“Yeah. Sorry. I just...” I exhaled slowly, running a hand down my face. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“Can we keep it between us?” The words came out uncertain. “I wouldn’t want to ask you to lie or keep anything from Trystan, but…”
“What’s up, Owen?” She cut me off.
This was it. The moment I either came clean or kept living in this half-truth.
“Do you think Jax would be angry if I were dating Harlow?”
The gasp on the other end of the line was sharp, surprised. “Oh my god... are you into Harlow?”
My throat tightened, my heart hammering against my ribs like it was trying to escape.
“So… Do you?”
She was quiet for a long moment.
“I think,” she said slowly, “that if you hurt her, you will destroy your friendship. I don’t know if he’d be upset about you dating her or not. But Owen.” She paused, and the weight of what was coming pressed against my chest. “If you’re not ready to possibly lose your friendship with Jax over this, then you should walk away now before anyone gets hurt.”
She was absolutely, terrifyingly right.
This wasn’t just about Harlow and me anymore. This was about twenty years of friendship with Jax. This was about loyalty and trust and all the unspoken rules we’d built our entire lives around.
And I was breaking every single one of them.
“So what’s the deal?” Cam asked. “Are you two dating or...” Her voice trailed off. “Wait…” She paused. “Is she who you chea…”
My chest tightened, knowing exactly where that sentence was heading.
“Actually, never mind. I don’t want to know.”
Relief flooded through me so fast I felt dizzy. I didn’t want to answer that question. Didn’t want to lie to her. But I also couldn’t tell her the truth.
“Do you really like her?” Cam asked quietly.
I leaned my head back against the headrest, staring at the roof of my car.
“Yeah,” I couldn’t stop the smile tugging at the corners of my lips as I thought about how much I did. “I really like her.”
“Then you need to tell Jax before he finds out on his own.” Her voice was firm now, the teasing gone. “Trust me on this one. Secrets have a way of coming out at the worst possible time.”
“I know. We’re planning to tell him over winter break. Face to face.”
“That’s good.” A pause. “For what it’s worth? I think Harlow’s great, and if you actually care about her, if this is real and not just... I don’t know, whatever happened with us... Then maybe Jax will see that too.”
“You think so?”
“I think Jax wants both of you to be happy. He’s protective, yeah, but he’s not unreasonable.” She laughed softly. “Well, most of the time he’s not unreasonable. Just... be ready for the conversation to be uncomfortable.”
“That’s an understatement.”
“Owen. You’re a good person. You made mistakes. You’re human. But you’re trying, and if you’re serious about Harlow, if you’re ready to fight for her... Jax will see that. He’ll have to.”
“Thanks, Cam. Really.”
“Anytime.” I could hear the smile in her tone. “I’m glad we can still talk like this. Like friends.”
