“About ten miles,” I say as I check my GPS.
We drive for a few minutes in silence, my mind racing along with my heart. The last time I saw Tatum was a couple nights ago in her dorm room. I’d been so close to kissing her when her phone rang, and for a single, blissful moment, I thought maybe she wanted me to. And then reality came crashing in. She has a boyfriend, and I’m her best friend?the same friend who promised to be supportive and allow her relationship to run its course. Had I kissed her and fucked with her relationship, she never would’ve forgiven me. Tate values loyalty above all things; it’s one of the things I love about her.
“Look at the bright side,” Chris says, breaking into my thoughts as we pass the convenience store she mentioned. “Coming to Tatum’s rescue is bound to earn you some serious brownie points.”
I scoff and glance his way. “I don’t need brownie points.”
“Mm-hmm,” he murmurs before his eyes light up, and he points. “Is that her?”
I shift my gaze to the side of the road, and sure enough, I spot Tate’s bright yellow Volkswagen Beetle at the same time she exits the driver’s side and rounds the front of it.
Slowing my car, I pull in a distance from her, then shut off the ignition before climbing out. Chris joins me as I yell for her, waving when she lifts her head out from behind the bug’s open hood.
“Sorry it took so long,” I start, hurrying toward her with Chris in tow. “Coach ran practice late and we . . .” I trail off as my gaze settles on another body bending over the engine, behind the hood. A body that appears distinctly male.
“No worries,” Tate says, her tone upbeat and particularly chipper for a girl who’s been stranded for the past hour and a half. “I knew you were in practice and got antsy, so I called Ethan. He and some friends were actually thirty minutes out, so they dropped him off for me. Crazy, huh? He got here more than a half hour ago.”
“Yeah, crazy,” I mumble through the pinching in my chest.
“Still think you don’t need brownie points?” Chris mutters out of the side of his mouth as he jabs me in the ribs.
I shoot him a dirty look before I grip Tatum’s elbow and pull her out of earshot. “You didn’t need to call him, Tate. You knewI’d be here as soon as I could.” I drop her arm, shoving a hand through my hair, frustratedhegot to play Prince Charming and come to her rescue when that’s my role.Myjob.
Tatum shrugs like it’s no big deal, like her relying on a man that isn’t me for any fucking thing in her life doesn’t put a giant Tatum-sized hole inside my chest. “It’s no biggie. I called, and he happened to be close by, so he dropped what he was doing and came to help.”
“You could have let me know before I left campus,” I say, a little harsher than I intended. “I’ve been worried sick about you waiting out here alone.”
“I did. I texted you. Didn’t you get my messages?”
I frown, sliding my phone from my pocket only to realize it’s still on Airplane Mode from practice. The second I flick it off, it starts buzzing in my hand.
Shit.
Frustrated, I shove it back in the pocket of my joggers at the same time a metallictwangechoes into the cooling evening air. The hood of the VW closes, and Tatum turns, giving me my first good glimpse of a smug-faced Ethan dressed in khakis and a light pink polo shirt, looking like he’s fresh off a fucking golf course.
Wiping his hands on a rag, he tips his chin toward me as I stare him down. “Brandon,” he says, his voice flat.
“Nice of you to come, man, but we can take it from here,” I tell him.
“Actually, I’ve got it handled. She should be good to go.” He pats the hood of the car and grins. “I guess the phrasebetter late than neverdoesn’t apply here.”
“Oh, shit,” Chris coughs out behind his fist while I grind my teeth, molars throbbing with the force of holding back my bite.
Tatum glances between us, her expression wary as if we’re asking her to pick sides, and when she takes a step toward me, my heart soars. My grin broadens as I stare at Ethan, my heart doing victory laps inside my chest as my glittering blue eyes sayTake that fucker.
“Hey, I really appreciate you coming,” Tatum murmurs, her voice soft as she tips her head up to me, “but Ethan was actually going to stay the night in my dorm since Brit’s gone for the weekend, so you’re free to go. I know you’re probably tired after practice.”
The heart that was previously soaring plummets. It sinks so far into the abyss of my chest, deep-sea divers will never recover it.
I swallow, staring down into her nearly violet eyes as I think of the way she and I laid together on her bed only nights ago?laughing and joking and teasing. And I try not to think about what she and Ethan might do in that same bed. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
She laughs like it’s a dumb question. “Being alone with my boyfriend? I think it’s a great idea.”
My chest hurts. It fucking hurts.
I nod as Ethan steps forward, curling an arm around her waist like he owns every inch of her. The urge to remove his limb from its socket and shove it down his throat is so wild and violent, I have to curl my hands into fists at my side.
You’re supportive, remember? Tatum will figure out he’s not the one on her own.
