Page 31 of Our Forever Starts Tonight

Lucky shook his head. “What? Of course it doesn’t. I’d kick that guy’s ass if I felt like I was even marginally capable. I just didn’t like the sound of him from the beginning, so now that Aria has seen his true colors, she can move on.”

I gave him a warm smile. “Yeah. You did have issues from the start. Both of you did, and I didn’t listen. I’m sorry.”

“Hmm,” Arden said as she took a sip of her drink. “I mean, you seemed to really like him, so I’m sorry it didn’t work out.”

Next to me, Lucky shifted, almost puffing out his chest in defense. “Yeah. It would have been cool if it would have worked out, because you would have been happy. But I’m glad to know that you aren’t going to end up wasting all of your time andthenfinding out he’s a jerk. Better at the beginning right?”

Arden shrugged. “I suppose.”

“You’re right,” I said. “Thanks, Lucky.”

He smiled at me. “Of course.”

We avoided the subject for the remainder of the meal and instead talked about different things that each of us were into. Arden dominated the conversation talking about her latest invention, but Lucky seemed fine to let her talk as he sat next to me, damn near glowing. If I felt like getting into an argument with him about it, I would have said something, but instead, I just allowed my brain to be carried away on the gadgets and gizmos of Arden’s imagination.

The meal came to a close and when Arden saw that I didn’t eat much, she hit me with what she called her ‘make sure friends eat when they’re sad’ clause, and made me take both her and my leftovers home for later consumption.

“And Iwillbe doing a fridge check. So don’t even try to get out of it,” Arden said. “Arden knows all.”

I laughed at her. “You don’t have to worry. I was torn between the fettucini and the stroganoff anyway, so now I get both.”

She punched my arm. “Hey, there you go.” I gave Lucky another huge hug and then he waved goodbye to Arden before getting into his car and pulling off. Arden kept a bright smile on until he was well clear of the parking lot, then she crossed her arms. “Um, so how long have you two been friends?” she asked.

“Oof,” I said, tilting my head towards the sky as I thought backwards. “Uh, we met in middle school and have been friends ever since then. Why do you ask?”

“I don’t know. Maybe my spidey senses are tingling for no reason, but his vibe feels a little off to me. Have any of your other friends ever told you that?” Arden asked.

I laughed. “You’remy other friends.”

She laughed back at me. “Okay, let me rephrase. Has anyone else ever told you that before?”

“My mom thinks he’s possessive, but she likes him just fine,” I explained.

“That’s good,” Arden said. “We’re new friends, so I’m not trying to cause problems between you and your bestie. It just seems like he may have a chip on his shoulder about something, you know? It was almost like he was legitimately happy to hear that you weren’t having a good time. Has he ever hit on you?”

I recoiled heavily at that. “No. Things have only ever been friendly between us.”

“Okay,” Arden said. “I’ll drop it then. My gut has gotten me into trouble before. Maybe I’m just tired.”

I furrowed my brow at her dismissal. Arden clearly felt some type of way about Lucky, but I didn’t want to press the issue. I had enough mess to deal with for one weekend. “Well, anyway. I gotta go. I’ll see you at school tomorrow?”

Arden pinched my cheek before giving it a little slap. “You know it, girl. Take care.”

I was hoping that my meal with Arden and Lucky would have left me feeling a little more hopeful, but my mom’s concerns blended with Arden’s left me unsteady to say the least. I distracted myself with all of the homework I’d neglected over the weekend between work and the party, but by the time I was laying down in bed for the night, it was to spend the next eight hours tossing and turning, and having mixed, hazy dreams of Tristan mocking me and Lucky laughing at me.

I typically held on to a few “fake” sick days for later in the year, but when morning came, I was considering cashing one in early. After the weekend I’d had, my mom would understand, and not having to look at Tristan all day could only benefit me. However, when I picked up my phone to text my mom and fake being under the weather, I had a text from Arden already waiting.

Hey girl!I’m stopping

to get you a coffee and

bagel on my way in.

What are your faves?

I smiled at the message.It filled me with warmth and made me feel supported. It wasn’t like Lucky was a bad friend, but I was always the one doing more of the supporting in our relationship. It was nice to have a new friend that I could lean on a little bit. I was unused to it, but I could quickly develop an affinity for it.

I’m a matcha tea latte

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