“Can we move on and have a good night tonight, please?” Sonny asks. “We’re all single, and since everyone”—he stops and looks pointedly at me—“well, almost everyone loves Valentine’s Day and doesn’t want to be alone, hooking up is practically a guarantee.”

Sonny doesn’t have a problem getting girls, but if every woman on campus could hear how he usually speaks, I don’t think he would be as popular.

Charlotte looks up and nods. “It’s forgotten.”

Sonny’s gaze meets mine. “Lylah?”

I shrug. It’s really not for me to forgive him. “Sure. I just want to have a fun night.” And for Chace to realize he’s in love with me. Having fun at the party might make this time of year a little more bearable. “No more breaking hearts this year, Lylah,” Isaac teases.

Here we go again…

I harrumph and point at him. “Shut up, you. I didn’t break anything.”

“Please. Jake left school because you rejected him.”

Jake, one of our other friends, tried to kiss me last year. It was right before I went home to spend Valentine’s Day, the anniversary of my parents’ death, with my brother, Riley. Jake knew that I was upset and still thought it was appropriate to kiss me. Er, no. I pushed him away and told him he could go to hell.

Looking back, I could have been a tad more diplomatic telling him I didn’t like him, but I was emotional. My anxiety was raging, and I was dreading going home. It still felt—feels—so fresh that they are gone.

He could have chosen a better time to get rejected.

“Jake did not leave because of me. He left five months after that happened.”

“Because even after all that time he couldn’t get over you,” Sonny adds, winking at me.

Chace stands up. “Guys, cool it.”

He’s always there to tell everyone to back off when they’re teasing me. I can handle myself, but they’re relentless with the Jake thing, so it’s nice to have Chace backing me up.

“Mate, we’re only joking,” Sonny says to Chace.

I’m about to jump in when the doorbell rings.

“Want to wager who’s out there?” Chace asks.

“I bet it’s one of Sonny’s ex’s who can’t take no for an answer,” I guess.

Sienna laughs. “I bet it’s the girl who keeps following Isaac around like a lost puppy. She’s a total weirdo.”

“Nah,” Isaac says. “I bet it’s Nora trying to be Lylah’s BFF.”

I roll my eyes and walk to the hallway.