“What?”
“You have feelings for her.” She says it like a statement, not a question.
I guffaw, embarrassed at being caught.
“She has feelings for you too.”
This genuinely shocks me. I snap my gaze to hers. “No, she doesn’t.”
Remi scoffs softly under her breath. “Are you kidding me? ‘I know what my best friend drinks,’” she parrots in this bitchy tone.
I cringe. “I’m really sorry about that. I don’t know why she was so rude to you. She’s a really nice person.”
Remi shrugs. “People can get petty when they’re jealous.”
I snort, finding the idea ridiculous. “Casey isn’t jealous. She was there on adate!She doesn’t have feelings for me.”
“Tell me this,” Remi says. “Did Casey know we were going to be at that bar tonight?”
“Yes, but?—”
“And she just happens to bring her own date there while dressed to kill?”
“Okay, but?—”
“And then she spends the whole night watching you and sending death glares my way.”
I reel backward. “She did not.” This one I know for sure. I may have paid a little too close of attention to her with Josh, not that I want to admit that to Remi. But I would have noticed her staring back at me or shooting ugly looks at Remi.
“She definitely was,” Remi says. “Whenever you weren’t looking at her, she was looking at you.”
My face heats as shame floods me. She realized how closely I watched Casey?
“Look, this is on me,” Remi says. “I noticed there was something going on between you two, and I ignored it. And I don’t know what exactly it is you two got going on, but you should really figure it out before you get another woman’s hopes up.”
It’s then I remember I’m sitting in her bed after stopping us mid hookup on a date. My heart feels like it’s been squeezed between a fist. “Fuck, Remi, I didn’t mean—shit. I’m so sorry!” I stand up and pat my pockets for my keys. “I should go.”
“Hey, it’s fine.” Remi hops up and holds her hands up, palms out to stop me. “I’m a big girl, I’ll be fine. I’m just saying?—”
“No, no, I hear you.” I scratch my forehead, at a loss for words. I feel like shit. “I’m really sorry.”
Remi slides her hands into her front jeans pockets and nods. She cocks her head in the direction of the doorway. “I’ll walk you out.”
And with an awkward wave goodbye, I’m left standing on the landing outside Remi’s apartment with my thoughts swirling.
Is it possible Casey was jealous? And if so, what does it mean?
Chapter Eleven
I’m running on maybe a half hour of sleep? It’s hard to sleep when you spend the night tossing and turning in bed. I replayed everything Remi said while analyzing Casey’s every move from the bar. I thought she was acting strange in the moment, but, looking back, her behavior makes no sense. Like calling Remi the wrong name when I know for a fact she knows Remi’s name?
And there was another open table Casey led Josh past to sit at the one in my line of sight. I didn’t realize it then, but, after scouring my thoughts, it’s crystal clear. And the longer I think about everything, the bigger the little spark of hope in my chest grows.
Burning with the need to know for sure, I plan to talk to Casey. I make myself wait to avoid showing up at her door in the middle of the night, but it still feels a little unhinged being here at five am. She’s a morning person, though, so this is fine. Right?
“Dakota?”
Casey’s voice startles me, and I stop my pacing. “Shit. Hey,hi!”
