coming from the band onstage is loud enough to cause my chest to vibrate, the bodies pressed against me jumping around and swinging their hands in the air to the music.

I grip my drink tighter around my fingers, afraid it will go flying if I receive another shove from the person next to me.

"You'd think these people would understand personal space," Talia pipes loudly, wrinkling her nose as someone whips their hair in her face. I laugh while Veronica shakes her head as she brings the top of the beer bottle to her lips.

"What did you think a concert would be like, Tal?"

"Not like this," she complains, hiking her Chanel bag higher on her shoulder. Veronica and I exchange amused looks. Talia can be the most bougie of a person if she wants to. There has been an abundance of moments where either I or Veronica would have to slowly explain mundane tasks to her, like doing laundry or cooking rice at the correct heat. Growing up in luxury hadn't trained her enough for the real world, and when we'd first moved to the city from our lives in New Jersey, she'd almost cried the first time she'd ridden on the subway.

Needless to say, she bought a car the next day.

"When is this dude coming on?" Veronica asks as the band currently onstage hit their last note, the crowd going nuts.

Talia looks down at her phone, shrugging. "I don't know, he just said he's playing tonight." She looks back up, casting me a devilish look. "He also invited us out after, Eve."

I quirk a brow. "And why do I care?"

"Because he's hot," Talia deadpans. "Not my type, but he'd be perfect for you."

I sigh, taking another swig of my drink. "Talia–"

She waves away my excuse, her blue eyes sparkling with mirth. "You know what they say, the best remedy to get over someone is to get under someone else."

"Hello, New York!" A voice booms from the stage, the lights instantly going back up.

Talia squeals, jumping up and down next to me as she points to the stage. "There he is!"

I squint my eyes, practically leaning forward before a gasp falls from my lips. Standing on the stage is Miles, the same Miles who I'd met at the bar last night, the same Miles who'd let me sleep in his bed. It's the same Miles with unruly curly hair and emerald eyes that is scanning the crowd with a grin on his lips. He adjusts the microphone stand for a second, swinging a guitar over his fitted, black shirt and I swear, I can see a few girls in the front row start swooning.

"Sweet baby Jesus," Veronica says, her eyes bulging. She turns towards Talia and me before looking back at Miles. "How is a man that hot?"

I shake my head, looking back towards him, and almost like he can feel my gaze from the side of the room, he turns to look at me. Surprise flits across his face before he settles into a smirk, running his fingers over the guitar as a chord rings through the speakers.

"Excuse me?! What was that?" Talia demands, her gaze burning into the side of my face. I breathe out, my hands growing clammy.

"What do you mean?" I feign indifference but Talia just scoffs, giving me a don't even try to play dumb with me look. "He's the dude whose apartment I slept in last night," I mumble. Before Talia or Veronica can reply, Miles' guitar begins to boom through the amps. But the shove they each gave me in the arm means that the conversation is far from over.

"I wrote this song a few months back," Miles says into the mic. "It's called Open Up and I hope you guys like it." My skin prickles as the music starts up from the band behind him, the crowd letting out a few cheers.

"It's been such a long time since I set foot into the club." His voice is amazing, low, and raspy as he hits the notes into the mic. Everyone seems entranced by him as he croons through the song, swaying back and forth. He captivates the crowd, no one daring to let out any noise. His stage presence captured the room.

The loud whoops and cheers break me from my trance as he comes to the end of his setlist, the room shaking with sounds of appreciation. Miles is practically glowing on stage as he strums the last note on the guitar, his smile stretching out to show his dimples.

Veronica turns to Talia and me, her mouth agape. "I think my panties need to be changed."

• • •

"Hey, thanks for coming out." Miles smiles as he walks toward us, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his jeans. Talia waves away his gratitude, squeezing his shoulder.

"It's no problem, you were so fucking good up there," she gushes, Veronica nodding a few times from next to her. I pull my jacket tighter around my body, hoping we can start walking to our next destination instead of waiting on the curb in the cold. The beginning of winter in New York is never one to mess with, and I can almost feel my fingers freezing over.

Miles' green eyes flicker over to me, giving me a half-smirk. I wave, feeling myself growing a bit nervous. I didn't think I'd ever see him again, which is why I'd run out of his apartment like my ass was on fire. If I'd known we would have another encounter, I probably would've been a bit nicer, or at least not as short with him.

"You guys wanna start walking now? I know the perfect bar around here," Talia says, looking down at her phone as she types out the address. "It's only a ten-minute walk anyway."

Miles opens his mouth to reply but is cut off as two more guys file out of the venue, making a beeline toward us.

"Where are you heading?" one of them asks, putting his hands on Miles' shoulders. I recognize them as the band who'd been on stage with Miles, but for the life of me, I can't remember the names that he'd said as he introduced them.

"Lucky Strike," Talia answers, her blue eyes roaming over the dude who'd asked the question. Veronica and I exchange looks, trying to keep our laughter at bay. When Talia got to flirting, it was honestly a sight to see.

"This is Nick and Wesley," Miles introduces, pointing to the two guys. Nick smirks at Talia, putting his hand out for her to shake. They stay like that for a minute too long, causing Veronica to clear her throat, her eyebrows raised. Talia flushes, pulling her hand away.

"Uh—are you guys joining us?"

Nick looks over to Wesley, who just shrugs. "I guess so."

Talia immediately falls into step beside Nick, flipping her blonde waves over her shoulder, leaving Veronica and Wesley, who smile politely at each other, to fall in behind them.

"I didn't think I'd see you ever again," Miles comments, letting his arms swing by his side as he walks next to me. His curly hair is sticking up in all directions and I watch him run his fingers through it subconsciously. I wonder what his hair would feel like under my fingers. I wonder if they were as soft as they looked.

"Yeah, me either," I say shyly. "If I knew, I wouldn't have been so weird about leaving before."

He chuckles, stepping behind me to let an elderly couple pass. "I don't think I've ever seen a woman run as fast as you did out of my place before." His voice has taken on a teasing tone, enough for me to realize it's a joke, but a part of me has to believe there is some truth to it. I saw the way the women back at the venue had almost fallen over at the sound of his voice, the looks of lust they'd given him as he said goodbye to the crowd. Miles is more than capable of simply batting his lashes at a woman and getting her to come home with him.

As I observe him the more we walk, I can easily see the stark differences between him and Sebastian. While Sebastian keeps his appearance pristine, never having a hair out of place, Miles always has his curls in an unruly stare. While Sebastian wears chinos and button-downs, Miles adorns worn-out jeans and wrinkly t-shirts.

Sebastian didn't believe in tattoos, saying he would never mark up his skin like that, but I can see the swirling black ink on Miles' forearms, his left arm a few markings shy of becoming an entire sleeve.

Both men are inherently different, and yet, I find myself being drawn to them in the same way.

Miles touches the lower part of my back as we stop at the edge of the sidewalk. Even with my leather jacket on, I can feel his warm touch through the fabric. His fingers coast over me, never fully putting the entire weight of his hand down. I look up at him to see he is engaging in conversation with Veronica and Wesley, his lips pulling back into a smirk as he laughs at something that I'm not paying attention to.

Everything about Miles is intoxicating and if I'm not careful, I will end up getting burned the same way Sebastian had burned me.

I'd only ever been to Lucky Strike once, and the bar had been almost empty. Now, the place is packed from floor to ceiling with people. The tables in the center of the room have been pushed back to make more space for people to dance. The warmth of it all hits me as I step inside, flocking behind Miles.

I shed off my jacket, glad that I'd raided Veronica's closet before, and had chosen a simple black tank top to wear under it. None of my clothes are appropriate for clubbing or night-outs, and I would always find myself gravitating towards Veronica's clothes for something to wear. It's always scared me, going into Talia's wardrobe, mostly because everything in there is too expensive for me, and I have a nasty habit of spilling things on myself.

"Can I get you a drink?" Miles bends down to speak into my ear, his breath tickling my skin. I shiver, despite the sweat already forming on my hairline, glad to have my hair up and out of my face in the sleek bun that had taken me too long to perfect.

"That'd be great. Thank you."

He nods, slapping Wesley on the back as they both head in the direction of the bartenders. Nick excuses himself shortly after to go to the bathroom, shooting Talia a wink before sauntering off.

She fans herself dramatically, her blue eyes watching him go. "I think I'm in love."

Veronica rolls her eyes. "Who's talking? You or your vagina?"

She smirks. "Both." I can't help the amused scoff that leaves my lips, stepping to the side quickly to avoid being hit in the face by a random elbow. "What about you and Wesley?" Talia suggestively quirks her eyebrows.

"He's sweet." Veronica shrugs. "Except he couldn't stop talking about his fiancée the whole time."

Talia frowns. "Bummer." A moment of silence passes between us before Talia quips, "is his fiancée hot though?"

"Talia!" Veronica chides, her cheeks flaring a deep red. "They're getting married. Hence the term fiancée. Besides, I'm fine being single right now."

Talia gives Veronica a dubious look. "Ever since you and Olivia broke up, I can tell you've been miserable. You won't even tell me why you guys broke up in the first place."

Veronica shrugs, looking away as the tops of her ears turn pink. I cough awkwardly, shifting on my feet. Veronica and her ex-girlfriend, Olivia, had been dating for almost half the time Sebastian and I had been together before the two of them broke up.

It had taken Veronica months to stop crying over the breakup, and the only reason she had told me the reason why the relationship had ended so abruptly was that she and I had gotten drunk on the couch while Talia was out of town one night.

"I got offered a job in Paris," Veronica had confessed to me, her words slurring slightly from the alcohol. But, even in my drunk state, I had heard her perfectly well.

"What?" I'd said, my eyes practically bulging out of my head.

Veronica nodded sullenly. "It's for this really big magazine company. They offered me a position on their editorial team. But, the position starts two months before graduation."

"What does that mean?"

Veronica hadn't responded right away, chewing incessantly on her bottom lip before she had turned to look at me, tears blurring her vision. "It means I'm graduating early and moving to Paris."

It had taken a few seconds for the news to sink in before the tears had sprung in my own eyes, except I hadn't been so lucky to keep them at bay. They had fallen down my cheeks in a steady stream. "You're leaving?" My voice cracked at the end.

Veronica nodded, rubbing the back of her hand against her eyes as she too started to cry. "I've been so scared to tell you and Talia, I-I've just been trying to work up the nerve to. When I told Olivia . . . she said she couldn't be in a long-distance relationship. She said it would be too hard on both of us. So . . . we broke up."

That conversation between us had been almost a month ago, and Veronica still hasn't told Talia. The months are creeping by, and even though it's only October, it will soon be March—the month Veronica is leaving.

I know Veronica was having trouble telling Talia because of how crushed she will be by the news, the same way I was crushed to hear that my best friend since the ninth grade was leaving. The three of us had made a pact once we knew we'd all wanted to go to school in New York City. We told each other that we would all live together during our time in the city.

It had been a juvenile promise made between a bunch of sixteen-year-olds, but that's just how important our friendship is. To face the reality that things can never be as simple as they were back in high school is brutal.

I just hope Veronica tells Talia soon because it's too painful to keep this big of a secret from her, especially knowing how much this secret will hurt her once she finds out.

"So, you and Miles, huh?" Talia asks, pulling me from my thoughts as she nudges her elbow into my side.

"There is no me and Miles," I clarify, watching from the corner of my eye as he sits at the bar, his long fingers drumming against the countertop as he listens to whatever Wesley is telling him.

"Why?" Talia bluntly asks.

"Because," I sigh. "Sebastian and I just broke up and I don't feel comfortable jumping into something else when I'm still in love with him." My chest deflates. I haven't said those words out loud since the breakup. Some part of me had held out hope that if I said those words, I wouldn't mean it. But with the way my heart feels in my chest, I know I can't just shut my feelings off, no matter how much I want to.

Veronica and Talia give me sullen looks, and I feel the tears clouding my vision. I thought that if I went out and got drunk again, I could forget. I'm running away from heartbreak, but how long can I keep it up?

Miles and Wesley eventually return with beers in their hands, passing them around. He turns to look at me, handing me the bottle, but as soon as he takes one look at my face, his eyebrows furrow in worry.

"Are you okay?" he asks, green eyes capturing my brown ones. I nod, putting the tip of the bottle to my lips in an attempt to save myself a verbal answer. As the alcohol hits my throat, I can feel my body start to warm, and I quickly blink away the tears that are forming in my eyes.

"Jesus, that line for the men's room was unbelievable," Nick grunts in annoyance, grabbing the unopened beer from Wesley. "What'd I miss?"

"I need some air," I announce, pushing myself off of the wall as my eyes zero in on the entrance of the bar.

"Evie–" Veronica starts, but I give her a forced smile.

"I'm fine, I swear." Before they can continue their protest, I start walking across the room, having to expertly maneuver around dancing bodies and limbs being thrown around in the air. I manage to push open the door, about to let it swing shut behind me when I feel a hand on my arm. I turn slightly to see Miles already staring down at me, his thick eyebrows drawn together.

"Mind if I join you?"

I shrug, stepping aside as I walk down the sidewalk a little, letting the cool air calm me down. "It's a free country, you can do whatever you want."

He leans against the brick building next to me, one hand jammed into the pocket of his jeans, while the other grips the beer bottle. I look down at my drink, swirling the liquid around in an attempt to keep myself busy so I don't have to stand here like an idiot, just staring at nothing.

"So, you go to Columbia?" I cringe at the awkward tone of my voice, mentally chastising myself for how the question had come out. Miles just quirks his lips, nodding.

"Yeah, I'm graduating in December."

"That must be exciting," I praise. "What's your major?"

He scrunches up his nose. "Business."

"Surprising, I would've thought it would be something with music."

He looks down at me quickly before staring back out onto the street. "If I can't make it as a musician, I can always count on my business degree to back me up." I nod in understanding. "What about you?"

"What about me?" I bring the bottle to my lips, aware of Miles' intimidating stare on the side of my face.

"Columbia too?"

"NYU, actually," I correct. "Majoring in photography but I'm not graduating until May."

"What do you want to do after graduation?"

"I don't know yet, but I want to do something that makes a difference in this world. I want to be able to have a platform that means something and that's able to spread awareness on whatever topic I want to draw attention to."

His eyebrows shoot up, giving me an impressed look. "Beauty and brains, huh?" I can't help the smile that materializes on my lips, but before I can respond, I hear a voice calling out my name from somewhere down the street.

"Evie?" Miles and I look over and I suppress a groan when I see Helena Blake bulldozing her way toward me. Her pin-straight hair is sleeked expertly behind her ears, a megawatt smile on her lips that I just know is as fake as her personality.

"Evie, oh my gosh," she barrels into me, her arms crushing me in her version of a hug. She pulls back, her dark eyes assessing me. "It's been so long, how are you?"

I return a fake smile of my own, wishing I have something stronger than a beer in my hand, especially for a conversation with Helena. "I'm doing great, you?"

"I'm doing amazing." My smile dims a little at her choice of adjective. Whether intentional or not, Helena has a way of always trying to upstage me. "You know, I was talking to Seb earlier, and I asked him if he was still bringing you to my birthday party." I take a long blink, already knowing where she is heading with this conversation. "And come to find out, you guys aren't even together anymore." She pouts, but I can see the gleam in her eyes. "I'm so sorry."

I know she isn't sorry. Since I've known Sebastian, she's always had a crush on him. They've been friends since their diaper days, and have always run in the same social circles. She adores him. And she hates me. When Sebastian and I started dating, she couldn't understand why. Why me? And why not her?

"It's fine," I say tightly. "Things happen, people break up."

"Of course." She grins at me, before looking at Miles, and for a moment I've forgotten he's been standing there. "Hi, I'm Helena. A friend of Evie." My nose wrinkles at her use of the word friend.

He takes her outstretched hand, giving it a single shake before dropping it. I can see her eyeing him, moving up his body in a slow manner. Miles stays silent, though from the way his jaw clicks, somehow I know he isn't a fan of Helena.

Join the club.