After the End by Natasha Preston

Author:Natasha Preston [Preston, Natasha]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Natasha Preston
Published: 2018-09-23T04:00:00+00:00

26

Tilly

It’s been a while since I’ve been to a party on the beach. Mostly due to the fact that I’m not seventeen anymore. But, tonight, I’m going back. A lot of us are actually because it’s Mel’s birthday, and she wants a night like the old days.

There seems to be a lot of old-day reenactments going on recently. It’s like Hanna and Mel have a plan. That plan being to get things back to how they were. To remind me of how good things were. As if I’ve forgotten. It’s something I think about and mourn on a daily basis.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t looking forward to it. The sun is heating up; the beginning of June is usually kind to us here. So, I’m wearing a knee-length white sundress and flip-flops with a denim jacket in case the temperature drops.

Ian and Mel offered to give me a ride, but since Linc is going and lives next door, it seems silly to make them come out of their way.

So, that’s how I find myself walking to the end of the road where Linc is going to meet me. I’ve not broached the subject of him with my parents yet. I need to, and I know that, but it’s always so hard to talk to them about anything Reid-related.

I sigh as Linc pulls up on the road beside me. Taking a breath, I get in.

Sweet mother …

He’s wearing a white T-shirt, black jeans, and a black leather jacket. I’m momentarily stunned.

“Hey.” His mouth curves as his eyes flit a little bit south.

Definitely the right dress.

“Thanks for picking me up,” I say, chucking my bag on the backseat. I’m going to stay with Hanna and Jack tonight, so I’ve brought my stuff.

He nods and pulls off toward the beach. It’s only a fifteen-minute drive to where I spent so long as a kid. Though I used to enjoy walking it.

“Did you get much done in the house today?” I ask, biting on my lip as I watch him grip the steering wheel just a little too tight.

What’s up with him?

Sighing, he shakes off whatever was just eating at him. “It’s been productive. What have you done?”

“Nothing quite so productive,” I admit. But then my days are filled with working a job I don’t particularly want to do and tiptoeing around my parents.

“That doesn’t sound like you.”

“I’m not the same person you knew, Linc.”

He glances at me out of the corner of his eye. “I don’t know; I’m seeing a little more of her each day.”

When did this topic get so heavy?

“Are you staying at Hanna and Jack’s, too? A bunch of us are.”

“I’m not sure. I won’t be drinking, so I don’t really need a place to crash.”

“You don’t have to be drunk to stay there.”

“Will you be drunk later?”

I wish I were drunk right now.

“Probably.”

Dipping his chin in a curt nod, he accelerates as we join the main road for a short stretch.

“You don’t like drinking yourself or you don’t like anyone drinking?” I ask.

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