“Seriously?” Fallon asks, looking at me.
I nod, never taking my eyes off Bambi. “She said it was her favorite, and I had to know why.”
Fallon clears her throat and hops off the counter. “I’m gonna go… do something else right now. You two have fun.”
As soon as she’s out of earshot, Bambi narrows her eyes at me. “You scared her off.”
“That’s okay.” I say, licking my lips. “As long as I’m not doing the same to you.”
She bites the inside of her cheek. “You should be,” she says softly. “You read my texts, you spy on me, you sneak into my room every night. All of that should scare me.”
I work the muscles in my jaw. “But does it?”
Bambi doesn’t answer right away. I search her face, looking for anything that might give me insight into what she’s thinking. I’m desperate for her answer in a way I’ve never been desperate for anything before.
“No.”
The word lands quietly between us, and she holds my gaze.
“No.” She says it again. “Which probably means my judgment is shit.”
“Or it’s more perceptive than you realize.”
Her brow furrows, and her mouth moves, like she’s on the precipice of saying something, then she pauses, clears her throat, and picks up her drink instead.
I don’t push her, even though every instinct I have isbegging me to. Pushing her would be stupid, and I’m trying very hard not to be stupid around her.
“So, book two, right?” She says, swiftly changing the subject.
“Book two.” I agree, nodding my head.
Bambi moves through the stacks and comes back with the book in hand. She holds it out to me, and when I reach for it, my fingers graze against hers. She jolts at the contact and pulls her hand back before straightening her shoulders and pretending like it didn’t happen.
This is who we are in the daylight. She keeps a barrier between us, calls me her friend, and acts like every small thing I do for her is mildly irritating. But at night the barrier’s gone and so is the performance. She stops pretending she doesn’t want me, because there’s no one left to pretend for.
It’s not enough. It’ll never be enough, but it’s what I have. And I’ll take every version she’s willing to give me.
“I’ll see you tonight,” I say, picking up the book and tucking it into the crook of my arm.
“Maybe.” She says coyly, which is daytime Bambi’s version of yes.
I turn to leave and catch Fallon watching us over the lid of her cup. She gives me a quiet, knowing look and raises her half-finished chai in a small toast.
I give her a nod and walk out the door.
Her best friend doesn’t completely hate me.That’s good.My future wife needs someone in her life who isn’t trying to talk her out of this.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Dahlia
“Hey stranger.”Fallon says, flashing me a smile as she steps through the front door of our apartment. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever.”
I look up from my phone and smile back at her. “I know, right? I don’t know how we keep missing each other.”
Fallon plops on the couch beside me and gives me a knowing look.
“What?”
