My Rebound (On My Own #2) - Carrie Ann Ryan Page 0,47
exclusive and are getting to know one another. That our labels are the fact that we are exclusive, not what other labels we haven’t given ourselves yet.”
“That’s better than what most people begin with.”
I nodded at Elise.
“Oh,” Nessa said after a moment, “I just thought…I don’t know. You guys seemed to get serious pretty quickly.”
I frowned, studying Nessa’s face. “I mean, we’re as serious as sex can be because I’m not going to shy away from that,” I answered, even though I knew I was blushing. “But we’re in college, and he doesn’t even know if he’s going to stay in the country after we graduate.” I ignored the odd twinge I felt at that statement. “And I just got out of a very long, practically lifelong relationship. I can’t even think the word serious. But I can have fun.” My voice got a little more high-pitched towards the end, and I realized I was speaking far too fast even as I kept going. The girls shared a look before smiling at me.
“Don’t worry, we’re not grilling you. Sorry,” Elise said. “We won’t bring it up again.”
“Yeah, let’s not,” Nessa said before piling things on her plate. I frowned, trying to figure out what I was missing.
And then I looked at the grimace on her face, saw how she had been acting over the past few weeks, and it hit me.
I was such a fucking idiot.
“What’s wrong?” Natalie asked? “Did we make you sad?”
For a moment, I thought she was talking to Nessa, but no, it was directed at me.
Apparently, I wasn’t good about hiding my emotions.
Instead of answering, I just smiled. “I’m okay. It’s just the whole: ‘Oh my God, it’s a boy, what do I do?’ thing. Typical college stuff. Now, let’s talk about all of you. Because I am over talking about myself.”
Nessa smiled as she looked at me, but did it reach her eyes? Had I made another mistake?
How long has Nessa been in love with Pacey?
And why am I only figuring it out now?
“You know, the last time we did something like this, Corinne spiked all of our iced tea,” Elise said, her eyes a little watery but a smile on her face.
“Oh, yes, with vodka. But it was the good vodka that we got from one of our other friends,” Natalie continued. “You couldn’t even taste it.”
“I think I ended up dancing in my bra on the coffee table,” Nessa added and winced. “I’m happy that we were able to fix the hole in that wall,” she said, and I looked between the three of them, nodding as they talked about Corinne and shared different stories about a house I had never lived in.
They weren’t pushing me out, they were talking with me, and I smiled and added on to the small stories I knew about her.
But Corinne wasn’t with us anymore.
And I wasn’t sure what any of us were supposed to do about it.
I missed her, too. But I wasn’t her.
And every time they told these stories about the vivacious Corinne with her heart of gold and a smile that could make anybody have a better day, I realized how much I lacked.
And I hated myself just a little bit more.
I looked at Nessa again as she gave me a curious look, and then I quickly stuffed a grape into my mouth and smiled.
Natalie and Elise kept speaking, discussing a party or some other thing, and Nessa just looked at me before quickly glancing away with an expression on her face that I couldn’t read.
Did she hate me?
How much had I already taken from her?
One of her best friend’s rooms?
And now the boy she loved.
I needed to talk to Pacey. Soon.
Because I was an idiot.
And I had a feeling that he was even more oblivious.
Chapter 13
Pacey
It was never good to get a text saying that someone needed to talk. It was also never good to have it come from a girl who you weren’t sure was your girlfriend but was close enough. Hell, I wasn’t even sure we were far enough into our relationship to have a we-need-to-talk talk, and yet, here we were.
The guys were all out, Tanner on a date with his pair, and Miles on a study date. Dillon had just left for work, and I knew Elise would meet him at the brewery. I wasn’t quite sure how the two made working at a bar their date, but it worked, and I was glad for them.