“Ahem. Yeah . . . you got it.”
She wipes her mouth again as I walk to the truck in a daze and climb in. What are with these abnormal thoughts lately? First she was adorable the other day, and now she is beautiful. I tap my temple, hoping there’s a reset button in my brain.
The door swings open and her backpack comes flying in, bouncing off my shoulder and landing between the seats.
“If you throw that coffee at me...” I growl, already feeling the weird tingles of attraction fading.
“I would never. This is my power fuel.” Reese climbs in and slams the door behind her with a frown. “I didn’t expect to find myself back in your truck so soon.”
“You could always walk.”
Her eyelashes flicker. “Don’t think I haven’t thought of it.”
I shift the car into drive and merge onto Main Street before she can take me up on the offer. As soon as we get on the highway, I take a deep breath and brace myself for the awkward conversation I’m about to start.
“I’m sorry about what I said the other day.”
“Okay.”
“I wasn’t trying to hurt your feelings. I guess I was confused when—” I steal a glance at her when she giggles, her attention locked on a reel on her phone. “Are you listening to me?”
“Look, I see what you’re trying to do, and I’m not falling for it.” She scrolls through her social media feed. “I have a truce to uphold, thank you very much. You will not goad me into an argument.”
“So, you’re just going to ignore me.” My hands tighten on the wheel. “That was not the point of the truce. It was that we could talk to each other like normal people.”
Her head snaps up. “Are you saying I’m not normal?”
Biting my lip, I realize I have stumbled into our verbal minefield again. One false move, and we’ll both be screaming at each other. Time to slow down, breathe, and choose my words carefully.
Her narrow gaze locks on me, her phone forgotten.
At least I have her full attention now.
“I don’t want to argue,” I state.
“Neither do I. Which is why I said it was better if we don’t talk at all.”
“No—that will only let things fester. We need to talk this out. I meant what I said about the truce, but we both have to try?—”
“Are you saying I’m not trying?” she asks, bristling.
I point at her. “That right there. You keep assuming I’m out to get you.”
Her mouth opens like she wants to retaliate, but she settles with a stiff, “I don’t.”
With a huff, she turns to the window, and a wave of disappointment washes over me. Typical Reese. When anything gets too difficult or emotional, she tunnels inward or runs away. Stuck in my truck, she has nowhere to hide.
“What happened to us? We used to be friends,” I ask softly, finally voicing the question that’s been eating away at me.
“You’re Des’s friend,” she replies, matching my tone.
“If that’s true, then why did we text every day? Hmm? Or meet up for lunch once a week? Even after Des left for college, we still hung out.”
“That was a lifetime ago. Before my poor choices, before Burns, before Granny...” Silence hovers between us before she continues. “I never realized you thought of me as a friend before. I always thought Des forced you to check in on me. A ‘bro code’ or something. You were alwayswatching out for me at the bar like you were my personal bodyguard.”
“I mean, he did ask, but it was also because I wanted to—I care about you.”
Heat rushes to my cheeks as my words echo in my head, sounding like a stranger’s.
