Handing Em her phone, I unbuckled my seatbelt and slid out of the car. I kept my mouth shut as she grabbed my duffle bag. Every part of me wanted to help her carry it, but she told me to shut up and let her help.
I was only at her apartment a handful of times. Mostly to pick her up for a date or to drop her off. I only stayed the night once. Part of me wondered if it was because she always had one foot in this relationship and the other out. Her apartment building was on the newer side and definitely one of the nicer buildings in the city, even if she didn’t have a doorman.
Thankfully, they had an elevator where the parking lot doors were so we didn’t have to go traipsing through the lobby. I wasn’t really in the mood to be stared at, especially having no shirt on with this giant pack of ice strapped to me.
The ride in the elevator was tense, the air thick with unsaid words. The part of me that joked at awkward things begged to be set free, but I practiced self-control. The pain did a pretty decent job at keeping me distracted until the doors slid open, spilling us onto Emmie’s floor.
Just a week ago, I was standing in front of her door, waiting impatiently for her to get home from her competition. I was concerned that she hadn’t answered any of my texts and just wanted her to be okay.
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I followed her through the door into her apartment. My duffle bag hit the floor with a thud. I didn’t miss the way Emmie rolled her shoulder after.
I glanced around at Emmie and Erin’s apartment. Everything was mismatched, like two styles thrown together. It surprisingly worked. Their place was warm and loved. It was clearly lived in, where mine wasn’t. I hadn’t noticed just how drab my apartment was until Emmie wasn’t in it.
“Do you want to sit on the couch or the bed?” she asked.
“Couch.”
Treating me like a newborn deer, Emmie put a hand on my lower back and guided me toward their worn gray couch.
“Where’s—” I went to ask where Erin was, only for her to step out of her bedroom and pause at the threshold at the sight of us. I watched her rake her eyes up and down my bare chest. She let out some sort of hum, along with a nod. “Yeah, your abs are just as amazing as I thought they’d be.”
Thrown by her words, I stood there. “Uh, thanks?”
“No, thankyou.I’ve always wondered what you’d look like shirtless in person.”
I turned to Emmie with wide eyes.The fuck?I mouthed to her.
“Erin has always had a bit of an obsession with you and your family,” Emmie explained. “She’s the one who told me who you were the first time we ran into each other.”
“I don’t have anobsession,per say. I just knew about his family.” Erin pushed her glasses up her nose with a shrug.
“All this time I’ve been around you and now you bring upthat you secretly stalk my family?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Pretty impressed I’ve kept my cool around you this whole time.” Erin said it like this was just an everyday conversation. Emmie wasn’t even phased.
Unsure of how to proceed, I slowly sank down onto their couch. At my wince, Emmie stepped closer.
“Is there anything I can get you? More pain meds? More ice?”
“I’m okay for now. Thank you, though.”
“Let me get you some water at least.” Emmie turned on her heel and headed for the kitchen. I watched Erin follow her. What came next were hushed whispers. Exhausted from everything today, I didn’t even try to eavesdrop. Instead, I looked at the TV, which was already playing the game on silent.
While Emmie and Erin talked behind my back, I got as comfortable as I could on the couch, silently cursing at the Titans being down ten points with only twelve minutes left in the game.
“Well,” Erin suddenly spoke loudly, “I’m going to leave you two to it. I’ll be at Jake’s if you need anything.” She came into view, a bag thrown over her shoulder. “Glad to see you’re okay, Mateo.”
“Thanks, Erin.”
She gave me another appreciative look, muttered something under her breath, and turned for the door. It shut behind her with a click, and I stared after her.
“That was the weirdest conversation I’ve ever had with her,” I said. “And we had some weird ones during regionals.”
“That’s Erin for you. Her mind goes a million miles a second, and sometimes, it just slips out.” Emmie handed me a bottle of water. “Here, you must be thirsty.”
Our fingers brushed as I took it. I let mine linger for a second before I pulled away.
She stood there, hovering for a moment before she exhaled, slow and shaky. “Mateo…”
