Page 7 of When Forever Falls Apart

“Hey, Elliot.” Trey raises his hand, leaving his friends behind to chat. “Crazy seeing you here.”

I reach for his hand to say hello. “Yep, wild, right? Just in town for a bit, helping my sis out. And you?”

“Just swinging by on the way to Buffalo. Right, your sister…” He turns to face her with a knowing grin. “It’s been a while, Eva.”

“Not long enough,” she mumbles with a forced smile.

Aston’s eyes flit between Trey and Eva, a storm of emotions swirling behind them. I recognize that telltale look of barely restrained jealousy, given this isn’t my first time hanging out with Aston and Eva. I get he’s protective of his fiancée, but God, these two are like dynamite. Too many times, I’ve found myself caught in the crossfire of their petty bickering.

“You two know each other?” Aston questions.

“We, um,” Eva stammers, “knew each other back in the day.”

Trey smirks. “We dated.”

“I wouldn’t call it dating,” Eva corrects him.

Aston’s eyes narrow.

“Well, technically, it was a few nights.” Trey carelessly adds fuel to the fire.

I quickly intervene to avoid this escalating beyond Aston’s patience. “Okay, we’re done with the trip down memory lane. Great seeing you. Might be wise for you and your buddies to stay on the other side of the bar.”

Beside me, Aston stands with his arms tightly crossed over his chest. His eyes burn with a fierce intensity. “You fucked him? Clearly, he’s a jerk,” Aston erupts.

I close my eyes in despair.

“It was a long time ago,” Eva answers with a quiet intensity in her expression. “And I’d rather not reminisce over onedrunken night. I was young. We do stupid things when we’re young, right? Kind of like you kissing me at that graduation party and walking away like I was nothing.”

Aston hesitates, softening his stance, but then his shoulders straighten and I can see this is brewing into something bigger. “That was different, it was just a kiss. According to Trey, it was more than one night.”

Eva throws her hands up in the air. “We’re doing this? Because you’re no saint.”

Great, this isnothow a chilled night playing pool should have gone.

Billie casts a sharp glance my way, her eyes begging me to diffuse this conversation before it spirals into something uglier.

I turn to Eva and Aston. “Listen, you have a past, and you have a past. We all have a past. You’re getting married—why all the arguing over something you can’t change?”

Eva turns to me with a relieved expression on her face. “I think that’s the most mature thing to ever come out of your mouth.”

“Thanks, I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“We need to leave,” Aston declares with a heavy tone. “And when I say ‘we,’ I mean me and Everleigh. We’re not spending the night hanging around a guy who has touched you and obviously would try again if I wasn’t here.”

Aston’s jealously is comical, but I refrain from laughing because men can get sensitive. I should know, I’ve had my moments in the past. My sister can hold her own, so I watch with a straight face and keep my thoughts to myself.

“I don’t want to go,” Eva complains, crossing her arms. “You’re being a dick.”

“I’m not being a dick.” He grits his teeth, then lowers his gaze to the ground, only to lift his head with a softened gaze.“Madelina is arriving tomorrow, and I want to make sure we arrive back in the city on time.”

“Fine!” Eva shouts, then exhales loudly. “Elliot, Billie, enjoy the rest of the night. I’m sorry my fiancé is being a dick. I’m sure he’ll come to his senses real soon, then apologize when it’s too late.”

With her words loud and clear, the two of them are gone, leaving me and Billie to fend for ourselves.

“Okay, so that didn’t go as planned,” I mutter.

Billie laughs. “Those two are hopeless, but don’t worry, they’ll probably go home to have amazing se—”