𝐏𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐅𝐄𝐂𝐓 │ 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧

𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍

THE MORNING AFTER ASHER'S, Emberly woke up with a knot of dread in her stomach. She silenced her alarm and buried herself deeper under her blankets, wishing for the bed to swallow her whole. Maybe if she stayed there long enough, the world would forget about her—and more importantly, about the almost-kiss.

Sleep had been a joke. All night, she tossed and turned, replaying the scene in her mind like some cruel, endless highlight reel. The humid air of the jacuzzi, the closeness of him, the way their breaths mingled in the space between them. She could almost feel it again, that strange magnetic pull that only Spencer seemed to ignite in her.

What had she been thinking? The reckless decision to slide into the water, fully sober, made her want to groan. If she'd had even a drop of alcohol, she could have blamed it on that. But no—this was all her. Her intrusive thoughts had won, dragging her into the heat of the moment despite every logical reason to stay out of it.

She flopped onto her back, staring at the ceiling with wide eyes. "Why did I get in that damn hot tub?" she muttered to herself. Her fists clenched the edge of her blanket before she threw it off with a huff.

Avoiding Spencer today wasn't an option. It was his birthday. How could she forget that? She felt a pang of guilt for even considering skipping school, but what was she supposed to say to him? "Hey, happy birthday, sorry for almost kissing you last night"? Yeah, that would go over well.

Her thoughts spiraled further. What if things were weird now? Were they supposed to pretend nothing happened? Would they go back to being just friends, or was this the start of something else? She didn't even know if she wanted it to be something else. The last time they'd kissed, they were kids playing truth or dare. 

This was... different.

She groaned again, kicking her feet like a child throwing a tantrum. Why did things have to be so complicated? And why, of all days, did Spencer's birthday have to fall after her moment of impulsive stupidity?

Her phone buzzed on the nightstand, yanking her out of her thoughts. She reached for it hesitantly, half-expecting a message from Spencer. But no—it was just Evelyn asking if she wanted breakfast.

She tossed the phone aside and sat up, running a hand through her wild hair. "Okay," she whispered to herself, as if trying to summon courage. "It's just school. It's just Spencer. It's just his birthday. No big deal."

But even as she swung her legs over the side of the bed, she couldn't shake the memory of how close they'd been, the way her heart had pounded in her chest like it wanted to leap into his hands.

Why did she have to get in that damn hot tub?

Why did Jordan have to bust in at that moment? Emberly let out a frustrated groan, her fists clenching the blanket again. None of this would have happened if it weren't for him. She was still furious with him for last night. Why did he have to choose that moment to be jealous? Couldn't he have saved it for literally any other time? Everything was going perfectly fine, and he just had to barge in and ruin it.

It still surprised her to think that they'd once been in a relationship. Back then, it had shocked everyone—even her. Jordan had been around forever, as her best friend's older brother, yet he hadn't shown any interest in her until last year when he suddenly wouldn't leave her alone. She'd resisted at first, partly because of Olivia, but Jordan was persistent. He kept asking her out until she finally caved.

Their first date had been nice. A few weeks later, they were officially a couple. For a while, things were great. Their families were supportive, Olivia didn't seem to mind, and while school gossip was annoying, Emberly had learned to tune it out. But it all fell apart one night at a party.