Chapter 11
ELEVEN
Heart in my throat, I wait for my fears to come true. I wait for Wes to wonder what the hell I’m doing here, or at the very least turn away and dismiss me. So imagine my shock when he positively beams, his entire face lighting up.
Wes says something to the guy next to him before making his way toward us, and all my earlier worries drift away. He wouldn’t smile like that if he wasn’t happy to see me. At least, I don’t think he would.
Quinn’s hand tightens on my arm. “Oh, wow. Oh, shit. He’s coming over here. Damn, Ivy. He’s hot.”
“Poison Ivy! I had no idea you’d be here!
” And then, before I can blink or think or speak, he pulls me into a hug.
And it’s not aggressive or suffocating or unnecessary.
It’s just…perfect. The moment his strong arms wrap around me, I melt against him, breathing in his scent and basking in his heat.
He feels right, and when he finally releases me, I feel his loss everywhere.
“Hi,” I say, a little breathless.
He looks down at me with bright, excited eyes and an infectious grin. “I still can’t believe this! Did Kaden invite you?”
“And Ben,” I add. “Happy Birthday.”
“Aw, thanks, Ives. So, there was no study group after all?”
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know the plan, and I was afraid I’d give something away, and I panicked—”
He laughs. “It’s fine. I’m not mad. Impressed, honestly. Who knew you were such an excellent liar.”
I roll my eyes and change the subject, gesturing at Quinn. “This is my roommate.”
I’m surprised when he doesn’t immediately grace her with his award-winning smile, but once he speaks, I understand why. “Ava or Kinsley?”
Quinn snorts and says, “Neither, thank god. I’m Quinn, and I’m much less of an asshole than the other two.”
Wes looks relieved. “I was worried I was going to have to give you the cold shoulder on Ivy’s behalf,” he says, “but it’s a thousand degrees in here, so I was starting to panic.”
“No cold shoulder necessary.”
“Well, welcome to my home. It’s usually a lot cleaner and less crowded, obviously. Can I get you some drinks? There’s a keg, liquor, seltzers, mixers. They brought out all the stops.”
“We’ll find something in the kitchen,” Quinn assures.
“In that case, I’m gonna make the rounds, but I’ll find you in a bit.” He looks at me, eyes scanning over my face. “You good, Ives?”
I nod. “Yeah, I’m good. You go mingle.”
"I’m really glad you’re here. Both of you.”
He winks at me, and color rises up my neck. My gaze trails after him as he greets others in the crowd, and I’m in awe of the way he commands the room, making every single person feel at ease.
“I see why you like him,” Quinn whispers, before steering me toward the kitchen.
She grabs a hard seltzer from the cooler on the counter and then hands one to me.
When I protest, she shakes her head and says, “You don’t have to drink it, but it will prevent random guys from trying to hand you shit. We all know how that can go.”
I don’t respond, but her words turn my stomach acidic, and my fingers tighten around the can.
When the crowd becomes too much inside, we make our way out onto the back deck. It’s easier to breathe out here, and we huddle beside the fire pit. I’m not sure what the point is now, but I figure I’ll wait to see Wes one more time before I suggest we leave.
“So, who was that girl on the steps?” Quinn asks. “You’re the last person I’d expect to have enemies.”
I clear my throat and set my seltzer on the deck rail for something to do. “Alexis Cane,” I say finally, looking back at her. “We knew each other in high school.”
She wrinkles her nose. “And this is why I’m grateful I went out of state. I don’t think I could handle seeing girls I knew in high school. Was she always a bitch?”
I think about her question for a moment. “Kind of. But I was on her good side, so it didn’t matter. She turned on me junior year.”
“What happened? She steal your boyfriend? Looks like the type.”
My insides jolt, my chest going tight, and downing my seltzer seems appealing all of a sudden. “Something like that.”
We hang outside for a while, observing the party from the outskirts. There’s no shortage of conversation around Quinn, who can chat about anything for extended periods of time. School. Family. Boyfriend. Hobbies. We touch on every topic before I notice Wes’s housemates wandering over.
“Hey, Ivy,” says Kaden. “I told you I’d find you later. This is Ben.”
Ben waves. “I’m Ben. Wonderful to meet you.”
“You, too,” I say, shrinking back a little, my shyness kicking in. If I was a less socially anxious person, I might mention how much I enjoy his baking, but I’m not, so I don’t. Instead, I gesture to my roommate beside me. “This is Quinn.”
She waves and asks, “So, you two are the masterminds behind this extravaganza?”
“Had to go all out for our boy’s twenty-second,” says Ben. “Last year we did a big bar crawl for his twenty-first, but this seemed more fitting given graduation’s around the corner. A last hurrah, so to speak.”
I don’t hear Quinn’s response, the figure in the doorway drawing my attention instead. I wince as Ben yells, “Hey, birthday boy! Get your ass over here and entertain your guests!”
Wes’s head snaps up, and he smiles when he sees our group, shuffling his way through the growing crowd on the deck.
He’s collected some souvenirs since we last saw him.
A rubber stethoscope hangs from his neck, and there’s a light blue button with a ribbon pinned to his shirt that reads Baby’s 1st Birthday. “Hello again, favorite people.”
He squeezes in between Kaden and me, and a shiver runs down my spine at his proximity.
He’s both too close and not close enough—I can never make up my mind anymore.
I debate leaning a little to my right to brush my arm against his, but I don’t want to be like all those other girls that grope him in the halls.
Kaden snorts. “Cute button.”
Ben flicks the stethoscope and asks, “Where the fuck did you get that?”
Wes chuckles down at it. “I have no idea,” he admits. “I blinked, and it appeared.” He raises the chest piece at the end. “Anyone need their heart checked?”
“Ivy does,” Quinn says with a smirk. I nudge her as Wes’s dark eyes turn on me.
“I’m okay, thanks,” I tell him quickly, my face warming at the thought of him moving closer to my chest.
Wes grins. “Let me know if you change your mind.” I avert my eyes to the ground, thankful when he changes the subject. “I see you’ve met my housemates.”
“Oh, we’re old friends by now,” says Ben. “Who do you think invited her?”
I peek back up at Wes to find him rolling his eyes. “Well, I couldn’t exactly invite her to a party I knew nothing about.”
“I’m shocked you didn’t sniff it out,” says Kaden. He directs his next words at me. “He’s very nosy.”
“He said the same thing about you guys,” I say, surprising myself.
Ben makes a show of looking mock offended. “After we threw you a party?”
“This was before,” Wes clarifies. “And you did go into my phone and steal her number.”
“Out of the goodness of our hearts.”
“It was necessary,” says Kaden. “You were all Ivy this and Ivy that. We had to invite her.”
Quinn nudges my shoulder this time, but I’m dead focused on Wes. Unless I’m mistaken, a faint blush colors his cheeks as he glares at his housemate. “Wow. Thanks, K.”
Kaden shrugs and says, “I tell it like it is.”
“You three are something,” says Quinn, taking a sip of her drink.
“We’d make an excellent reality show,” says Ben. “K’s the realist. Doc’s the charmer.”
“And if it weren’t for Ben, we’d all starve to death,” adds Kaden.
Ben nods. “You would.”
“I can cook!” Wes protests.
“You can cook one thing well,” Ben points out. “That’s not ‘cooking.’”
Kaden looks at me. “Has he made you his signature dish yet?”
“Chicken piccata?” I guess.
Kaden bursts out laughing.
“You betrayed me,” Wes jokes, brushing my arm with his. Despite the layers of fabric between us, goosebumps raise across my skin.
“Dang, you hit her with the chicken piccata already?” asks Ben. “Now she has nothing left to look forward to!”
“You really need to branch out,” Kaden agrees.
Wes shakes his head. “The magic of the chicken piccata is that you don’t need to branch out.”
Kaden rolls his eyes at me. “If he had any singing ability whatsoever, he’d write a song about it.”
“He was going to write his informative speech on it,” I tell them.
“Ivy,” Wes whines, brushing my arm again.
“No way,” says Ben, snickering.
“Ivy, I think I like you,” says Kaden, before something across the deck draws his attention. He groans. “Aw, fuck. Who let Rich in? We purposely didn’t invite that idiot.”
“Paul’s manning the door,” Ben says.
Kaden gives Ben an incredulous look. “You let Paul man the door? You can never trust Paul! He’s got zero backbone!”
“He offered!”
Kaden sighs. “Excuse us.”
The two disappear into the crowd of people, arguing with each other about who dropped the ball. Quinn follows them to get another hard seltzer, leaving me and Wes out here by ourselves, pressed up against the deck railing as more people spill out of the house.
He looks down at me with warm eyes and a secret smile, and for a moment, it’s like we’re the only two people at this party. “I’m happy you came.”
I smile back at him. “Me, too.”
“Are you having fun?” he asks, his eyes searching mine. “I know it’s a lot of people. I’m overwhelmed, and these are my friends.”
“I’m having fun,” I assure, and it’s not even a lie.
I do like spending time with Quinn, and his housemates are kind.
But what I can’t understand is why Wes is hanging out here, talking to me, when he’s got an entire house full of people here to celebrate him.
“You don’t have to keep me company. I’m sure you want to go hang out with your friends. Quinn will be back soon.”