“What the—”
“Oh, Lane.” Lewis bats his eyelashes at me. “Poor, sweet, clueless Lane. We’ve been friends for three years. I know how you roll when it comes to girls, and trust me—this is different.”
Donovan pipes up. “Why do you think we came up with that whole Dexter Drake story? We knew you were in love with her, right from the very first day.”
“What? Bullshit! We couldn’t stand each other.”
“Lois Lane, dude. It was written in the stars.” Adam winks.
Carter smiles at me. “You’re in love with her, buddy. You might be the last person on earth to realize it, but I’m pretty sure you fell for her when you saw her sitting on the stairs. Why else would you let some random girl crash on your couch for months?”
“A couch, for fuck’s sake.” Lewis shakes his head. “Absolute disgrace, dude.”
“Did you guys forget the part where I said no at first? She was the one who just fell asleep here. Twice! And what—you think I set fire to her fucking motel, just so she’d have to stay at my place?”
“Who cares about when exactly it happened?”
I start to pace the living room, and Carter gives my shoulder a squeeze.
“This is so fucked up,” I say, raking my hands through my hair.
“Why?”
“Because Kirk? Because she hates my guts? Because I’m such a fucking dumbass—”
“She likes you, too, Laney. I’m pretty sure she realized before you did.”
“You think so?”
“Trust me on that one. Why else would she be so hurt when you lashed out at her?”
“Great, like I needed a reminder…”
“You need to get your ass moving, man. Kirk is one step ahead of you, but you’ve still got a shot. You need to man up and tell her exactly how you feel.”
“Yeah. Let your heart lead the way.” Lewis simpers.
“Fuck me. Look what I’ve been reduced to.” I glance around at them. “You guys are literally the worst people to ask for relationshipadvice. I can’t believe I’m actually listening to you idiots on how to confess I’m in love with a girl.”
A wave of anxiety ripples over me just saying the L-word.
“This is all so moving. We’re so proud,” Don says, wiping away an imaginary tear.
“Are you implying we’re just a bunch of fuckboys?” Lewis asks in a mock-offended tone.
“That isexactlywhat I’m implying.”
“Fine by me!” He grins proudly. “Right, Don?”
“Oh, absolutely! I’ll leave the girlfriends to Carter and Lane.”
I bite my tongue. They’re so naive—in a way, it’s kind of touching.
Adam turns to me. “So—what’s the plan?”
Do I even have a chance? Lois never gave me the slightest hint she had feelings for me—or maybe I was just too blind and stubborn to see it. I don’t know, but I definitely don’t want to live with regrets.
“I have an idea.”
