Sydney turned to face me, her hands sliding up my arms, settling on my shoulders. I let my hands settle on her hips, keeping enough space between us that she felt the distance.

But she wasn’t having it. “Blake,” she teased, smiling up at me, “I’m the birthday girl, remember? I get all your attention tonight.”

I huffed out something like a laugh. “Yeah?”

Hell, I was counting the seconds until I could leave.

She nodded. “Yeah.” Then, as if the thought had just hit her, she bit her lip. “You know what I just realized?” she murmured, her lips dangerously close to mine.

“What?” I raised a brow.

“I haven’t gotten my birthday kiss yet.”

I swallowed, my grip on her waist loosening.

She was looking up at me through her lashes, waiting, expecting, as if this was inevitable. Her eyes flicked to my mouth, lingering there. “You gonna fix that?”

I should have kissed her. It was what I was supposed to do. Sydney was exactly the kind of girl I should have wanted—the kind of girl I should have been kissing in a room full of people.

But I couldn’t.

Not when I’d be picturing blue eyes the entire time.

Without hesitation, I stepped back.

Sydney blinked, her smile faltering.

I cleared my throat. “Hold that thought,” I said with a smile, searching for the first excuse I could find. “I need a drink.”

Before she could stop me, I disappeared into the crowd.

I had no reason to be here anymore.

I had played the role I was supposed to play—I showed up, stood beside her when she blew out the candles, and let her wrap her arms around my waist in front of her friends.

I had done my part.

I was too busy drowning in my own head to notice Jamal until he was right in front of me. “There you are,” he said. “I⁠—”

“Where’s Beverly?”

I hadn’t even meant to say it. The words slipped out like muscle memory, but my mind hadn’t fully caught up with the reality that she wasn’t mine to ask about.

Jamal gave me a knowing look, then exhaled. “She’s upstairs. With Nathan. He was bragging earlier about how tonight was ‘his night.’” He made air quotes around the words.

I wasn’t supposed to care. I wasn’t supposed to do anything. But my feet were already carrying me up the stairs, past couples making out, oblivious to the fact that they were in my damn way.

I took the stairs two at a time. I didn’t know what I expected to find. I didn’t know what I was planning to do when I found them. I didn’t even know why I was doing this.

That was a lie. I did know.