If We Ever Meet Again - Ana Huang Page 0,83
scent comfort her.
“It’s crazy, isn’t it?” Kris touched their class photo before pulling back like it burned her. “This year flew by.”
“Yeah. I can’t believe it.”
“It won’t be the same.” Kris looked at Farrah. There were no tears, no overt emotion except for the wistfulness in her voice. “Even if we all come back to Shanghai, it won’t be the same.”
Farrah dropped her hand from her throat and wrapped an arm around Kris’s waist. “I know.”
Kris rested her head on Farrah’s shoulder in an uncharacteristically vulnerable gesture, but neither girl acknowledged its strangeness.
Instead, they stood there, soaking in their last moments together in this place, while the storm raged outside.
Chapter Thirty-Four
The lights dimmed. The music swelled. The air filled with giddiness and nostalgia.
Within an hour, the FEAers transformed the program’s staid dance into a rave reminiscent of their heady first days in Shanghai, only this time, it was a last hurrah instead of a kickoff.
Blake leaned against the wall and sipped his drink. A few months ago, he would’ve been right there with them on the dance floor. Now it felt wrong. Were soon-to-be dads allowed to dance like that? The parenting e-books he downloaded didn’t cover party etiquette for parents.
“Did you do it?” He sensed the new presence next to him without having to turn his head.
“Yeah.” The disapproval came through loud and clear. “You should’ve done it yourself.”
“I couldn’t.”
“You have arms and legs. You could’ve picked up that locket, walked into the dorm and up the stairs to Farrah’s room, and handed it to her.”
“You know that’s not what I meant.” Blake tossed back the rest of his drink and slammed it on a nearby table. His head pounded with tension.
“I don’t know shit because you won’t tell me shit.” Sammy jabbed a finger into Blake’s chest. “You better clue me in fast unless you want another punch to the face. Obviously, you still have feelings for Farrah, so why the big breakup?”
“It’s complicated.”
“Uncomplicate it.”
Blake exhaled sharply. He looked around. Everyone was too lost in their own worlds to pay attention to him and Sammy. Luke, Leo, and Nardo gathered at the bar with a few other guys. Courtney and Kris danced like maniacs to the latest Top 40 chart-topper. Farrah and Olivia were nowhere in sight.
“Not here.”
Blake led them to the terrace and closed the sliding door behind them, muffling the music and raucous laughter. The rain had cleared, and the moon shone bright in the sky.
Sammy leaned against the railing and crossed his arms over his chest. “Let’s hear it, Ryan.”
“Who are you, and what have you done with Sammy Yu?” Blake tried to lighten the mood. He’d known Sammy for months. He’d never seen him like this.
Sammy didn’t smile at the unintended play on words. “It pisses me off when people hurt my friends, and you hurt one of my best friends. I want to know why.”
Sammy might tell Farrah. She was, as he said, one of his best friends.
But this was Sammy. As much of a stranger as he’d been this past month, he would never go back on his word.
Blake’s jaw worked as he rifled through his options. “Promise you won’t tell anyone. Not even Olivia. Especially not Olivia.”
“I promise.”
Blake hesitated another second before he spilled the beans. New Year’s, Cleo, her pregnancy, why he broke up with Farrah. Everything. As he spoke, Sammy’s expression morphed from anger to shock to sympathy before settling on a mix of all three.
“Holy shit.”
“Yeah.”
“You’re going to be a father.”
“Yeah.”
“You’re in love with Farrah, and you’re having a baby with someone else.”
Blake flinched. Sammy’s matter-of-fact summary of his mess hit harder than it should have. Blake had months to reconcile himself with his situation; clearly, he still had work to do.
“You need to tell Farrah.”
“No!”
Sammy’s eyebrows shot up at Blake’s vehement response.
Blake sucked in a deep breath. The mere thought of Farrah finding out the truth had his heart skittering like a panicked rabbit. “She deserves a clean break.”
“She thinks you played her.”
“And that’s the way it’ll stay,” Blake said grimly. “You promised.”
Was it better that Farrah thought he played her instead of cheated on her? Probably not. Given his harsh words the night they broke up, cheating was more redeemable—even if she did hate cheaters. After all, Blake didn’t even remember his night with Cleo.
But that was the point. Blake didn’t want to be redeemable. Farrah deserved a clean break, and she couldn’t get one if she thought he still loved her and just made a