"Grace." He demands.
"I can't," I say shakily, leaning my head back and looking up at the shy stars.
"Why not?"
"It's not that I don't want to," I start, looking back at him to catch him already looking at me. "I can't afford it, Sam."
"Then me and...
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"What are we even doing here? Who's the dumb ass that decided we should hand out here!?" Annie complains, pulling at Ellie's arm when she stops at a window.
"Hey!" Ellie yelps as she gets jerked away from the display glass. Ray rolls her eyes at Annie, prying the grumpy woman's fingers away from Ellie's arm. "Thank you, Ray-Ray."
I scoff, bumping her hip with mine. "Annie, don't even start. You're the one that invited us."
She bumps me back harder, making me stumble. Wow, fuck you, too.
"Yeah? W-well, now I take it back. I'm bored."
"Your ass just needs a snickers, you're not yourself when you're hun-" Ray gets cut off by Annie flying at her. "OW! GRACE GET YOUR FRIEND OFF ME!"
"Guys, stop! We're gonna get kicked out!" Despite her words, Ellie is still laughing at my sister and best friend trying to hit each other. I begin laughing too at their banter and tackling. I'm about to reach to pull Annie up when somebody beats me to it.
Easton leans down, picking up Annie by her shirt and standing her up straight like it's nothing.
"Hey, where'd you come from?" Annie smirks up at Easton, leaning up to kiss him. He puts his hand on her face, pushing her away by her head as he grabs hold of her hand.
"Let's get you something to eat, grouch."
She pouts at his words, stalking away from us and toward the food court. Awe, I wish I was in love. I feel arms wrap around my waist and someone's chin meets my shoulder.
"Hey, baby." Sam kisses my cheek.
Oh, wait, I am. Forgot about him.
I lean up to press my lips to his but he presses a kiss on my temple, turning me around in his arms.
"Can you guys, like- stop?" Ray fake gags, pulling me away from Sam by my wrist. "Hey!" I yelp, looking over my shoulder at Sam as me and Ellie are dragged away toward some random shop. He waves at me, his smile wide as he stuffs his hands in his pockets.
I can't help but notice how good he looks today. Don't get me wrong, he's naturally flawless but today, he looks especially good.
His hair isn't sticking up in weird places and isn't in his eyes-- like it usually is. He's wearing the shirt I was wearing a few days ago, the old red one. It hugs his broad shoulders perfectly but not in that "you should get some new clothes" kind of way. They're paired with jeans that look just as worn and shoes that you wouldn't usually think matched. But they look surprisingly good with the shirt.
Something about the way we're looking at each other makes my stomach churn uncomfortably.
"Rachel!" I yank my hand away from her grasp but she takes it right back, pulling Ellie and I into the store.
