Chapter 12 Wren
WREN
The new can of cider I grabbed was already almost empty and becoming warm as I held it. But I kept sipping, needing something to do with my hands. My nerves buzzed beneath the alcohol. Or maybe it was just him that made me anxious.
Ty leaned forward, elbows on his knees, his beer dangling in one hand. His blue eyes never left me, and under the firelight, they looked darker than I remembered. He looked more tired than I remembered.
“You ever think about how different things might’ve been?” he asked, voice low. “If we hadn’t fallen apart?”
I exhaled slowly, trying not to slur my words. “Of course I did. But not so much these days.”
He nodded. “Fair.”
There was silence for a moment, the kind that used to be comfortable with him.
The kind where our bodies would just lean into each other, speaking in touches instead of words.
So when his knee brushed mine, I didn’t move it.
When he leaned in closer, breath smelling faintly of beer, I didn’t pull away.
And when his hand touched my thigh, slow and deliberate, I tensed for half a second, but then I relaxed.
It was definitely the alcohol. Or maybe the part of me that wanted to feel wanted, even if the hands doing the wanting belong to a person who used to make me feel so small.
He tilted his head, studying me like he was asking a question without words. I didn’t answer with words. Instead, I leaned forward, and our lips met.
The kiss was soft but familiar. It was messy in that way that first reconnections always are. His hand slid further up my leg, palm warm against my bare skin.
Something fluttered in my chest. It was either nerves, guilt, or doubt. So I kissed him harder, trying to drown out all the negative thoughts. But then the pressure shifted. His hand moved higher and pushed firmly. The kiss turned hungrier. Something I did not want. It was happening too fast.
I pulled back slightly, breathing hard. “Ty. No, I don’t want to go any further than this.”
He didn’t move away. His hand trailed up to my jaw and grabbed it firmly, not allowing me to pull away, and he started to kiss my neck.
“Fucking stop,” I started to panic, trying to squirm from his grasp. That’s when a new voice cut through the night like a thunderclap.
“Wren.”
Tyler jerked away so fast it was like I had burned him.
Reed stood at the edge of the fire pit, chest rising and falling, eyes locked onto Ty like he was deciding whether to swing or scream.
“Reed?” I said, confused, breathless. The fear of the moment shattered in an instant. He didn’t look at me. He was looking only at Ty.
He stood slowly, like he had something to prove.
“Well, if it isn’t Reed,” Ty said, coolly. “Didn’t expect to see you tonight.”
Reed spoke through clenched teeth. “Didn’t expect to need to be here.”
His voice was sharp, quiet, controlled. And that scared me more than if he’d come in yelling. I was worried he was about to knock Ty out. Well-deserved, but I didn’t want him to have to do it.
I blinked and began to sober up quickly. The warmth in my face faded into something else. Embarrassment? Shame? Confusion? Probably a mix of all three.
“What are you doing here?” I asked him, my voice barely above a whisper.
He finally looked at me. His eyes weren’t angry.
They were worried. Or hurt?
“Harper texted me,” he said simply. “She saw who you were with.”
Ty scoffed, now looking at me. “Wow. Still keeping babysitters on speed dial, huh?”
I shrank, blinking through the burn of tears. This was the Tyler I knew. The manipulative, gaslighting asshole I swore I’d never fall for again. How the fuck did I forget?
Reed stepped around the fire pit, leaving an open path to Tyler. “You think I’d sit around knowing she was with your bitch ass? I only move like this when someone I fucking care about is in trouble.”
It cracked something open in my chest. Like he knew exactly what I needed to hear and didn’t hesitate to say it.