I let out a shaky breath. I can’t believe this is happening.
How long had I dreamed of this precise moment?
His hand comes up and he gently touches my cheek, his dear, familiar eyes burning into mine. Desperate. Urgent. “Do you understand what I’m trying to tell you? I think … I think you’re the one, Chloe. I think you’ve always been the one.”
I stare at him, waiting for the moment of euphoria to rush over me.
Come on. Come on. Swoon, damn it! Tell him you love him!
But I don’t tell him. Instead I ask him. “Devon, where is this coming from?”
He frowns. “What?”
I give him a gentle smile and reach up to take his hand, where it still rests against my face. I hold it between mine. “Well, it’s like you said, Dev. I’ve been here all along. The whole freaking time. And you haven’t seen me. You think it was easy for me to watch you with my sister? You think it didn’t kill me?”
His eyes widen, and I nod in confirmation. “Yeah. You’re hearing that right. You may just now be realizing you were with the wrong girl, but I’ve known forever. Since we were dorks together. Before you ditched me to be popular.”
His eyes close and his fingers twitch beneath mine.
“It’s okay,” I say, squeezing his hand. And I mean it. “I get it. We were young. We are young. Which is why I have to know…. I’ve been right in front of you most of my life. Why are you just now seeing me?”
I wait (patiently, I might add) for him to come up with an answer. And I see the second he realizes what I already know.
Then he gives himself away. His gaze drifts over the new me, the skinnier, glammed-up Chloe.
I give him a knowing look.
He groans. “God, I’m an asshole.”
“A little,” I say, with a laugh. “But I’ll tell ya what. As a nod to our old, and solid, friendship, I won’t hold it against you, K?”
He gives me a sad smile. “But you won’t give me a chance, either, will you?”
I stand on my toes to give him a kiss on the cheek. “Sorry. No. I want the guy who wanted me before I turned into a swan.”
He opens his mouth, then closes it as he shakes his head. “Yeah. I have no idea what that means.”
“Really?” I tilt my head. “Hans Christian Andersen?”
He gives me a blank look and I sigh. “‘The Ugly Duckling,’ Dev. Jeez. That was such a good line. Wasted.”
Devon just stands there, watching me with a sad smile.
I smile back. Equally sad. But also …
Free. I’m free of my crushing Devon obsession.
And I know exactly what cured me. Who cured me.
“I’ve got to go, Dev.”
“Yeah.” His voice is resigned. “I know.”
I give him one last peck on the cheek before I walk away.
It’s weird, but I don’t look back. I don’t even want to.
I’m totally not in the mood to go back into the party and have everyone ogle “the new Chloe,” so I stick to the outdoor patio, following it around to the front of the club. I head to where I parked the car—far from the front door, mostly to piss off Kristin, who’d ridden with me.
I’ve still got my little clutch tucked beneath my arm, big enough for a tampon, a phone, and … that’s it.
“Shit!” My purse is so damn small that I gave the keys to Kristin.
I skid to a halt, tilting my head up to the sky. “Really? Really?!”
And somehow I manage not to scream when an unexpected voice comes out of the darkness.
“Need a ride?”
Chapter 31
Michael
I couldn’t bring myself to leave.
I’ve been sitting in the parking lot for nearly thirty minutes, wrestling with the extremely uncomfortable urge to go retrieve Chloe and …
Well, I don’t know.
That was the undecided part.
But in all my scenarios, I hadn’t imagined that she’d come to me.
She turns at the sound of my voice, looking me up and down as I lean against my car.
“You know, you’d probably enjoy the party more if you actually went inside.”
I push myself upright. “I was inside. For an hour and a half.”
She frowns. “I didn’t see you.”
I laugh and loosen my tie, only to realize it’s already pretty damn loose. “Yeah, well, it was probably hard to see out from the throng of your admirers.”
I expect her to look flattered, or at least smug, but instead she winces.
“Congratulations,” I say, my voice more caustic than I mean it to be.
“For?” She takes a step toward me, as though trying to see my face more clearly in the barely lit parking lot.
“The love of your life looked downright besotted.”
She purses her lips, and instantly I’m reminded of what they’d felt like beneath mine. Plush. Giving. Hungry. “Well, Beefcake, I guess I should probably give credit where credit is due.”
“Sorry?” I ask, dragging my eyes away from her mouth.
She holds out her hands from her sides. “You said you’d help me get Devon Patterson. Mission accomplished.”
I push away from the car altogether and take two steps toward her before I skid to a halt. My heart is beating harder than it should, my breathing is faster than it should be, and I want to punch something.
This is how it’s supposed to be, I remind myself. She’s supposed to be with Devon. You want this for her.
How long had I dreamed of this precise moment?
His hand comes up and he gently touches my cheek, his dear, familiar eyes burning into mine. Desperate. Urgent. “Do you understand what I’m trying to tell you? I think … I think you’re the one, Chloe. I think you’ve always been the one.”
I stare at him, waiting for the moment of euphoria to rush over me.
Come on. Come on. Swoon, damn it! Tell him you love him!
But I don’t tell him. Instead I ask him. “Devon, where is this coming from?”
He frowns. “What?”
I give him a gentle smile and reach up to take his hand, where it still rests against my face. I hold it between mine. “Well, it’s like you said, Dev. I’ve been here all along. The whole freaking time. And you haven’t seen me. You think it was easy for me to watch you with my sister? You think it didn’t kill me?”
His eyes widen, and I nod in confirmation. “Yeah. You’re hearing that right. You may just now be realizing you were with the wrong girl, but I’ve known forever. Since we were dorks together. Before you ditched me to be popular.”
His eyes close and his fingers twitch beneath mine.
“It’s okay,” I say, squeezing his hand. And I mean it. “I get it. We were young. We are young. Which is why I have to know…. I’ve been right in front of you most of my life. Why are you just now seeing me?”
I wait (patiently, I might add) for him to come up with an answer. And I see the second he realizes what I already know.
Then he gives himself away. His gaze drifts over the new me, the skinnier, glammed-up Chloe.
I give him a knowing look.
He groans. “God, I’m an asshole.”
“A little,” I say, with a laugh. “But I’ll tell ya what. As a nod to our old, and solid, friendship, I won’t hold it against you, K?”
He gives me a sad smile. “But you won’t give me a chance, either, will you?”
I stand on my toes to give him a kiss on the cheek. “Sorry. No. I want the guy who wanted me before I turned into a swan.”
He opens his mouth, then closes it as he shakes his head. “Yeah. I have no idea what that means.”
“Really?” I tilt my head. “Hans Christian Andersen?”
He gives me a blank look and I sigh. “‘The Ugly Duckling,’ Dev. Jeez. That was such a good line. Wasted.”
Devon just stands there, watching me with a sad smile.
I smile back. Equally sad. But also …
Free. I’m free of my crushing Devon obsession.
And I know exactly what cured me. Who cured me.
“I’ve got to go, Dev.”
“Yeah.” His voice is resigned. “I know.”
I give him one last peck on the cheek before I walk away.
It’s weird, but I don’t look back. I don’t even want to.
I’m totally not in the mood to go back into the party and have everyone ogle “the new Chloe,” so I stick to the outdoor patio, following it around to the front of the club. I head to where I parked the car—far from the front door, mostly to piss off Kristin, who’d ridden with me.
I’ve still got my little clutch tucked beneath my arm, big enough for a tampon, a phone, and … that’s it.
“Shit!” My purse is so damn small that I gave the keys to Kristin.
I skid to a halt, tilting my head up to the sky. “Really? Really?!”
And somehow I manage not to scream when an unexpected voice comes out of the darkness.
“Need a ride?”
Chapter 31
Michael
I couldn’t bring myself to leave.
I’ve been sitting in the parking lot for nearly thirty minutes, wrestling with the extremely uncomfortable urge to go retrieve Chloe and …
Well, I don’t know.
That was the undecided part.
But in all my scenarios, I hadn’t imagined that she’d come to me.
She turns at the sound of my voice, looking me up and down as I lean against my car.
“You know, you’d probably enjoy the party more if you actually went inside.”
I push myself upright. “I was inside. For an hour and a half.”
She frowns. “I didn’t see you.”
I laugh and loosen my tie, only to realize it’s already pretty damn loose. “Yeah, well, it was probably hard to see out from the throng of your admirers.”
I expect her to look flattered, or at least smug, but instead she winces.
“Congratulations,” I say, my voice more caustic than I mean it to be.
“For?” She takes a step toward me, as though trying to see my face more clearly in the barely lit parking lot.
“The love of your life looked downright besotted.”
She purses her lips, and instantly I’m reminded of what they’d felt like beneath mine. Plush. Giving. Hungry. “Well, Beefcake, I guess I should probably give credit where credit is due.”
“Sorry?” I ask, dragging my eyes away from her mouth.
She holds out her hands from her sides. “You said you’d help me get Devon Patterson. Mission accomplished.”
I push away from the car altogether and take two steps toward her before I skid to a halt. My heart is beating harder than it should, my breathing is faster than it should be, and I want to punch something.
This is how it’s supposed to be, I remind myself. She’s supposed to be with Devon. You want this for her.
