Jayden raised an eyebrow and leaned against the front desk, a wicked grin spreading around fire. “Beader who was it that pra to sleep with her last nightr
The desk eleck behind the counter ducked her heal, clearly trying not to laugh at their exchan
Jayden watched with pure uisfaction as Arianna’s face went from porcelain white to tomato red in about seconda fat,
“Oh my God, Jayden?” she hissed under her breath, grabbing his arm and dragging him away from the reemp
that! Your shamelessness hasn’t changed one bat since we were labe
But Jayden could hear the laughter beneath her indignation, and it made something warm and familiar bloom in his chest. He followed her downt hallway, pulling both their suncases without complaint, his heart feeling lighter than it had in years.
This–herred embarrassment, the way she was trying so hard to be scandalized while fighting hack a mile this was exactly like the old days,
He remembered middle school, when they’d sit next to each other in every class and he’d spend most of his finding creative ways to get under her skan.
Arianna had always been the golden student–perfect grades, perfect attendance, traders absolutely adored her Jayden had been.. well, the opposite, When he felt like applying himself, he could pull decent grades. When he didn’t give a shit, which was mod of the time, he’d cont by on charm and last minute cramming.
There was this one cavits class where he’d completely blown off a majorasugrent. Their teacher, Mr. Patterson–this ancient, bitter man who took his job way too seriously–had called him out in front of the entire class.
“Mr. Hiddleston, where’s your Constitution essay?
Without missing a heat, Jayden had snatched Arianna’s perfectly typed paper off her desk and waved it in the air. “Right here,”
Mr. Patterson had grabbed the paper and pointed at the name written in Arianna’s neat handwriting. “Oh really? So your name is Arianna Carter
Might as well he,” Jayden had said with a completely straight face, looking down at his mortified desk parmer. “We’re basically the same person anyway.
Poor Arianna had immediately thrown him under the bus to save herself. Tim so sorry, Mr. Patterson. I don’t know this person. Never seen him before in my life.”
Of course, the’d made him pay for it later–chased him around the school parking lot during lunch, threatening to tell his parents about his latest academic disaster.
But even then own when the was furious with him, there had been laughter in her eyes. Like part of her enjoyed his chaos as much as she pretended to hate it
God, how had they gone from that to the mess of their senior ar? How had he let everything fall apart so completely?
The familiar ache of regret settled in his chest as he watched her walk ahead of him down the B&B’s charming hallway, but he pushed it down. They were here now. They were together. That had to be enough.
After dropping off their luggage and taking a few minutes to freshen up, they ventured out to explore Seagrove. The little town was exactly what Jayden had hoped for–quiet streets lined with pottery studios, the kind of place where time moved slower and people actually talked to each other
They found a cory shop just a few blocks away, is windows filled with beautiful handmade ceramics that caught the afternoon light. An elderly man with kind eyes and clay–stained fingers greeted them with a warm smile,
“Teel free to browse,” he said. “Everything you see is made right here in town. And if you’re interested in trying your hand at the wheel, Ive gon a studio space in the back”
Arianna’s entire fare lit up
up like he’d just offered her the keys to Disney World. “Really? We could actually make something ourselves?“
Watching ber excitement, Jayden felt that familiar swell of emotion–pride, affection and same thing deeper that he was still too scared to name. He’d chosen this place perfectly. She was absolutely glowing
12:02
Almost in Love with You: Before I
That Cruel Summer Took Everyblog.
he sakit, shil bei het pad him toward the
the shop
The studio was partly what he’d imagined–pottery wheels, shelves lined with works in progress, the early desequat chay sand the air. It felt like stepping into another world.
“So what do you want to make?” jayden asked, though he already knew shed have vest fifty ideas bouncing around in hi
Arianna scanned the example pieces displayed on the walls, her eyes stopping on a pair of matching rigs–me decorated with a ferla a other with a gooly looking dog
“Comple’s migs” she announced with determination. “We don’t have any real couple stuff yet, and I want something we can car every day?
Jayden reached up to retrieve the sample mugs from their shelf, setting thems on the workralde between their wheels. Ariana immediety claimed the cat mug, already pilling on her phone to scroll through her camera full.
“I’m making mine look like drange,” she said, showing him a particularly slotable ploto of their kitten mod yawn. Tran’t just abandon our baliy while we’re gallivanting around North Carolina”
Jayden felt his expression soften as he watched her fuss over getting the reference photo just right, her bottom lip angle between her teeth in
concentration
“You know what you look like right now?” he said, his voice warm with affection.
She glanced up at him, clay dust already somehow smudged on her cheek. “What?”
“Like a mom who left her kid with a babysitter for the first time,” he said, his tone gentle and teasing. “You’re gonna be worrying about him the entire trip, aren’t you?”
C
