Brianna had made us pick our choices from Max, Evan, and Trent.
Autumn’s was easiest, given her brother was one of the options.
I couldn’t say Max either, because Autumn would never speak to me again. So I’d followed suit and picked Trent for Love and Evan for Lust.
Jodie had hummed and ahhed for ages, before finally settling on Max for Love, Trent for Lust, and Evan for Run. She’d gone all dewy-eyed and clutched at her chest, saying how she’d liked Max since school.
Her dramatics had gone practically unnoticed by Autumn. I swear, had it been me doing the same, she would have gone absolutely bat shit crazy. Given the amount of alcohol we had consumed, it wasn’t surprising.
“Max Coady?!” exclaimed Brianna. “You’re a dark horse, Jodie, I had no idea. Joshua always said it was Sophie who was madly in love with Max.” She cast a glance in my direction. “Well, you were always hanging out at their house.”
“Because Autumn is my best friend!” I countered, my cheeks flushing. “I barely even noticed Max was there. He and Joshua were always playing some stupid video game anyway.”
Jodie pouted. “You guys rarely let me hang out with you on those nights. It was always just the two of you and the boys.”
Autumn rolled her eyes. “Jodie, you know what my Mom was like. She didn’t like us having more than one person for sleepovers. It was too much for her.”
“Then why did you never invite me over instead of Sophie?”
It was like we were back in school again, arguing over who got the best seat in class or the table next to the window in the cafeteria. We were in our mid-twenties, not elementary school.
“Does it really matter, Jodie? We go out as a group all the time now.” Autumn sipped her drink. “And I haven’t seen you try to make a move on Max before.”
Jodie stared directly at me. “Maybe I didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes.”
“That’s ridiculous, Jodie.” I shot a glance at Autumn. “Me dating Autumn’s brother was never on the cards. It would be too weird for both of us.”
“Sure, that might have been the case when we were fourteen, but now?” Jodie kept pushing, but I was desperate to change the subject.
I bit my lip and shrugged. “I’m not interested in Max, Jodie. If you like him that much, you should go for it.” As soon as the words left my mouth, I regretted them. None of it was true. But it was too late to take them back. I’d given her my permission.
Trent moved me around the dance floor with ease. Almost too easily. He was a nice guy, but he didn’t make my heart race the same way Max did. Even after the way Max had treated me this morning, he still held my heart.
“Where are you?” asked Trent, as he steered us past the older couples who were trying to impress with their ballroom skills.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you’re here, dancing with me, but your mind is far, far, away.” He reached over and tapped my temple before brushing a tendril of blonde hair behind my ear.
I should have reacted. My body should have shivered or my skin developed goose bumps. But when Trent touched me, I felt nothing.
“Does it have something to do with Max?”
I stopped, stock still in the middle of the dance floor and trod directly on Trent’s left toes.
He let out a little whimper and doubled over, clutching at his injured foot. “I’ll take that as a yes.” His dark eyes looked up at me, glittering with pain. Whether that was to do with his foot or my silent answer to his question, I couldn’t be sure.
“Let’s go and get a drink.” Trent hobbled away to the bar, choosing the opposite end to the one Jodie was at. At least she wouldn’t be able to interrupt.
“Can I get a beer, please?” Trent asked the bar man. “And?” He glanced over at me.
“Vodka and soda, thank you.”
Despite the noise in the room, the silence between us was almost deafening.
Neither of us said a word until we had our drinks. Both of us downed a healthy amount before we started talking.
“Why haven’t you made a move on Max?” Trent asked finally. “It’s clear you’re into him. You’ve barely taken your eyes off him the whole day.”
“I’m not,” I bluffed. “You must be imagining things.”
He shook his head. “Don’t think so, Soph. Because he’s pretty much done the same thing to you.” Trent took another sip of his beer. “And he warned me off just before we sat down for dinner.”
My head snapped around. “He did what?”
Trent cocked his head to one side. “Basically, he told me you wouldn’t be interested even if I did make a move on you.”
“That’s not true.”
“Babe, I could have been dancing with a store mannequin out there for all the vibes I was getting.” He quirked a smile.
“Oh, God, I’m so sorry.” I exhaled a hard breath, not realizing my disinterest had been that obvious. I paused, wondering whether discussing Max with Trent was the right thing to do. “Even if I did want to get together with Max, Autumn wouldn’t allow it.”
“Autumn wouldn’t allow it.” He mimicked my words. “What are we? Twelve?”
“Fourteen, actually.” I folded my arms across my chest. “That’s when she told me it would be gross if I went out with her brother.”
Trent’s shoulders actually quaked with laughter. “And you’ve seriously kept hold of that for what, ten years?”
“She’s my best friend.” I lifted my chin defiantly. “There are rules.”
“Maybe in school.” He rolled his eyes. “Look, it’s patently obvious Max likes you and you like Max. You’re at a wedding, one of the most romantic places you could get together. Stop stressing over what others think and do something for yourselves.”
I let his words sink in.
Could I really go against Autumn’s wishes after all this time?
She knew I’d been with Max last night, albeit not knowing we’d kissed.
Although that
