LOGINTyler's POVI found Summer on the other side of the shop floor.She was flipping through a rack slowly, not really looking at what her hands were doing, the way people do when their mind is somewhere else. Ruby was across the room doing the opposite -- pulling things out aggressively, holding them up, putting them back with strong opinions.I walked over."Hey."Summer looked up. Something moved across her face and then settled into neutral. "Hey. Haven't seen you in a minute.""Yeah.""You've been busy."I stood there for a second and then said, "I'm sorry for ditching you guys.""It's fine.""It's not." I caught her wrist lightly before she could turn back to the rack. "I know it's not fine and you know it's not fine, so let's not do that."She looked at my hand on her wrist and then at my face. Something shifted."I don't have a problem with you having a girlfriend," she said. Her voice was quiet and even. "I want to be clear about that. But it hurts that all of a sudden it's like
Tyler's POVI felt terrible about canceling.I had genuinely thought Susan would want to come with them. That was how I had pictured it in my head -- all of us together, Ruby being loud about everything, Summer laughing, Susan getting comfortable with the people who mattered to me. It seemed like a natural way to let things blend. I would order my suit separately and the girls would do their thing and by the end of the afternoon Susan would have spent real time with Summer and Ruby and everything would feel less compartmentalized.Instead Susan had looked at me and said she wanted it to be just the two of them. That the relationship was still new and she needed us to build something solid before bringing other people into it.I had said okay.I was still thinking about the look on Summer's face when I told her on the call."Tyler."I blinked.Susan was standing in front of me in her bedroom doorway, head tilted, watching me with the patient expression she used when she had already sai
Gray's PovI was smiling on the way down to the kitchen and I knew it and I did not try to stop it.I set the plates in the sink and stood there for a moment looking at nothing in particular. Summer had not said yes. Not officially. She had not given either of us a real answer yet and we both knew the answer was waiting on the other side of the exam. But she had not pulled away from the kiss either. She had pulled me closer. And that phone call had interrupted something that had been building for longer than either of us had properly acknowledged.I was choosing to focus on that.I went to the sitting room and found a spot on the couch and put something on to watch. Just to pass the time. Just to give my hands and eyes somewhere to be while my mind did whatever it wanted.I heard them before I saw them.Summer and Ruby coming down the stairs, already in a full conversation that neither of them was pausing for breath during. I turned slightly and caught a glimpse of Summer as they cros
Summer's PovJames pulled up exactly when he said he would. I got in, dropped my bag on the seat beside me, and watched the school disappear behind us.Ruby had texted me three times before I even buckled my seatbelt.*we are going prom dress shopping today**Jason invited me so I'm technically going now**don't make plans, we're leaving the moment you get home*I smiled at my phone and put it away.***The house was quiet when I got in. No Gray in the kitchen, no sounds from anywhere. I went upstairs, dropped my bag, and got in the shower.The warm water helped. I stood under it longer than necessary, letting the day fall off me, not thinking about anything in particular.A knock at the room door.I wrapped my towel quickly and opened it without thinking.Gray was standing there holding a tray. Proper food, properly plated, something that smelled like it had been cooking for a while. He looked at me standing in my towel and his expression shifted slightly."Should I come back?"I loo
Summer's PovIt had been days since the conversation in the kitchen and life had quietly rearranged itself around one central fact: the exam was coming, and after the exam, I had to give them an answer.I was not thinking about that. I was thinking about the exam.I finished getting ready, grabbed my bag, and went downstairs.Crew and Gray were already at the dining table. Books open, notes spread out, two people who had apparently been up longer than me. Gray had made breakfast. He always made breakfast now, had quietly taken it over without anyone formally deciding that was how things would be. The maid came twice a week to restock the fridge and clean, but Gray cooked because Gray liked fresh food and did not trust anyone else to get it right."Morning," I said."Morning." Gray looked up briefly."Morning." Crew did not look up from whatever he was reading.I sat down. "How was your night?""Fine," Crew said. "Would have been better if someone had stayed awake past midnight."Gray
Summer’s PovRuby had been in my wardrobe for twenty minutes and showed no signs of stopping.“This one,” she said, pulling out a dress and holding it against herself. “And this one.” Another one over her arm. “Oh, and definitely this one.”“Ruby.”“Mm?”“You need to stop taking my clothes.”She turned around with three of my dresses draped over her arm and looked at me with complete innocence. “I don’t know what you mean.”“That is the fifth item you have picked up.”“It’s the third.”“Ruby, I counted.”“Well, stop counting.” She turned back to the wardrobe. “Your stepdad has money, Summer. You can replace anything I take. You can replace everything in this wardrobe twice over and nobody would even notice.”“Well, that doesn’t mean you can just – ““What is yours is mine and what is mine is yours.” She said it like she was reciting something ancient and sacred. “That is the best friend agreement. You signed it when we became friends. It is legally binding.”“I signed nothing.”“Spiri







