Not disagreement.
Not judgment.
Just acknowledgement.
Which somehow makes it worse, because it means they’re taking me seriously.
“I think she knew exactly what she was doing,” I say. “That’s what I can’t get past.”
Dex scratches the back of his neck. “That’s… fair.”
“When Gabe read that post out loud in the locker room. The timing. The promo. All of it lining up at once.”
My voice stays level.
It has to.
“She let things keep going without saying anything,” I say. “Let me think it was real. Let me show up like it mattered.”
Gabriel steps closer, quiet but solid. “Did it feel real?”
He doesn’t ask like he’s testing me.
He asks like he already knows the answer.
The answer comes too fast.
“Yeah.”
That’s the problem.
Because I don’t fall halfway.
And I don’t pretend when something matters.
Eli speaks next. “That doesn’t make you stupid, bro.”
I scoff. “Feels like I walked in blind and smiled while it happened.”
Dex shakes his head. “If she wanted a headline, she picked the dumbest possible way. No offense.”
“Some offense,” I mutter.
Dex shrugs. “Point stands. Did you ask her?”
I blow out a breath. “No. Didn’t want to.”
“Why?” Eli asks.
I look down at my hands.
“Because if I ask and she says yes, then that’s it,” I say. “I don’t get to unhear it. I don’t get to stand there pretending it didn’t matter when it already did. And, then I’m the asshole in this.”
Silence again.
Heavier this time.
Gabriel nods slowly. “That’s pride.”
