Page 103 of Perfect Enough
“Seven sharp. Bye, Haven.”
“Talk soon.”
Pulling up Josh’s name, I sent him another text.
Me: Hi. I wanted to see how you were doing.
I waited for a few moments, and when I didn’t receive a reply, I tossed my phone to the desk. I grabbed one of the empty boxes my mother had picked up for me and went through my desk. Most of the stuff I could trash, but some of it was personal, and I would for sure want to bring it with me. After packing up one box, I closed my laptop, slipped it into my bag, and changed into sneakers.
Swinging by my mother’s office, I poked my head in to tell her I was leaving, but she wasn’t there. I texted her and told her I’d send the letter to her to proof before sending it to the parents.
Chloe was sitting on the steps of my apartment building when I pulled into the lot. She jumped up and flashed me a huge smile. I knew that smile—and nothing good ever came from it.
“Not tonight, Chloe. I’m still trying to get over last night and all the wine and vodka. You try teaching a bunch of six-year-olds with a hangover.”
“Girl, you have to come with me! I was invited to a party in Hamilton and don’t want to go alone.”
“What kind of party?”
Chloe followed me into my apartment. “Okay,” she started, and I wanted to groan. “I met this guy. His name is Decker, and I really like him. It’s his birthday. It’s a place in Hamilton called The Blue Moose. And Ireallydon’t want to go alone because I’m not going to know anyone there.”
“Chloe, I have to put this letter together for my mother, and I’m just not in the mood to go to a bar.”
Her lower lip jutted out into the perfect pout while she batted her eyelashes at me. “Please do this for me, Soph. I swear, I’ll do anything you want!”
“Anything?”
“Anything!”
I looked at her through narrowed eyes. “Swear to it?”
Holding out her hand, she said, “I swear to it.”
We shook hands. “Fine, I’ll go.”
Chloe jumped. “Yes! Let’s go raid your closet and find some sexy dresses to wear!”
Before I could say anything, she grabbed my hand and pulled me to my bedroom closet.
Chapter Twenty-Four
JOSH
“Try to at least look like you’re not in a miserable mood, Josh,” Nate said as he handed me a beer bottle.
“I should have just stayed home. I didn’t want to come out in the first place.”
Nate sat next to me. “It’s Decker’s birthday.”
After taking a long pull from the beer bottle, I looked at my cousin. “It doesn’t feel right, out celebrating something when Granddad’s gone.”
“Josh, he wouldn’t want us sitting at home or pushing people away who care about us.”
I shot him a dirty look. “I should never have told you about Sophia.”
“You didn’t. I asked where she was and when you didn’t answer, I guessed what happened. I can’t help it if I figured it out.”
Taking another drink of my beer, I ignored him.