“Being an idiot.”
“We aren’t fuck buddies,” I argue. “We slept together once, last night, that’s it.”
“And you’re sure she doesn’t think there’s something more going on in your relationship?” Declan asks, but he doesn’t look up from his phone.
“We haven’t talked about it, I guess.” I shrug.
“I’m just saying, the last thing you want to do is be on different pages about what’s going on,” he continues. “That’s not good for anyone.”
“When did you become the voice of reason?”
“Since he got a girlfriend,” Zeke begins, and Declan’s eyes widen. He finds Cam, who’s sitting a couple of rows ahead of us and is thankfully listening to music on his headphones.
“I’m just saying Ember and I weren’t on the same page, or I guess we were, but neither of us talked about it, and I almost lost her. So, if you really like Casey and you think it could be something, you should tell her. Or, if you don’t want it to be something, you should tell her that, too. Don’t let her fall if you have no intention of catching her.”
“I won’t.”
Trust me, I’ve been there. I’ve been the person to be all in on something when the person you’re all in with isn’t. Obviously, I don’t blame Tate for not feeling the same way about me. She never led me on, it was one kiss, but I know how much it sucked when she shot it down the next day.
Casey and I are beyond just one kiss. It would kill me if she got hurt because we weren’t on the same page about what this is.
“Speaking of your non-girlfriend.” Jaxon’s eyes glance down at my phone. “She’s calling.”
“Tell your girlfriend we said hi.” Zeke winks, kicking his feet back up on the armrest and lying back against his bag.
“Hey.” I pick up the phone. “How’s the drive going?”
twenty-five
Fletcher
How do I even bring up that conversation?” I ask, re-racking my weights and then turning to Becca. “I don’t think Casey wants a relationship, but maybe she does. I did invite her to an away game after we went out once; it’s kind of misleading.”
“That’s hard,” she sighs. “It’s not a conversation to have over the phone, but you guys don’t live in the same state, you’re not going to the same school, and I don’t know when you’ll see her again face to face. By the time that happens, things could be—”
“Complicated?”
She chuckles, lying down on the bench and positioning her hands on the weight.
“I think they’re already complicated.” She pushes the bar off its resting place and then lowers it to her chest. “You told me Tate’s been avoiding you.”
“Not avoiding, necessarily. When we’re with other people, things are great, but the second we’re alone, things feel off.”
“And why do you think that is?” She finishes her last rep and then sits up, turning her body toward me.
“I don’t know.”
“Do you think she’sjealous? Or angry?”
“Why would she be jealous?”
Becca laughs.
“What?”
“Fletcher, you can be pretty dense.”
“She doesn’t like me, Becca. We’ve been over this.”
