Ellie giggles. “Ah, not officially.”
“She did it to make us jealous.” Chase wraps a possessive arm around Ellie.
“No, I didn’t.” She rolls her eyes. “You know why I did it.”
Chase’s face looks remorseful. He looks at me. “Thanks for that, by the way. For keeping her safe and doing what you could to help my girl out.”
“I’d do it any day. She knows that, too.” I nod.
Ellie smiles up at me softly, and I give her a playful wink.
Blake is snatched up by Val, looped into one of her tangents that has Lexie rolling her eyes every few seconds and making a comment.
He seems amused by it, so I leave him be and talk to Ellie and Chase for a bit.
When Chase goes to order us some drinks, Ellie grins up at me, a mischievous smile on her face. “What’s that look for?” I narrow my eyes playfully.
“You like him, don’t you, Cooper Novak? You have the hots for your sexy tutor.”
“Don’t call him sexy,” I grumble.
“Oh my god, you’re so cute!” she gushes.
“Shh.” I look at Blake with a slightly panicked expression. “Do not out me, okay?”
“Okay, okay,” she says, softer. “But god, Coop, it’s so obvious by the way you can’t stop looking at him.”
“I’m only checking on him, making sure Val isn’t being too much.”
“Val is always too much.” Ellie laughs. “And we love it. By the looks of it, Blake does too. You have nothing to worry about. Now, admit it. Can’t hide from me, bestie.”
“Fine, okay,” I huff out low. “I like him. I think he’s fucking adorable and I want to eat him up.”
“I knew it,” she squeals.
“But I’m not going to do anything about it.”
“Why not?” she asks. “You’re not someone who gets crushes, Cooper. Blake must be a good guy to be able to sway you. Why wouldn’t you go for it?”
“A lot of reasons. We hardly know one another, he’s tutoring me, I’m friends with his sister, and I don’t even know if he likes guys.”
“Okay, fair.” She nods.
“Right now, I think the main thing Blake could use is friends.”
Her face falls. “What happened?”
“Not my story to tell.” I smile sadly. “Just trust me, okay? True friends. Real friends. That's what he deserves."
She smiles again. “And that’s what he’s going to get.”
Chase returns and hands us all a mix of random drinks, and I have no idea what he hands me. My eyes meet Blake’s as he catches me watching him, and his face lifts into the smallest of smiles. I down that mystery drink in two gulps, needing to remind myself to stand down.Friends only, Cooper. Friends only.
God, this isn’t going to be easy, is it?
Chapter 8
Blake
