Will I ever stop getting butterflies whenever I see her?
Probably not. I’m doomed.
Silence falls over the locker room as all six of us idiots stare her down, the realization that she could have heard the whole conversation hitting us simultaneously and causing us to scramble to find our words.
Pacey’s lips seal shut, and his eyes widen as he looks at me for answers. He’s no help.
Silas crosses his arms and grins, probably enjoying this far too much.
Eli shifts next to me, bowing his head and almost trying to sink back into nothing as if he was never here. Count him out as well.
And then there’s Posey, mouthing . . . “She’s here. She’s here,” while subtly pointing to the side, right at her.
I know, you fucking moron, I have eyes!
“Did I . . . interrupt?” she asks, looking insecure now.
Christ.
Someone needs to say something.
Anything to make it seem like we weren’t talking about her.
Because the longer this silence goes on, the easier it will be for her to believe we were talking about her, which we were.
I take one more look at my boys and realize they have all abandoned me. What fucking friends they are. I rack my brain for something to say . . . anything that makes sense. But I come up short, and that’s when a bead of sweat trickles down my back, making me painfully aware of just how awkward and uncomfortable I am.
“Uhh . . . you know,” OC chimes in, immediately making him my favorite. “We were talking about a girl I know.” What a fucking champion. “I’m Oden O’Connor, by the way.”
“Blakely White,” she says, leaning in to shake his hand. Her long brown hair brushes near me, sending me into a near catatonic state from the lavender scent. “It’s so nice to meet you.”
“You too,” he says while dropping her hand quickly.
Blakely then looks at Posey and says, “What happened to you? We were talking with Camper over in marketing, and you just took off in the middle of a sentence.”
Jesus Christ, Posey.
He nervously smiles and says, “Bathroom emergency.” When her cute nose scrunches, he adds, “False alarm, but glad I hustled, you know just in case. Sorry about that. I think you were saying something about moving out of your apartment because you broke up with your boyfriend?”
That’s when he cut out and left? Right when she was talking about her breakup? Could he be any more fucking obvious?
Blakely sighs heavily. “Yeah, I had to find a cheaper place.”
“You, uh . . . broke up?” Eli asks. “Penny never said anything to me.” And this is why I like Hornsby. He’ll wiggle out the truth in a conventional, non-evasive way—unlike Posey.
“I haven’t really said anything to anyone,” Blakely says, “which seems weird that I’m talking to you guys about it, but yeah, we broke up a few weeks ago. I know Penny’s been busy with the baby, so I didn’t want to bother her. Anyway, I found a new place, but this morning, the pipe above my apartment burst and flooded my place. It’s been a nightmare, but you don’t need to worry about that. I came here—”
“Where are you going to stay?” Posey asks. “Clearly not there.”
“Oh, uh, trying to figure that out.”
“Does Penny know?” Eli asks. “I’m sure she would offer up our place.”
“Or ours,” Pacey adds, knowing Blakely is also good friends with Winnie.
Silas scratches the back of his neck and says, “Ollie would probably do the same.”
Blakely shakes her head. “No offense, Eli, but I’m not going to room with an infant. I love him, but not that much. And Winnie and Ollie would offer, but I’m also not going to stay with two happy couples having sex every chance they get.”
