Chapter
Fourteen
BUBBA
Iparked my motorcycle near the curb next to Frankie’s sedan. I didn’t need to admit to myself that I was waiting for her with the engine still humming, but I was. Jake pulled up behind her car in his SUV with Coop beside him.
Archie glided up in his Ferrari, smooth as ever, the engine purring like even the car knew the world was all a stage and he owned it. My chest tightened—Frankie wasn’t here. Dismounting, I walked over and Jake rolled his window down.
“She’s with Rachel,” Jake said, almost casually. He didn’t elaborate beyond that, and I didn’t press. Knowing Jake, whatever he was hiding, he’d spill it in his own time. Honestly, after the last time shit went sideways with him, I wasn’t sure I wouldn’t punch him if he did something equally stupid this time.
“Yeah. That’s all I know too.” Coop just shrugged. It hit me that he was not himself. He hadn’t been in a few days, but particularly after the weekend. Gone were the easy smiles, smartass banter, and upbeat attitude.
Archie left his car to join us, his sunglasses reflecting the last of the afternoon light.
“She’s with Rachel,” I told him when he automatically glanced at her car. Without a doubt, scanned the area wherestudents were still streaming out of the school. He was likely calculating the odds of every possible scenario. He didn’t say a word. He never did. He was always waiting. Always watching.
He didn’t answer immediately, his unreadable expression didn’t give a lot away. But I didn’t need to guess at his feelings or thoughts. It was always about Frankie with him.
“If she’s with Rachel,” I said. “Then now is a good time for us to talk.” As much as I wanted to see her, we couldn’t have this conversation with her there. One, it would hurt her. Two, this wasourmess andweneeded to be the ones to clean this up. Especially if we wanted any kind of a chance with her.
And right, wrong, or indifferent, I wanted that chance with her. I wanted toknowif we could work.
“Yeah,” Archie said. “Diner.”
Jake gave a thumbs up and pulled away. Archie went to his car and I hopped back on the bike. I gave her car one last look before I walked the bike back, then followed Archie out of the lot. The ride from the school to the diner wasn’t a long one.
Once there, we all piled into the place and our favorite booth in the back corner. The big round one made it easy to park Frankie in the middle so we could all reach or see her easily. Today, it made for neutral ground for the four of us.
None of us bothered with bags or backpacks. I’d stored my backpack, jacket, and helmet in the back of Jake’s SUV. The tension was thick, unspoken, like static before a storm as the waitress brought us glasses of water, took our order, then headed back to turn it in.
“Let’s get this out,” Coop said quietly, breaking the silence. “We need to talk. Everything. Summer, the game, social media, attorney, all of it. And… Frankie.”
Aggravation rolling off him in waves, Jake snorted. “Right. That should be fun.” His irritation didn’t seem pointed at any of us so much as at himself. That was obvious in how he satforward, twisting a water glass in circles, grim attention focused on it and the beads of condensation sliding down the outside.
Coop glanced at him, jaw tight. A wealth of thoughts seemed to travel over his face before he took a deep breath. Those two had been friends the longest, with each other and with Frankie. Sometimes, what went on between them wasn’t always accessible to the rest of us, and at the same time, they weren’t cutting us out.
When the waitress brought our drinks and plates loaded with burgers and hot fries, we all went quiet and waited. As soon as we were alone again, Coop swept a look over all three of us.
“I went to see her over the weekend.”
The words landed on the table like a landmine. Jake’s eyebrows shot up. “Wait—what? You went?”
“Yeah,” Coop said, voice low. “She was… miserable. And she called me on the carpet about what happened with the girls. Rachel was there, looking after her. I didn’t just go to annoy her—I spoke to my dad. He said I needed to own it. Face it. Take responsibility for my choices.”
“Your dad?” Jake blinked, incredulous. “Since when do youandyour dad…?”
Cheeks flushing, Coop shrugged even as he added salt to the already salty fries. “We don’t—but Mom and Trina are both pretty disgusted with me and the one person I would normally talk to is the one person I amnotdiscussing this with. So I went to see him. Shockingly, I think he gave me good advice. But this… he told me to be straight with her. I tried.”
He picked up one of the fries stared at it. “She listened, she didn’t have to, but she did. Then she walked away and I left. I don’t know if she’s ever really going to talk to me again. She was distant in class, but I’m giving her space too.” Finished, he took a bite of the fry but he didn’t look happy about it.
Everything smelled fantastic but I had to nod as I slid a straw into my glass. The coke was perfect. “I agree, she needs the room and we need to give it to her.”
Jake grunted, unconvinced, but didn’t argue. Archie, of course, didn’t flinch. He hadn’t touched his food or his drink, he just leaned back in the booth and stared at each of us in turn. I couldn’t really get a read on what he was thinking. If anything, he seemed far more assessing.
Silence settled like a blanket over the table on the heels of Coop’s confession. The tension didn’t ease. If anything, it seemed to hum in the air, like the sound a fridge makes to let you know it’s just on and working.
I picked up my burger and took a bite. It was good, but I barely tasted it. Instead, I just chewed it because I needed to eat. Archie’s gaze seemed to sharpen as he frowned at his food. Finally, he too, started eating though it seemed a great deal more reluctant than my own choice.
