He swung his eyes to me, as if hoping I’d finish the rest of his sentence.

I didn’t have the words.

Desperate, I stared at Levi, willing him to say something. The muscles in his face were taut. This was the moment that he knew, I realized. Who my ex was. Maybe it hadn’t mattered to him before, maybe he wanted to let the past stay where it was … but this. This was an ambush. Not just for me, but for him, too.

Anger lanced through me. How dare Elodie pull this? This was hugely inappropriate. Tonight was about the artists, not us. She had no right to put me on the spot, to confront me with these memories. She’d had her chance. If she’d wanted to, she could have let us be in a real relationship two years ago. She could have thought about how devastated I would be when she said she didn’t even want to keep in touch. She could have not crossed the street to avoid me that first day I saw her after she came back.

I was with Levi now, didn’t she get that? He’d told her as much on the day she and her friends went to Bangor. I wasn’t hers anymore. Not hers to draw or hers to reclaim. It was too late for that.

In a cacophony of sound, the world came rushing back. My head pounded and my ears were hot. I didn’t want to stay in front of Elodie’s work for another minute.

I tucked my hand into the crook of Levi’s elbow. “Let’s go.”

Elodie’s eyes were bright. She made to reach out, but I flung myself away, taking Levi with me.

As we walked, my heartbeat calmed. Next to me, Levi was still. He gave me a long look when we came to a stop in a private alcove, away from the crowd. I waited for him to speak first. For a long, terrible moment, I thought he would say nothing. Then he sucked in his cheeks. “Are you all right?” he asked.

There was nothing strange in his voice, no undercurrent of anger or jealousy. I paused, weighing my answer. “I’m okay. I didn’t know she was going to do that.” I peered up, unable to read him.

“So.” He gestured behind him. “You and Elodie. She’s your ex.”

“Y-yes.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” His voice resonated with confusion and the first brim of anger. There was a hard edge I’d never heard before—not from him. “I knew you were bi. You were up front about that. You were up front about everything except her.”

“I did tell you about Elodie,” I said. “I just didn’t tell you her name.”

“The most important part! Do you still have feelings for her?”