“Do you believe her?” I ask. “She’s a gossip and a liar. Of course, she fucking started this.”
“Hey,” Kaito snaps.
“It’s true.”
“Noah—” Declan begins.
“No,” I say, firing up. “What did Tiana say she saw?”
“You and Eve having sex,” Kaito answers.
“Fucking hell. That’s a total lie. When was this?”
“The morning after. She saw you two in your bed. You let Eve sleep in your bed, Noah.”
“Because she’s my friend!”
“You brought her home.”
“Because she needed someplace to go,” I say. “Because she’s my fucking friend. You know, Tiana walked on Eve and I. Hugging. As friends. That’s not us fucking.Jesus.” I slam my hands on the table and my emotions from the weekend pour out of me. “Don’t you trust me to tell you the truth?”
Declan and Kaito look regretful, but Henry’s eyes are hard.
That was the point.
I wanted to make you jealous.
Fuck. How can I expect them to believe me after weeks of encouraging their speculation?
I take a deep breath. “Listen, I’m sorry I lost my temper. I know that … that over the past couple of weeks, Eve and I have acted like we’re … together.” I sigh. “But that was just an act, and I shouldn’t have let you guys think that.”
“An act? Why would you do that?” Declan asks.
I shrug, meeting Henry’s eyes before looking away. “The attention? To make myself look good? To pretend that someone wants me?”
“Noah …” Henry begins.
“Yeah, I’m aware I’m a loser. This whole thing is humiliating, but … do you believe me now? Eve and I are friends.”
Henry breaks the silence. “Of course, we believe you. Especially over Tiana.”
Kaito opens his mouth, but Henry continues before he can speak. “I know you love her, Kaito, but you know better than anyone that she’s a bitch most of the time.”
“Sorry, man,” Declan says. “We didn’t mean to piss you off.”
“And I didn’t mean to sound so grumpy,” I say.
He smiles. “No big. And you’re not a loser. I’d let people think I was banging Eve too. She’s hot, in a librarian way.”
“Are you crazy?” Henry asks. “She looks nothing like a librarian.”
“Oh yeah? What do librarians look like?”
“They’re … old … and they wear frumpy clothing.”
“That’s a narrow idea of a librarian,” Declan says. “And don’t pretend you don’t know what I mean. She’s got bookish sexy vibes.”
“We shouldn’t have doubted you, Noah.” Kaito interrupts. “Henry’s right. Tiana can be …”
