The pressure alone could break a person.
Pulling up to my favorite restaurant, my mouth waters at the smell radiating from the place. We head inside, and Colby makes it a point to request a whole hibachi table to ourselves. It’s not like he’s hard to recognize. We haven’t been in here more than two minutes and people are already starting to whisper.
“I can only imagine what people will say this time.”
He chuckles. “Haven’t you heard? You’re my first serious relationship.”
I roll my eyes with a smile. “I’m sure Kellan will love that.”
The waitress leads us over to our table, and the whole way there, Colby keeps a hand on my lower back. “He’s a bit of a possessive one, isn’t he?”
I shrug. “I think he’s just intimidated by you, which is weird because he was never like that before.”
Smirking, he takes the seat next to me. “Isn’t it obvious? You’re eighteen now, and no longer off limits.”
Heat floods my body, and I’m suddenly aware of how close we are. Shit, is he flirting with me? No. He can’t be. Colby has hit on me once, but it was quickly retracted the second I told him I was underage. Since then, we’ve maintained a strictly platonic relationship, and it’s one that’s really important to me.
I’ve never been the kind of girl to have a lot of friends. Kids tend to avoid me ever since we were younger. Whether it be because they’re jealous of how wealthy my father is, or their parents are afraid of the power he possesses, they always stayed away. All I had for a long time was dance, which came with Brady and Savannah, but other than that I was alone—until Tessa.
Tessa Callahan is everything a best friend should be. She’s loyal, strong, and fierce as hell. When Savannah introduced us last summer, I was honestly afraid of her. She came off as this girl who acted first and thought later. It wasn’t until we actually got to know each other that I saw everything that makes her who she is. When you’re around her, it’s impossible to do anything but love her.
When Tess started pursuing our English teacher, it inevitably led me to Colby. My best friend dragged me to a party at Asher’s, and Colby was the first person to make us feel welcome. He later admitted it was to make Asher jealous, since he was denying all feelings toward Tessa, but there was something genuine about the baby-faced heartthrob. From there, our friendship grew drastically.
“Does that freak you out?” I ask. “That I’m finally eighteen?”
He snorts and picks up his menu. “No way. Maybe now I can stop feeling like such a creep for hanging out with you.”
I raise a single brow. “You’re twenty-six, hanging out with an eighteen-year-old. You’re still a creep.”
“Touché.” He pushes his hair out of his face, and I try not to stare. “So, what does that make Asher?”
“A straight-up victim. Have you seen how Tessa gets when she wants something? He never stood a chance at resisting her.”
Chuckling, he agrees with me, and the two of us go quiet as we look over our options. I steal a quick glance over at him and take a deep breath. Colby was never an option for me, and he still isn’t. I have a boyfriend. But I can’t help but wonder what things would be like if he was. If things were different. If I wasn’t seventeen when he told me I looked good at that party. If only…
AFTER A DINNER FILLED with jokes, laughter, and easy flowing conversation, Colby and I leave the restaurant and get back into his car. He’s barely even backed out of the parking space before my phone rings and Tessa’s picture fills the screen.
“Hey, Tess.”
“Lennon,” she wails.
My brows furrow. “What’s wrong?”
“Asher and I had a fight. He got so mad and stormed out.”
She muffles another sob, poorly, and I sigh heavily. It’s not like them to argue. Hell, for the most part, they’re all over each other and leave no room for an argument to form. However, the sound of her distress tells me it must have been bad.
“I’ll be right there.”
She sniffles. “No. It’s your birthday.”
I tap Colby on the shoulder and mouth for him to head to Asher’s. “Shut up. I’m fifteen minutes away. Stay there.”
TURNING INTO THE PARKING garage, I notice all of Asher’s cars are here. Either he’s back and they’re arguing some more, or they’re having intense make-up sex. Regardless,