“Brinley!”
“What? It’s not like you’re actually related, but you’re sitting here telling us you and Fletcher are like family, but you made out in high school.”
“We kissed. Once. And we were drunk. It meant nothing,” I argue.
“That’s what you say, but no one believes you.” Brinley crosses her arms. “It’s only a matter of time before one of you gives in to thesexual tension. You’ve dated, what, one guy since that kiss, Tate? That says a lot.”
“I think all it says is that guys are trash.”
“I don’t know, you seem pretty defensive for someone who says the kiss meant nothing.” Maia scoots out of the booth, grabbing our empty plates.
“I will go tell Cam right now that you’re going to school with us, Maia. Do not push me.” My eyes narrow at her, and she grins.
We haven’t known each other for long, but she knows me well enough already to know I’m not actually going to go do that.
“Can we change the topic?” I stretch out my arms and look toward Ember. “Like if we’re talking about sexual tension, Ember and Declan seemed to have a lot of it tonight. You guys are totally gonna jump each other’s bones soon.”
“I’ve been saying that since the first time I saw them together.” Maia continues collecting dishes. “He came here with these two,” she points at Ember and Brinley, “and there was so much tension, I thought they were gonna jump each other’s bones right then.”
“Okay, first of all, that’s gross and unsanitary. Second of all… get back to work.” Ember stretches her legs across the booth so Maia couldn’t even sit back down if she wanted to.
“I am working.” She blows Ember a kiss as she grabs the last glass and finds her way through the double doors.
“He totally likes you,” I add, hoping this will get the whole third-degree thing off me.
“I don’t date,” Ember argues. “Especially not hockey players.”
“Oh, you so want him.” Brinley rolls her eyes. “And he wants you. It’s obvious. I’m his sister; I know when he finds a girlattractive, and he finds you attractive. When you’re around, it’s like you’re the only person in the room.”
I point at Brinley, “She’s right. He seemed to care more about your presence tonight than Jeremy being hurt.”
“That’s not true!” Ember hits the table. “I think we should actually talk about the guy Brinley’s talking to. She brings it up out of the blue and then just doesn’t talk about it.”
It’s almost like Maia has some sixth sense because, in seconds, she’s pushing Ember’s legs out of the way and sitting back down.
“Wait, I need to hear all about this.” Maia leans against the table.
“Is your boss okay with you taking all these breaks?” I raise an eyebrow.
“I practically run the place, so it’s fine.” Her attention turns to Brinley. “So, this guy.”
“We have a class together.” Brinley’s cheeks turn rosy as she tries to hide her smile. “And I don’t know. It’s nice to feel like a guy actually wants to spend time with you, you know?”
Brinley brushes a strand of hair out of her face.
“With Jax, I always wondered if he actually wanted to be spending time with me or if he just didn’t want me crying to my brother that he never wanted to hang out. But this guy doesn’t know my brother. Or any of the other guys. He talks to me because he wants to. It’s nice.”
“Where does this leave Jax?” Ember’s eyes soften. We all know Jax can be a sore topic.
“I don’t know.” Brinley shrugs. “Jax is the first guy I’ve ever loved. I don’t know if that just goes away overnight. All I know is, I really like talking to this guy in my class.”
“Good.” I nudge her with my shoulder. “You deserve to be happy, Brinley. You deserve to put yourself first.”
“Thanks.” Brinley turns to me, the nervousness in her eyes disappearing, being replaced with determination. “Now stop changing the subject. When are you gonna jump in the sack with Fletcher?”
I groan, my head falling against the back of the booth.
“You can’t tell me you haven’t thought about it!” she insists.
