I wish I was better at this stuff.
Atlas always had the words. He was the mouth, and I was the silent partner, the guy who had his back.
Until you didn’t.
I snap my eyes shut, hating myself. Hating that I wasn’t there to stop it. Hating that it’s hurt way more than Atlas. Dani is suffering too, and I can’t help but take the blame.
“It’s more than that, though,” she whispers, and my eyes pop open. “I miss being someone’s partner. I miss having a special person. A man who makes me feel like I’m the most important. Like I’m their one and they’re mine and…” She threads her fingers together, shaking her hands in the air. “I want that again. I pine for it… but I have no idea how to find it.”
Aw man, me too.
Although there’s noagainfor me. I’ve never found a girl to make me feel all of those things. But I want it. Seeing all my friends get it has only intensified this feeling for me.
“Am I being a romantic sap or?—”
“No, of course not.” I wrap my hand around her interlaced fingers and give them a soft squeeze. “I want that too. I get it. And it’s not just about romance. It’s about partnership. There’s nothing wrong with wanting that.”
She looks right at me, the streetlight coming in through the windshield making her face glow. “So, how do I get it? How do I find that again?”
I sigh, about to tell her that I have no idea… until a thought hits me.
Holding my breath while I quickly run it through in my head, I finally let out a rush of air, then tell her, “I’ll help you.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m gonna find you the perfect guy.” I grin. “I’ve been here for four years. I know plenty of people in Nolan, and all of them are better than that jackass you went out with tonight. Let me hook you up with a decent date.”
She gapes at me for a second, then starts to laugh. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah.” I nod. “Let me have a think about who’s worthy of a date with you, and I’ll set something up.”
Her expression crumples into an uncertain frown.
I grin at her. “Come on, Dee. You trust me, right?”
“Yes.” She nods without hesitation, then bites her lips together.
“What?”
“I don’t know. It’s just… scary? Or… something.”
“Hey.” Leaning toward her, I rest my fingers lightly on her shoulder. “It’s gonna be okay. I won’t set you up with anyone who’s gonna treat you bad, I swear.”
“I know.” She nods. “I know you’d never do that to me.”
I smile at her, shifting away and nestling my shoulder into my seat, trying to think of who I could ask.
There are plenty of guys on the team who are pretty decent. But are any of them good enough for Dani?
CHAPTER 9
DANI
Tyrell drives me back to my apartment, Whitney Houston playing softly in the background. Oh, that’s right. I remember now. Tyrell’s mom adores Whitney Houston… and he does too. Atlas used to hassle the shit out of him for that, but Tyrell refused to say one bad thing about the woman with the best damn voice in the world.
It is pretty good.
I go quiet so I can listen. He’s got it playing softly, unlike Atlas, who blasted everything. He had one volume for his car stereo—maximum. You could hear him coming from three blocks away.
