That night, I dream of the party that led to my downfall. It was the last day of school, and everyone had planned to head down to the woods for a pre-spring break party, the kind I usually tried to avoid, but Chase was used to getting his way.

"One party isn't going to ruin your reputation, Rose," he said through a mouthful of fries. We were sitting in the courtyard, enjoying one of the rare few instances of sunshine in an otherwise drab small town. With my campaign book before me, I flicked through the last few requirements to meet before I could officially call myself a candidate.

Libby sat beside me, tapping away on her phone, but looked up to agree with her brother. "Yeah," she said teasingly, "future senior class presidents can party too."

I smiled, but the truth was, it wasn't that I was averse to partying; I couldn't handle the pressure. Parties had expectations to drink and let loose, which was hard to do when your mother was mayor. One wrong move, it wasn't just my reputation on the line, it was hers.

"I don't know, " I said, but the way Chase squeezed my hand gave me pause, "I guess an hour or two won't kill me."

Chase leaned closer before kissing my jaw. "If it does, I'll revive you."

As soon as I got home, I ate dinner, checked my checklist for the millionth time, finished the final touches on my slogan, and wracked my closet for something to wear. I settled on something simple: jeans and a black tank with my new Manolos. Libby and the others met me at seven, and despite my parents' grumbling, my dad drove us down to the woods while we laughed and chatted in the back.

"Be safe," he said once we got there, and he swiveled around in the driver's seat to look at me properly. There was a smile on his face, but something about the worry in his eyes unnerved me. "Be sensible."

"Always," I said.

"Thanks for the ride, Mr. Matthews," Libby said. She took my hand, and the four of us climbed out of the car and headed toward the crowd.

My eyes fell on Chase straight away, leaning against a tree with a red solo cup in his hand. He looked as handsome as always, his hair slightly styled in that Abercrombie way and his skin a sunkissed bronze. My heart pulsed. Even though, up until then, I'd felt hesitant, the sight of him eased my nerves.

"I'll catch up with you guys later," I said and walked over to Chase.

As soon as he saw me, he grinned and pulled me into his arms, giving me a full-on kiss. I flinched a little, not one for public displays of affection, but clearly, he'd forgotten. "I half expected you to chicken out," he said.

"Hey," I said, "I'm a girl of my word."

But he was barely even listening. With his arm around my shoulder, he talked with Adam and Tristan about basketball practice while I tried to feign interest. It wasn't the first time I'd felt excluded in their conversations, but maybe that was my fault. It wasn't like I knew anything about basketball, so most of the time, I just stayed silent and tried to keep up.

At one point, while Adam and Tristan argued about tactics, Tristan's gaze fell to my cleavage. Chase noticed, too, leaning in my ear so only I could hear. "Put your jacket on."

"It's too warm for a jacket," I said, but his ice-cold stare cajoled me into action, undoing the sweatshirt around my waist before slipping it on.

Just then, Libby and the others came to join us, handing me a red solo cup. I held the cup tightly and took a small sip, desperate for the distraction.

"Okay, okay," Georgia said, " let's play a game of Never Have I Ever."

"I'll go first," Libby said. She held the cup up to her lips in preparation and gave Tristan a flirty look. "Never have I ever made out with my best friend's sister."

Chase looked at Tristan and frowned. Libby smiled, and Tristan sighed before taking a not-so-subtle sip of his drink. This didn't surprise me; Libby had told me all about their mistletoe kiss last Christmas. Clearly, she hadn't told Chase.

"Really?" he said to Tristan. "My sister?"

Tristan grinned. "What happens under the mistletoe stays under the mistletoe."

"Okay, my turn," Adam said. His eyes roamed the circle, searching for his next victim. They landed on Chase, and something told me I wouldn't like what came next. "Never have I ever had a three-way kiss."

My eyes shot to Chase and stayed there. He lowered his gaze, then took a brief sip of his drink. In a low voice, he said, "It was before we got together."

"Why didn't you tell me about it?" It wasn't like we hadn't talked about those things. I'd known he'd slept with a few girls before me, just as he knew I'd never slept with anyone. I figured I knew everything about his past, just as he knew mine.

"I forgot about it," he said, "otherwise I would have. It's not a big deal."

It wasn't really, except for the fact if the roles were reversed, he'd be livid. He pulled me closer, but I didn't lean into him. Instead, I watched as the game continued, and one by one, every member in the group began to down their drinks – everybody except me.

"God, Rose," Tristan said, "I never realized you were so boring."

The word buried its way through my skin. I opened my mouth, ready to tell him what I thought of him too when Chase said the unthinkable.

"I did."

Everybody laughed. My cheeks burned; I stilled beneath his grip but said nothing. Sensing my discomfort, Libby moved the conversation to other things, but Chase's response still played in my head. I mentally checked out, opting to focus on the distance, where Blake O'Hare and a few of his friends were over by the trees, smoking.

It was clear his friend was telling a story, but Blake's far-off look suggested he couldn't have been less interested. He lifted the joint to his lips and inhaled, letting his eyes meet mine. He held them there as he blew out the smoke in a way that felt strangely intimate. I looked away quickly, shifting my attention to a still-talking Chase.

Finally, when the others disappeared to get more drinks, I turned to him, unable to hide my annoyance. "You think I'm boring?"

He laughed a little, pulling me closer. "Come on, Rose. You're not seriously about to tell me you're pissed at that. It was a joke."

My throat burned. "I would never make a joke at your expense in front of my friends."

He frowned and quickly dropped his hands. "You seriously want to do this?"

Confused, I asked, "What am I doing?"

"Starting shit after everything I've done for you. Hell, I spent most of the last summer working on that stupid campaign instead of having fun, and for what? For you to overreact about nothing yet again."

The kicker was that I thought we did have fun. The handful of nights in my bedroom, painting and laughing and kissing. I cherished those moments; I thought he did too. "I spent most of my summer watching you play basketball with your friends, but not once did I complain. I know how important it is to you."

"Yeah, but at least basketball means something," he said. "I'm going to make it my career one day."

"Right, and what I do doesn't mean anything."

The look on his face suggested I was the problem here; I was starting to wonder if maybe he was right. "Keep this up, Rose. Sooner or later, you'll push me away for good."

He didn't wait for my response, not that I had one ready. I was too surprised by the tone in his voice to do anything other than blink, and when he turned and walked away from me, I didn't have it in me to follow.

Tears burned my eyes as I watched him disappear. I leaned against the nearest tree and wiped them back. It felt stupid to cry over such a small comment, but the word had cut deep. Maybe Chase was right, I was overreacting; maybe he deserved better.

It wasn't long before the sound of footsteps crunched behind me. I turned, expecting to see Chase walking toward me, but instead, it was Adam. "Hey," he said, his speech slightly slurred. "Are you okay?" He closed the distance, squinting slightly to study my tears, making me feel more pathetic.

"I'm fine," I said, turning away, "I just needed some air."

He was silent, and then, "I know he's my friend, but he's wrong to treat you like that."

I looked at the floor. "Maybe he's right. Maybe I'm too boring."

"Hey," he said, and he took another step. "I don't think you're boring. You like different things – that's okay, you know?"

I turned to face him properly. While I'd never liked Tristan, I hadn't spent enough time with Adam to form an opinion, but maybe he wasn't so bad after all. "I don't think he sees it like that. From the way he was speaking, I don't even know if he still wants to be with me."

Adam frowned. "If he doesn't, that's his loss."

Surprised, I said, "You think?"

He nodded and downed the rest of the drink before dropping the cup to the floor. The goody-two-shoes in me wanted to scold him for littering, but instead, I made a mental note to pick it up after he left.

"You look beautiful tonight, by the way," he said, "just in case no one's told you yet."

Somehow, I smiled. He smiled too, and when a gust of wind traveled through the trees and whipped about my hair, he reached over and tucked it back. My heart sped up, because something about how he looked at me felt strangely romantic.

And then he kissed me. Not just kissed but pried my lips apart with his tongue as he pushed me against the tree. And for what could only be seconds – half a second – I froze, unable to process his hand as it slid up my top.

"What the fuck."

I'd never moved so quickly. Jumping back, I turned to the familiar voice and held my breath. Chase stood opposite, looking between the two of us with eyes so sharp they cut through me.

"He kissed me," I blurted, "tell him, Adam," but when I turned to face Adam, he was already gone.

"Yeah?" Chase closed the last few steps between us and towered over me. "I didn't see you pushing him away."

I opened my mouth to insist that I did and then stopped. "I was going to," I said, "I–" my sentence dissolved to nothing; I knew at that moment that nothing I said would convince him. "You know what? I'm not going to stand here and convince you I've done nothing wrong. Clearly, you don't know me at all."

Chase didn't take his eyes off me. He was wearing that look I'd seen often in arguments, the kind you never saw coming until it was too late. "We're done," he said, and he turned and headed back to the party.

It wasn't until later – the next morning, in fact – that I realized he was right; one party wouldn't ruin my reputation.

He would.

❤️