I glanced around at the four pairs of eyes on me. “I do. I just . . .”
“You’re scared,” Greg said. “I get it. I’ve been there.”
As Greg and Gretchen seemed to share a moment, my heart dropped. I’d known all along Greg had been scared of their connection, and I’d spent years maligning him for it. I didn’t want to be Greg, crawling back to Gretchen now, having missed out on her for almost a decade.
“If David breaks your heart, it’ll suck. But you’re tough, Liv. You’ll get over it,” Gretchen said and glanced at Greg. “I did.”
He leaned in and pecked her on the cheek.
“Get a room,” Bethany teased.
“We will,” Greg said, “when Gretchen’s ready.”
“Still?”I mouthed at Gretchen, and she nodded. I held my wine up to her and took a sip, shocked that she of all people had refrained from sleeping with him for so long.
What was she waiting for? My gut told me something was off. If she really were over her heartbreak, would she still be waiting? It’d been months.
I didn’t understand it, but I of all people knew that sometimes, matters of the heart just couldn’t be explained.
“So, hold up,” Bethany said. “Not that I care because I like you a lot more, but wasn’t Lucy’s sister dating David?”
I nearly choked on my wine and started coughing. Evidently, Dani was an issue that wasn’t going away, like a fly that wouldn’t stop buzzing around me. Everyone stared at me again. “They went on a few dates,” I said. “But David says it didn’t mean anything.”
“It didn’t,” Gretchen said. “You told me he didn’t even do anything with her.”
I wavered, not exactly thrilled at the idea of sharing all this with a roomful of people. “Bill came to see me this afternoon.”
“Ah.” Gretchen walked over to the counter to refill her wine. “No wonder you’re here. What’d he say to fuck you up?”
“Well, he kissed me.”
Gretchen spun around as her roommates gasped. “And?” Ava asked.
“It was . . . different. Not terrible. But nothing like kissing David.”
“Obviously,” Gretchen said. “Please don’t tell me you told David.”
“I did, and to his credit, he didn’t feel threatened like I thought he might. Instead, we fought about how I let Bill get in my head. Including what he said about Dani.”
“What’d he say?” Greg blurted. When we all looked at him, he blushed, then shrugged. “What? I’m invested now.”
I sighed. “Dani told Bill that she and David slept together. David insists that they only kissed.”
“You think he lied to you?” Gretchen asked.
David’s eyes had always held truth. He’d done nothing to deserve the skepticism I’d thrown his way earlier. “No,” I said. “But I also don’t know why she’d lie.”
“I don’t think anything serious happened,” Gretchen said, taking her phone from the pocket of her kimono. “Lucy would’ve mentioned it.”
“Why don’t you just ask Dani?” Bethany suggested.
Gretchen cocked her head. “Good idea. I’ll text her now. Unless you want to, Liv?”
“What?” I asked, blanching. “No. Don’t text her.”
“Aren’t you the teensy bit curious?” Ava asked.
I thought of David alone at his apartment. He’d made it clear I wasn’t welcome there tonight. If he wanted, he could invite over anyone he wanted—I doubted it would take more than a phone call to the right woman.
