“To see Evie,” she says, yet there’s a question there that I refuse to poke on the off chance it explodes in my face.
“Yes.”
“And nobody else?”
“No interrogations tonight. This is supposed to be fun.”
“Interrogationsarefun for me,” she argues, almost teasing but still too firm.
“Well, I apologize in advance for lady boner blocking you, then.”
“Okay, stop.” Her steps come to a halt, and I follow suit, reluctantly looking at her. I regret it the moment she digs those all-too-knowing eyes into me. “As much as I like Evie, this is weird. We don’t hang out at Roman Shore’s house, Brielle. I don’t care if this is where she lives or not; it’s not something we’ve ever done before. Not even Finn comes here. So what gives?”
“Why are you asking me this now and not while we were driving here?” I evade as best I can, fully aware that we’re having this conversation on the driveway, only a few feet from the front door. If Evie overheard us, it would be a giant clusterfuck.
“Because I was hoping you’d just come out with it already! You know I’m not against a girls’ night, and including Evie is totally fine with me. I’m just not buying that this is just a casual location swap.”
I don’t reply right away. Instead, I hold her investigative gaze while praying that she’ll let her suspicions go. Aubrey is stubborn as fuck, but surely, she won’t force me to word vomit right here. Not when I got so close to being home free.
Who am I kidding? Yes, yes she would.
Grabbing her arm, I steal a look at the front door to make sure it’s still closed. “I hate you right now.”
She doesn’t fight against my grip as I rush toward the garage and hide us partially out of view. If Evie catches us now, we’ll look terribly guilty, but at least we aren’t risking her hearing us.
“No, you don’t. But go ahead,” Aubrey says.
The moment I release her, my lips start moving. “I’ve been sleeping with him.”
“Roman?” she shrieks before slapping a hand to her mouth. Her eyes are wide enough I start to worry they’ll pop right out. “You’re sleeping with Roman? Roman Shore?”
“Jesus, Aubrey. Are you trying to get him to pop out like the goddamn Candyman?”
She shoves my arm, narrowing her eyes to slits. “How long?”
“That’s really the least important thing here.”
“Oh, I disagree. I need to know how long you’ve been sleeping with your brother’s boss so I can come up with a story when I’m asked—which Iwillbe once everyone finds out!”
“Shh!” I lunge forward, frantically looking to the door. “You’re overreacting, Aubrey.”
“This is not me overreacting! This is me thinking about everyone else,” she hisses back.
“Usually, I would love you for being so caring, but this is about me right now. Me! Focus on me and the fact I’m telling you it isn’t a big deal.”
“This is a huge deal, Elle.” Some of the disbelief has faded, making way for the brutally obvious disappointment. “Please don’t tell me this has been going on since the Noah Hutton concert. I fucking knew something was off with you two that night.”
Every inch of skin on my body burns. “Don’t make me lie.”
“Brielle,” she groans, pulling on her long black braid.
“Look, if I wanted to talk about this tonight, I would have brought it up myself. We’re supposed to be here to get Evie to try on some clothes and get wine drunk.”
My best friend is a force of nature. She’s ruthless and lionhearted, but even more than that, she’s protective as hell of those she cares about. I know that’s where this is coming from, but it still burns to have her looking at me like this right now. Like she doesn’t recognize me and won’t try to understand my feelings, regardless of how much I beg.
“You should have told me weeks ago,” she states bluntly.
“I’m just having fun. You don’t need to be worrying so much, Aubs. I can see your brain running circles in your head right now. You’re not my lawyer, and I haven’t committed a crime.”
