"Gen these are amazing," Luna declared as she flipped through my sketchbook.

Eliza hummed her agreement, as they both admired my designs.

I felt that familiar sense of pride wrapped around me whenever someone praised my designs.

The girls came over tonight for an impromptu movie night. Since the girl's night at their place about a month ago, Mia and I became good friends with Luna and Eliza.

Mia was absent from tonight's movie night since she and Nate were having dinner with her mom.

After the movie, we moved to my room where the girl discovered my sketchbook and there have been flipping through it for the last five minutes.

I sat with my back against the headboard eating a red velvet cupcake, watching as they continued to flip through the pages.

Looking away Eliza grabbed her phone off the bed. Something she saw caused her body to stiffen. "That little bitch," Eliza exclaimed glaring down at her phone.

"What?" Luna asked peeking over at Eliza's phone, she snorted at whatever she saw on the screen. "Well she's persistent I'll give her that."

"Who are you guys talking about?" I asked pooping the last piece of cupcake in my mouth as I shifted closer to the foot of the bed where they were sitting.

Eliza turned her phone toward me, looking down at the screen I saw a picture of two girls smiling at the camera one with blonde hair and ivory-colored skin and the other with deep olive skin and wavy, dark brown hair. And off to the side of the blonde was Royce who looking down at his phone.

"That's Sydney," Eliza explained pointing at the blonde girl. "Her parents are good friends with Royce's so they grew up together. The first time we met she was a complete bitch to me and whenever we're alone together she makes snide comments. She started her freshman year at Hainsworth this fall and she always finds a way to worm herself into Royce's presence wherever I'm not around."

"You have nothing to worry about Eliza," Luna assured her.

"Oh, I know and I trust Royce he's never given me a reason not to," she looked down at the picture again, her mouth pressed in a firm line. "But I trust that conniving bitch as far as I can throw her."

Suddenly she hopped to her feet, looking back at both Luna and me a grin lifting the edge of her lips. "Let's go."

"Where?" Luna and I asked at the same time.

"To Mitchell's," Eliza replied like it was obvious. "Imagine the look on her face when I show up."

Luna shook her head vehemently. "Yeah, pass I'm not going to Mitchell's."

"Yeah, I'm with Luna," I chimed in. "We all agreed on staying in tonight. I'm really not in the mood to go to a crowded bar."

Eliza frowned. "Come on you bitches are supposed to have my back," she said her hands resting her on hips.

Glancing over at me she said. "Brooks will be there and you guys are friends," she then looked over at Luna. "And the only reason you don't want to go is because Lucas will be there," she said.

"Exactly, I try to limit the amount of time I spend in the devil's presence," Luna retorted earning an amused snort from me and an eye roll from Eliza.

"Would you quit being dramatic," Eliza grumbles throwing her hands in the air. " We don't have to stay long, and if the roles were reversed

I'll do it for both of you."

Luna rolled her eyes. "Fine, but we're not staying long," she relented standing to her feet.

Eliza squealed then they both turned and looked at me expectantly.

I rolled my eyes, "Let's go."

~~~~~~~

Fifteen minutes later we stepped into Mitchell's it was a Friday night so as expected the place was packed. Eliza spotted the group sitting in a booth near the back of the bar.

We weaved through the crowd heading in their direction when a familiar figure standing at the bar caught my attention. When my eyes landed on Brooks my heart dropped.

Things have been a little strained between us since he left my house that morning a week ago. We haven't talked much sure we've texted a little but not as much as we usually do and when we do text it's honestly a little stilled.

But seeing him here tonight for the first time in a week is not what caused my heart to drop, it was the tall blonde standing next to him. I watched as she stepped closer until she was standing directly in front of him. I couldn't see her face because her back was facing me but I just knew she was smiling up at him.

Before she made her next move I knew what was going to happen. But all I could do was stand frozen in the middle of Mitchell's and watch as it played out in front of my face.

Her hand made its way around his neck and she pulled his lips down to meet hers.

I knew I shouldn't be hurt or angry that he was kissing another girl because we weren't dating. He was free to kiss and fuck whoever he wanted because we were just friends or so I kept telling myself.

Anger bubbled inside me and I wanted to march up to whoever that bitch was and yank her off him.

I wasn't stupid to think he was celibate since we staring hanging out. But it's different seeing it with my own two eyes.

The kiss didn't last long before Brooks gripped the girl's shoulders pushing her away. He looked down at her and said something.

As if he felt me watching him, his head lifted and his eyes widen when his eyes connected with mine. Realizing Brooks's attention was no longer on her she looked over her shoulder at me.

I didn't stick around after that, instead, I turned my gaze away from them and followed after Eliza and Luna.

I didn't get far before I heard Brooks's voice behind me telling me to stop right before a large hand gripped my shoulder halting my movement.

"Hey," he said as I pulled away from his touch and turned to face him.

There was no way I was going to reveal how affected I was by seeing him kiss another girl. So I did what I do best and bottled up my feelings before I lifted my chin willing myself to look him in the eye.

"What are you doing here?" He had the fucking nerve to ask but I bit back the retort that was on the tip of my tongue.

"I came with Eliza and Luna," I responded my voice controlled and even not giving anything away.

"Gen what you saw was—," I cut him off before he could continue. "Was none of my business," I forced a tight smile on my face that I'm sure looked more like a grimace before I turned and walked off without waiting for his response.

Eliza was already sliding into the booth next to Royce as the blonde girl from the picture glared at her on the other side of him. And Luna was next to the booth talking to some guy, who was easily the tallest person in the bar.

They both looked up at my approach. Something on my face must have given away my inner turmoil because Luna's eyebrows pulled down in concern.

But my eyes were locked on the guy next to her. He looked familiar, with caramel-colored skin, and thick curly hair.

It took me a second to finally place him but then it hit me, though our encounter was brief I remembered him.

Liam, the guy I ran into the day, Eliza invited me over for girls' night.

"Hey," Luna said when I reached them. "Everything okay? she asked glancing at something over my shoulder.

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine," my eyes darted back to Liam. My gaze roved over his colorful tattoo sleeves exposed in his white t-shirt. When my eyes landed on his face, he was peering down at me with a smirk on his face.

Luna's eyes volleyed from Liam to me. "Umm do you two know each other?" she asked confused.

"Not really," I replied while Liam said. "She almost knock me over on campus one morning.

"I did not," I refuted rolling my eye. "I merely bumped into you and you barely moved an inch."

His smirk transformed into a wide grin. "That's not how I remembered it," I watched as his smile faltered and he frowned at something behind me.

I didn't have to turn around to know who he was looking at because I could feel Brooke's gaze burning into the back of my head.

"Let's sit down," Luna said grabbing my attention. She slid into the space next to Eliza I followed sitting next to her and Liam took the seat next to me at the end of the booth.

Lucas sat across from us with his arm around the brunette from the picture and sitting next to her was a sulking Sydney. I watched in the corner of my eye as Brooks took the seat next to Lucas on the opposite side of the table.

I could feel his eyes on me imploring me to look over at him but I ignored him.

"It's good to see you lunny bug. I haven't seen you in a while," Lucas said grabbing my attention as well as everyone else at the table. His gaze was solely focused on Luna a smirk playing on his lips.

Luna's cheeks flamed red as she glared at him before she plastered a fake smile on her face.

"It's good to see you too Lukey," she replied her expression turning sympathetic. "I heard about the syphilis, you poor thing don't worry it'll clear up in no time."

Oh shit.

The girl he was with recoiled before shrieking. "You have syphilis?" Drawing the attention of the people sitting in the neighboring booths.

Luna snickered, not bothering to hide her amusement.

Lucas didn't seem fazed by Luna's comment or the resounding laughter of the people nearby. His eyes remained fixated on Luna his smirk still firmly in place as he ignored the girl's question.

"Ahh, so today it's syphilis. The last time was chlamydia and the time before that was gonorrhea I think," he lifted an eyebrow at her. "You don't think it's time to retire your juvenile STD jokes?"

Luna shook her head grinning. "Nah I'm quite fond of them," she shrugged before leaning back in her seat.

"If I didn't know any better I'll think you're obsessed with my dick," he stated resting his palms flat on the table as he leaned forward. "If you want me, babe, all you have to do is say so."

That wiped the grin right off of Luna's face. "Good thing you know better because I rather jump in a pit filled with rattlesnakes than ever have sex with you," she retorted her face twisting in disgust.

"Keep telling yourself that Lunny bug," he winked at her, chuckling as she scowled at him.

Jesus. It was my first time seeing them interact but judging by everyone's faces this is a normal occurrence whenever those two were in the same room together.

"I think I should go," the brunette said though she phrased it more like a question. As if she was hoping Lucas would stop her but I watched as her pretty face fell when he looked at her and simply said okay before he and Brooks slid out of the booth allowing her to exit.

Snatching her purse off the table she slid out of the booth and stormed off but not before calling him an asshole.

"I should go too," Serena announced before saying her goodbyes to Royce and Eliza though the smile she flashed at Eliza was anything but friendly.

After Sydney left the guys retook their seats and Lucas's eyes moved right back to Luna who looked like she wanted to castrate him.

As I watched them I was even more intrigued by what exactly happened between those two.

"They weren't always like this you know," Liam said. Pulling my attention away from whatever weird foreplay was going on between Luna and Lucas.

"They used to be best friends until they won't I don't know what happened they never talk about it," he explained with a shrug.

"How do you know them?" I asked curiously.

"I went to high school with them and unfortunately I'm also Luna's cousin."

"I heard that," Luna piped in sticking her tongue out at Liam, who chuckled at her reaction. "Hey, I almost forgot," Luna said leaning over me to get a better look at Liam. "You'll never guess who Gen's mom is."

"Who?" he questioned eyeing me curiously while he took a sip of his beer.

"Lorelei Allen," she declared which caused Liam to almost choke on his beer.

He stared down at me with wide eyes. "No shit, I love her Kingdom of Shadows series."

Ahh, so Liam was the cousin who loves my mom's novels. Today I found out Luna was a huge fan of my mom's books and she also told me she had a cousin who was obsessed with her Kingdom of Shadows series.

"I know Luna told me," I responded. "It's my favorite too."

"Wait," he said his hazel eyes narrowing like he just realized something. I knew what he was going to say before he said it. "Do you know what happens in the final book?"

I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing as I shrugged. I do know what happened, my mother recently finished her first draft and she sent it to me.

"You know," he concluded. "Come on Gen you have to tell me what happens especially after that cliffhanger book three ended with."

"My lips are sealed," I said making a zipping motion across my lips.

"Don't even waste your time Liam I tried pressing her for answers earlier and she refused to say," Luna informed him shooting me a dirty look.

"You're a cruel person, Gen I'm heartbroken I thought we were becoming friends," he said laying a hand over his heart feigning pain.

I laughed. "How about I get you signed copies of the first three books instead," I offered.

He pretended to think about it for a second. "Okay, I guess I'm slightly mollified," he responded smiling.

I felt the heat of Brooks's stare burning a hole into the side of my face from across the table. I haven't acknowledged him since we sat down. Finally, I peeked over at him and his lips were pressed in a firm line as his eyes pinged back and forth between me and Liam.

I arched a brow at him before I turned my attention back to Liam. Okay, I knew I was being petty but we're all allowed to be petty once in a while.

"So, are you on the football team too," I asked Liam.

He shook his head. "Nah I'm on the basketball team," he said bringing the beer bottle to his lips and draining the remaining contents his eyes

He opened his mouth to say something else but Brooks beat him to it.

"Gen, can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked which caused my eyes to snap in his direction. Despite his calm voice and relaxed demeanor, the hardness in his eyes and the firm set of his lips gave away his raising ire. But beneath the anger, I spotted a hint of vulnerability in his eyes.

That soften me a little and I found myself saying, "Sure."

He released what looked like a relieved breath. Liam stood allowing me to leave, standing I peeked up at his face expecting to see annoyance at Brooks's interruption but instead, he had a knowing look on his face and he winked at me.

I followed Brooks toward the restrooms, we walked past the few people waiting in line and made our way closer to the emergency exit.

When we were alone he spun around abruptly stopping me in my tracks. "How do you know Liam?" he asked angrily.

"W-What," I stuttered taken aback by his harsh tone. The vulnerability I saw at the table was gone.

"Liam the guy you've been flirting with," he said slowly as if I was stupid.

My shock quickly dissolved into anger. "You have some fucking nerve," I hissed stepping closer to him. "You have no right standing here acting like some jealous boyfriend when not too long ago you were kissing some girl by the bar!" I exclaimed as I lifted my finger and poked him in the chest.

His eyes narrowed. "Now who sounds jealous."

I scoffed. "I'm not jealous," I lied I was brimming with jealousy but I'll never admit it.

He lifted his hand gently wrapping it around my wrist and removing it from his chest but instead of releasing my hand, he pulled me against him.

"I didn't kiss her she kissed me and I stopped it as soon as it happened. You wanna know why I stopped it?" my heart thudded as he leaned his face closer to mine until our noses were almost touching. "Because she wasn't you," he confessed and all I could do was stared at him speechless.

"What you have nothing to say now Gen, cat got your tongue?" he taunted an arrogant smirk curling on the edge of his lips.

"Let me go asshole," I demanded attempting to snatch my hand from his grip but he held on.

"We need to stop running from this thing between us."

I shook my head. "Nothing is going on between us," I mumbled stubbornly.

Annoyance sparked in his eyes. "That's bullshit and you know it," he said through gritted teeth releasing his grip on my wrist and taking a step back.

"We shared one kiss and you basically said it didn't mean anything," I said the accusation clear in my voice.

"Because that's what I thought you wanted to hear!" he exploded his nostril flaring. Dropping my hand he turned away from me shoving a frustrated hand through his hair.

He took a deep breath before facing me again. "That morning I could see you were panicking and you looked like you regretted it so I said what I said to put you at ease but also to save face," he admitted.

The fight left me at his words.

"I didn't regret it," I whispered truthfully. "I was panicking because I was scared at the way that kissed made me feel," I admitted unable to meet his eyes as I looked down at my feet. "But Brooks if we go there it will end badly."

Brooks tilted my chin up with his fingers until our eyes met. "It could," he agreed softly. "Or it could be great Gen all we have to do is stop allowing our pasts to control our future. After all that shit with Brielle and my brother, I swore I would never be in another relationship again, but then I met you. Gen, you make me feel things I have never felt before. And I tried to ignore it but I don't want to do that anymore," he finished cupping my cheek in his hand and I found myself leaning into his touch.

"What are you saying," I whispered staring into his eyes.

"It's pretty simple Gen, I'm saying I like you a lot, and I want to be with you," he declared his eyes boring into mine. "And I think you want that too."

"Brooks I-I," I stuttered at a loss for words. I knew what I wanted to stay. That I wanted to be with him too but something was holding me back.

He sighed. "Take some time and think about it," he relented his hands falling from my face.

"I'm sorry," I apologized my heart heavy.

He shook his head as his lips lifted in a small reassuring smile. "Just because I'm ready doesn't mean you have to be," he shrugged before wrapping me in a hug and my eyes welled with tears.

He brushed a feather-light kiss across my temple before whispering, "What happened with Eli was horrible Genesis but you deserve the chance to be happy again."

And with those parting words, he turned and walked away and I let him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you for reading.❤️