“I’m asking you.”
“They’re good. It took us a little bit to figure things out, but I think we’re on the right track now.” His face changes from his hardened expression to a big smile. It’s easy to see how head-over-heels those two are for one another. I’m only asking as a way into the conversation I need to have—and quickly, because Oliver will be here any minute.
“And you’re exclusive?”
“I’m not sure why it’s any of your business.”
I open my mouth to try and provide an explanation, but before I can get the words out, I spot him walking toward me.Oliver.
Colt turns and follows my gaze, his whole body tensing.
Shit. Guess the cat’s out of the bag.
We both wave at Oliver, who waves back. The poor guy’s trying to mask his discomfort, but it’s not working, at least not on me. It’s crazy how I already recognize the way his shoulders pull up tight and his forehead wrinkles when he’s unsure of a situation.
“Hey!” Oliver says when he gets close enough to me. “Good to see you again,” he says, directing his comment to Colt.
“Yeah, um, you, too,” Colt says. His voice is flat and forced. Nathan’s going to fucking kill me.
“Enjoying the market?” I ask. I’m not sure if he’s had any time to look at the stalls yet. I knew he would get distracted by all the crafts and end up walking around before he found me, but it didn’t keep me from checking my phone every few minutes to see if he texted. The space isn’t huge, but it’s big enough that it would be easy to miss someone if there wasn’t a plan.
“It’s nice. I already have too many things on my wish list. I need to eat something before I make any impulse purchases.”
“Why don’t you eat with us?” Oliver’s face contorts a bit, and I send up a silent prayer that he doesn’t blow my cover. I invited him here, and now I’m pretending we just ran into each other. I wouldn’t be surprised if he walked away and never spoke to me again. I’m not only a terrible boyfriend, but I’m also proving to be a shitty friend.
“Sure,” he draws out the word, “thanks. Let me grab something, and I’ll be right back.” As he starts toward the row of food trucks, a wave of nausea hits me, trying to figure out what I’m going to say to Colt. “You don’t mind, do you?” he turns back and addresses Colt.
I hold my breath for a moment, worried that Colt might ruin my plans for the day. I wouldn’t even be able to be mad at him. I’d deserve it after all this. “Of course not.”
I breathe a small sigh of relief. At least no one is throwing punches. Yet.
OLIVER
What the fuck am I doing? Aaron and I said we would be friends.Just friends. Whatever chemistry there might be between us is a memory. As hard as it is to get over him when we’re spending time together every week, I don’t want to lose his friendship. I don’t make friends easily, and being with him is as easy as breathing.
When he mentioned this event today, I got so excited. Somehow, in that flurry, I didn’t think things through. It wasn’t until I was walking over and spotted Colt that the full weight of the day hit me.
It wasn’t just Aaron. And not even simply his friends, but a friend that I dated.
Does one date count? This is the kind of thing my sister could answer. I pull out my phone and text her.
Me
Does someone count as an ex if we only went on one date?
I stick my phone back in my pocket, not expecting her to respond. I’ve long given up on remembering her work schedule, considering how strange it is. I’ll probably get a response at two in the morning.
The last thing I want right now is food, but I need to come back with something, so I pick a truck and get myself a grilled cheese sandwich and aCoke. At least eating will give me something to do with my hands.
When it’s ready, I grab my order and head back to the table. I pause briefly, looking at the four of them sitting there. I recognize the man next to Aaron as the guy who told me off at The Flaming Unicorn. Briefly, the thought that I could run away crosses my mind. Aaron’s the only one who would miss me. Later, I could send him a message with some excuse. Surely, I could come up with something good. Imaginary illness? Familyemergency? With five siblings and all their kids, there’s no end to the number of things that could happen.
But that’s bad luck, and I desperately want to spend the afternoon with Aaron, so I suck it up and head over.
“Hey.”
“This is Oliver,” Aaron says. “You’ve already met Colt and Matthias, and that’s Nathan.” He points to each of his friends as he introduces them. When he scootches over a little to make room for me, my heart swells. I know it’s nothing, just a spot to sit while we eat, but it feels important.
“Thanks for letting me join you. I’ve lived here a year, but I still feel like a newbie. I didn’t know anyone when I moved here, so it’s been tough trying to find friends.” I hate admitting that to people. Everyone says it’s hard to make friends later in life, but it still feels like everyone else is better at it.
