kayla laughs. “You were not subtle at all. I saw you kissing on the slopes while I was teaching the other day. And holding hands at the parade.”
I wouldn’t have noticed, I was too busy trying to holdherhand. Across the table, Cameron brings Hannah’s hand to his mouth and holds it there. How can this be happening?
Hannah glares at me when I grunt at the sight of the two of them. “Stop it. We're both consenting adults. We don't need your permission to do what we want.”
“I don’t see this ending in anything but disaster. You live thousands of miles apart.”
“Ryan, stop being such a little shit,” Kayla says, smacking me on the arm a lot harder than I deserve. “Some people don’t need to be together all the time. You should know that better than anyone.”
What the fuck is that supposed to mean?
Cam points his finger at her, holding his shot glass up. “I like this girl. She's smart.”
“To long distance lovers,” she cheers and they all toss their drinks back.
A few rounds of drinks and cards later, and my head is fuzzy in a different way. The music’s too loud, the bar is too crowded, and my emotions are getting the better of me. My leg starts twitching and Kayla squeezes my thigh to ground me.
“Are you coming back to mine?” she asks, booping me on the nose. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.
Chapter 20
Kayla
Outside Rico’s, we sayour goodbyes, and I hang back a little while Ryan fistbumps Cameron. It’s the best they’ll manage under current circumstances. Yes, I saw this coming a mile off, but I can understand why it would be a shock for Ryan.
Hannah told me how their secret was discovered, and I would simply never return home if that happened to me. Ryan and I have always been pretty careful with our sneaking around, though we’re not faultless.
Four years ago, we got busted kissing on his sofa after we thought everyone was asleep. If his dad had waited thirty more seconds to get a glass of water, he’d have definitely seen me topless. Instead, he covered his eyes and walked straight past the two of us, who were frozen in place, leaving with a cheery‘I saw nothing’.
Hannah and Cameron head off with their sledges in hand, ready to make the journey back down to the Richmond house. I loop my arm around Ryan’s waist and lead him in the opposite direction.
“Are you ok?” I ask.
“Do I have a choice? It’s my sister and my best friend, I can’t exactly avoid them.”
I hug him closer when a crowd spills out of another bar, making space for them to pass us on the narrow pavement. “You worry about her.”
“I don’t want her getting into a long distance thing. It won't work.”
“Why wouldn’t it work?”
“Because we don't,” he grunts.
“Oh, come on, that’s different and you know it. If they want to make it work, I’m sure they’ll find a way.”
I barely know Cameron, but I know Hannah. She doesn't take risks, was always the smart voice of reason when Ryan and I wanted to get up to mischief as kids. She wouldn’t get into something with him if she hadn’t weighed up all the pros and cons first.
Whenever I’ve considered the possibility of something more serious with Ryan, my entire list is cons.
He stops walking, and my arm slips loose from his waist. Beneath the glow of a streetlamp, his expression is so forlorn it makes my chest hurt. I want to look away, but I can’t, not when I know he’s being sincere.
