“Nobody was invited,” he admits. “I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it.” He shrugs. “Besides, it’s not like I saw you graduate.” He sticks me with a pointed look.
“Yeah, well…” I take a deep breath, not wanting to remember why I didn’t attend my graduation or party afterward. And then it hits me… Needing to move our conversation into safer waters, I blurt out, “I’m going to throw you a graduation party once you guys get back from your honeymoon.”
“Oh, yay!” Olivia claps excitedly. “And we can also celebrate that—”
“No more changing the subject,” Nick says, cutting her off. “What’s going on?” It’s clear in his voice he’s not going to let this go, but I really don’t want to have this conversation.
“Should we do it at a restaurant or your house?” I ask Olivia, ignoring his question.
Before she can answer, Nick says, “Stop. I’m not fucking kidding, Celeste. You don’t cry. Ever.”
“Give me back my clutch,” I demand.
“After you tell me why you’re upset enough to shed tears.”
Unable to have this conversation sober, I down a shot that’s sitting on the table. It burns like a bitch, but I more than welcome the discomfort. After I repeat this two more times, Nick pulls the tray out of my reach.
“You’ve had enough to drink,” he chides. “Now tell me what’s wrong.”
I’ve never told anyone about Jase. No one. I left for New York without looking back and kept everything that happened between us to myself. But suddenly, as I look at Nick and Olivia looking at me, I feel like the weight is too much. I need to tell someone, and if I’m going to trust anyone to know my truth, it’s them.
“I fell in love,” I admit with a harsh breath as I fall into the chair across from them. Their eyes go wide, and Olivia moves from next to Nick over to me.
“With Chad?” Olivia asks, confused.
“No, we actually broke up tonight,” I admit. “When I was eighteen. I fell in love…and then he broke my heart. And I—I just don’t understand why I wasn’t enough.”
“Celeste,” Olivia coos, reaching over and giving me a side hug. “You are enough. I don’t know who this guy was, but fuck him.” A burst of laughter escapes my lips at Olivia’s choice of words. She isn’t one to just curse on the regular. “I’m serious,” she says, “and if he were here right now, I would tell him that myself.”
I shift uncomfortably in my seat, and Nick eyes me curiously. He’s probably putting the pieces together. Jase and me meeting ten years ago, me getting upset at the tattoo shop… It wouldn’t take a rocket scientist to figure it out.
Giselle and Killian come over and sit next to Nick, both of them eyeing the situation, probably feeling the tension surrounding us. “What’s going on?” Giselle asks, concerned.
Before I can stop Olivia from talking, she says, “Some dickhead broke Celeste’s heart ten years ago, and I was just telling her that if I ever see him, I’ll punch him in the arm for hurting her.” She glares, and I stifle my laugh at how adorable she is. Olivia wouldn’t hurt a fly.
“Ten years ago…” Killian muses. His head tilts to the side slightly and then his gaze goes over my shoulder. I don’t need to look back to know who he’s looking at. He knows who broke my heart. How? I have no clue. But he knows. I saw it in his eyes when we were at dinner and Jase got brought up.
“Yeah, when she was eighteen,” Olivia adds.
“I need another drink,” I tell no one. Reaching over, I snag a shot from the tray and down it in one gulp. Giselle’s brows raise. She knows too. She’s perceptive. She saw the way I reacted to Jase coming tonight.
“What was his name?” Nick asks. “The guy who broke your heart.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I tell him, but my words come out in a slur since I’m now well on my way to being drunk. Both Killian and Giselle eye me speculatively, but I ignore them.
“Give me back my clutch,” I say to Nick.
“Give me a name.”
“Fine. Keep my clutch!” I huff. “I’m going to go dance.” Standing slowly, so I don’t wobble or trip, I turn on my heel and walk away, not waiting for anyone to respond. The music is pumping through the speakers and the crowd has filled in. I head straight for the middle, where I saw Jase and that skank earlier, and find a guy who isn’t attached to dance with.
One song blurs into the next. I have no clue how long I’ve been dancing for, but the alcohol has officially made its way through my body. I’m drunk and sweaty. The guy I’ve been dancing with pulls me into his body and whispers, “You’re fucking sexy. Let’s go.” I attempt to shake my head no, but because of how drunk I am, I’m not sure it actually moves.