Page 17 of Because of Dylan

I’m rescued by a tap on my shoulder, and when I turn, my friend Lucas is there with a big smile on his handsome face. He picks me up and squeezes me in a bear hug before setting me back on my feet with a loud kiss on my cheek.

I can’t help but smile when I see him. Lucas is the kind of guy everyone loves.

“Hey, you. How was your summer?” I ask him.

“It was awesome. Went on vacation with the family, had a lot of fun with my sisters. You?”

“Same old. Worked some, took a summer class, slept a lot.”

Lucas, my sweet boy. He’s the only hookup I’m friends with.

River narrows her eyes at the way his hand grips my hip and slides up to my waist to tug me into another hug, kissing my temple this time.

He extends a hand to River. “Hey, I’m Lucas, nice to meet you.”

“Ugh. Sorry, I have no manners. This is my BFF River. River, this is Lucas, an … old friend. It’s odd you guys never met before.”

They shake hands, and River has a million questions flashing in her eyes. It won’t be long before they all come spilling out. She thinks I’m dating Tommy. She met him a few times when he’s joined us for lunch. The familiarity with which Lucas holds me close to him and touches me signals the intimate way we know each other. And right now River has a WTF look on her face. She knows I don’t cheat. I may have had a lot of hookups, but two-timing has never been my thing.

River has met a few of the guys I’ve dated. Most of the time, I’m over them and moving on before she meets them, but Lucas lasted the longest, and he’s a good friend. Now that I think about it, it’s odd that River and Lucas never crossed paths.

“How’s everything?” I ask him.

He knows what I mean. When we met last year, it was right after his high school girlfriend dumped him, saying they both needed to have the chance to meet other people. It hurt Lucas badly, and it’s taken him a long time to get over her. For months, he hoped she’d come back to him, but she didn’t. And, since she also attends Riggins, Lucas has been forced to see her hooking up with different guys at parties. She really took the whole meeting-new-people idea to the extreme.

Lucas gives me a huge smile and raises a hand for a high five. “One hundred percent. I’m cured.”

“For reals?” I ask as my hand meets his.

“For reals.”

It took him almost a year to get over his ex. And I know he went through a lot of girls to do it. He literally had to fuck her out of his system by fucking everyone else.

“Oh, fuck!” River ducks as if hiding.

“What’s the matter?”

“Just saw someone I never expected to see at Riggins. I gotta talk to my sister. Be right back.”

She disappears into the crowd. I turn back to Lucas, and his eyes are on a girl coming down the stairs on the opposite side of the room.

“Someone you know?” I bump into his shoulder.

“Yes. That, right there,” he says waving to the girl. “Is the reason I know I’m one hundred percent cured.”

My eyebrows rise. “Tell me more.”

“Meet for lunch next week?”

“Yes, call me?”

“Sure thing,” he calls out, his back to me as he makes his way to the girl at the bottom of the stairs.

I’m alone again. I lean against the wall. My phone is burning a hole in my pocket with the need to text Tommy. I don’t fight it.

Becca: Are you mad at me?

Tommy:…

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