“How could it not be?” I grind out. Sighing, I soften my tone because I shouldn’t be taking my fears out on my best friend. She doesn’t deserve that sort of treatment. “He doesn’t date. He slept with me and snuck out the next morning. Two red flags. And…”
“And what?” she presses.
“He sometimes reminds me of Neil.”
Reaching for our building’s door, she pauses with her hand on the doorknob and turns a frown in my direction. “How?”
I let go of her hand and remove hair that snuck its way into the crease of my lips when a big gust of wind whipped it about. “Remember how obsessed I was with him?” She nods. “It’s the same with Reid. And he’s attractive. And fit. And charming.” Igrasp the knob for her and open the door for us to enter. As we climb the stairs, I continue. “It just feels so familiar, this feeling.”
I put my key into our door and enter the apartment with Ivy hot on my heels. We drop our bags on the table, and she follows me into the kitchen. When I grab a glass for water, she leans against the counter with her arms across her chest and her eyes narrowed. I watch her while I drink, waiting for her to speak, but she doesn’t.
“What?” I ask, setting my cup in the sink and wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.
“He isnotNeil, Avery.”
“You don’t know that,” I say, matching her stance.
“I do. I’ve known him for two years. For one, Dustin wouldn’t be best friends with a loser. And two, all your red flags are just paranoia. He doesn’t date because he’s careful about who he picks to keep in his life. His family has a lot of money, and girls tend to flock to him because of it. Well, that, and he’s kinda hot if you hadn’t noticed.”
“Oh, I’ve noticed.”
She curtly nods. “He probably snuck out because he had somewhere to be. He, Dustin, and Jacob work out every morning. I’d bet every dollar I make this week in tips that he didn’t sneak out for all the reasons you keep telling yourself. He’s not that kind of guy, and let me tell you one other thing: He does not sleep around.”
“So what?” I laugh. “Am I special or something? Am I supposed to believe that?”
She throws her hands into the air. “You’re impossible. That’s exactly what I’m saying, Avery. He doesn’t sleep around, yet he chose you. Did you ever think he’s attracted to you the same as your attracted to him?”
“Well, I already knew that.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“Like I said: It feels familiar, and I don’t want my heart hurt again. I don’t think I’m capable of going through that again, of having him wise up someday and see that I’m exactly what he doesn’t want and then destroying me like Neil did.” My voice crackles at the end with emotion, but I shove it down with a clearing of my throat.
She sighs and her shoulders deflate. “I guess he’ll just have to convince you otherwise.”
I nibble on my bottom lip, feeling a little hopeless. “Yeah, I guess so.”
“You’re not going to make this easy on him, are you?”
I shrug a little. “I came out here to change my life. If he’s going to fit into it, if he’s going to break down the walls I built to protect myself, then no, I’m not going to make it easy. I can’t. I promised myself I wouldn’t.”
She considers me for a moment then pulls me into a hug. She tucks her chin into my shoulder and says, “You know I love you, but you’re so damn stubborn.”
CHAPTER 10
REID RATHE
“Areyou sure your parents aren’t going to mind that I’m tagging along?” Dustin asks. He’s sitting in my passenger seat, playing a bubble shooter game on some app that he’s become obsessed with the last few days. Thankfully, he can still hold a conversation while playing it.
I hadn’t planned on going to meet my parents after school, but when they call, I answer. So, after working out with Dustin, I invited him along. He had nothing better to do tonight, so he had agreed.
The sun is three-quarters through the sky, and the leaves that have already fallen are being pushed across the road by a slight breeze. It’d be pretty if I didn’t have this terrible feeling in my stomach about seeing them and what they could possibly want with me this time.
“It’s just golf. They’re not going to care,” I say as we head out of the city where the traffic is lighter and the road is curvier.
He flicks his attention to me for only a moment before he’s back to his phone. “Yeah, but the last time I met them, I got the feeling that they didn’t like me much.”
I snort. “They don’t like most people.”
