“What? Why would you think that? I said noon as like, a ballpark time.”
Noon?Liam mouths.
“Also, whatfriend?” She all but snarls the word.
I debate lying, but Liam can obviously hear her. If our roles were reversed, I wouldn’t want him to be embarrassed admitting he’s hanging out with me.
“Liam. Bishop.”
There’s a pause. “MyLiam?”
Something about that phrasing seems to really botherMaisy’sLiam. His expression flattens and he pulls off the truck.
“Um,” I say. “The… pitcher? The one we were talking to at that party last month?”
“The one Iwent on a date with?”
I am surer than ever that Maisy’s blasé attitude about that date was a front, but it still doesn’t give her the right to act this possessive of him, or me.
Liam walks over to me and grabs the phone. He hits mute. “Tell her you have plans for the rest of the evening.”
Unmute.
“I’m sorry, Maisy. I’m busy for the rest of the evening.”
“Just invite him too!” Her voice is shrill.
Liam hits mute again. “She’s not a part of our friendship.”
“But Zara is?”
“Yes. I like Zara.”
“You don’t like Maisy?”
Liam fixes me with a look. “She’s not my type of girl.”
“Hello?” Maisy calls.
Liam hits unmute again, nods at me to talk.
“We can’t, Maisy. I’m sorry.”
“What thefuck, Paige?”
“I’ll call you tomorrow, okay? I have to go.”
“Wait—”
Liam does not wait. He ends the call and hands me back my phone. “Proud of you.” He turns back toward the gear.
“Why?”
“If you weren’t with me right now,” he asks, grabbing a long sheath of an athletic bag, “would you have gone to her place?”
“Probably,” I say with a shrug. “I took off work today. I wouldn’t have wanted to waste my free time.”
“Maisy is the one who wasted your free time.”
