“Didyoumean it?”I asked.
“Yes.”
No hesitation.None.Not a fucking lick.
I was screwed.
She released a breath, glancing down at her notebook.“It’s just … a lot.All at once.”
“All at once?Did Arch and Rush …” I dragged out, hoping to get any insight.
“No, they didn’t say anything.”She slouched in her chair and shrugged her shoulders.
“But you wanted them to?”
“I don’t know.”Which really meant yes.
After setting down my pencil, I cleared my throat again because the awkwardness was building between us.
Here I am, turning into the boy best friend when all I want is to be her boyfriend.Life is shit sometimes, huh?
“You’re not used to being loved,” I said.“Especially not by so many people at once.”
She clenched her jaw for a millisecond before looking up, wiping away her pain and replacing her frown with a smirk.“What, are you about to tell me that you love me too?”she asked, giggling to herself.
Fuck.If she’s making jokes like this, she’s really not interested.
“Not a chance,” I said, laughing it off.“You wish.”
She fake pouted, but the expression didn’t meet her eyes.
I stood up and walked to the door to take a breather away from her because tonight was not turning out the way that I wanted it to.“Take a break.I’m going to grab something for us to eat.”
“But—”
“I’ll be back in a few.”
“Cairo—”
Before she could finish her sentence, I was out the bedroom suite door and heading down a hallway that Astrid had never been down before so she wouldn’t take the chance to follow me.
I needed a goddamn drink after that—or a couple—to wash away these feelings.
CHAPTERSIXTY-NINE
ASTRID
When the doorclicked shut behind Cairo, I sat on the seat, completely confused.All this time, I had thought that Cairo sorta had a thing for me outside of our early mornings at Dunkin’.But I guessed … he didn’t?
I didn’t want to seem too hurt, but damn.
My gaze fell to the blankets underneath my textbook on the bed, and I bit down on my lip to stop myself from crying.I couldn’t cry in his bedroom over him, especially if I didn’t know when he’d be back.How’d I explain that to him?
Oh, sorry, I thought you liked me.
After picking up my pencil, I tapped it on the table and shook my head.Of course Cairo didn’t like me.Why would he?He was the cute, nerdy type who probably didn’t like to share.And here I was, whoring myself out to all of The Crew.
Though it wasn’t really whoring.Maybe at first.Now?I had feelings.
