It was a lot easier to hate Paxton when he was just the dumb popular guy Devi picked over him, who was admittedly attractive but no substance beyond that and being the subject of Ben’s resentment.

That was until Paxton showed up at his bedroom window, rain-soaked, wanting to apologize even when it was Devi’s fault, not his, that Ben had been hurt.

It was a lot harder to hate him now when he’d invited Paxton over to play video games as a gesture of good will, and one thing had led to another, and suddenly video game controllers and Devi were long forgotten; there was only Paxton’s warm lips over his, soothing the chill of his perpetually empty house.