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“Always,” she says softly.

Taylor stuffs a handful of chips into her mouth, but all I can make room for is the small candy. Call it nerves, maybe rejection, I don’t know. Whatever this feeling is, it’s foreign as hell to me.

Dancing on the armrest, my phone moves in small circles, a video chat from Sienna playing across the screen.

I move the bar to accept, and five fingers and a light purple boulder blind my side of the screen.

“No. Fucking. Way!” I shout, not caring who can hear. Any lack of feeling I was having before dissolves the moment I see Sienna. A wife? Holy shit, my best friend is going to be a wife.

“Way!” Sienna squeals on the other end.

“Congratulations, Sisi. I can’t believe this.”

My best friend’s shiny white teeth gleam from ear to ear, the presence of her new fiancé looming in the corner. God, I wish I was there.

“I don’t like how I was just home for almost a month, and you wait until now to pop the question, Duke. You’re on my shit list,” I tease, a grin filling both faces on the screen, and my own.

“Can’t please everyone,” he says with a shrug.

“What’s going on, Fi?” a deep voice shouts from the other end. Sienna flips the screen, putting JJ, a few of his teammates, and the majority of Duke’s family in my view.

Everyone except for one.

“Hi, J.”

Sienna flips the screen back to herself, since she’s the moment, and I feel my face drop, a toothless smile following right after.

Even in a time meant for her, Sienna catches it.

“He’s not here,” she tells me.

I let my head bob once with understanding, then revert my excitement back to her.

“I’m so happy for you, Si. I can’t wait to plan all the fun wedding stuff with you.”

“Nothing too crazy,” Duke shouts over the kitchen island.

Laughing, I let the line go silent on my end as hugs, cheers, and people tugging at Sienna’s finger shake her end of the phone.

“Good luck tonight, Fi. I wanted to call you before. Love you!”

“Love you!” I cheer back as I end the call, ignoring the pit in my stomach.

“Ugh, being in love looks like a dream.” Taylor flops back into the chair with an exaggerated plop.

Yeah, so dreamy.

If Jett isn’t at their engagement, where could he be? Why would he miss something like that?

Just minutes later, my phone vibrates again in my palm, my stomach falling to my ass when I notice it’s a video chat from Vic.

In one ring, I answer. The loud cheer of the competition fills my speaker, Taylor hovering lightly over my shoulder to watch along.

“What are you calling me for? You have three minutes!”

“I thought you’d want to watch from here.”

She sets me right beside her on the edge of the floor. The lights beam once, then dim as the announcer signals the next team, and my stomach drops.