“I get it.” Her blush returns full force, reddening her cheeks. “That’s both hot and endearing at the same time.”
“Really?”
“Really.” She bites down on her bottom lip. “I’m still trying to catch my breath.”
“Then I guess I am doing something right after all.” I grin. After spotting my glasses at the end of the couch, I reach for them, placing them back over my eyes as I rise from the floor. “What did Nathaniel say?”
She blinks up at me, expression blank. “You want to talk about thatnow?”
I give her my best no-nonsense look, and she sighs as she picks up her phone. “He suggested a restaurant on the river walk and ice cream. Are you happy?”
“Ecstatic.” I force my teeth to ungrit. “Need any help with your other two dates?”
“Not tonight.” She stands and picks up her jeans, shimmying back into them in a way that makes her breasts bounce. I’m so captivated, I don’t notice she’s been trying to catch my attention for several seconds. “Julian?”
“What?” I tear my eyes from her chest and look back up at her.
“I said it’s your turn now.” When my brows furrow in question, she clarifies, “This mystery person you’re in love with?”
“Oh. Right.” I pull my phone from my back pocket and then hesitate. The last thing I want to do is lie to her, but it’s looking like this is going to keep being a problem. “I’ll ask them tonight.”
Now isn’t the right time to tell her the truth, but I don’t like lying to her by omission either. I can’t let her believe the wrong assumptionfor long, and I won’t. I need a little more time to get her used to the idea of us, that there can be an us despite what she believes. Then I’ll tell her everything.
As long as she’s not right, and we crash and burn before I get the chance to.
35
Leti
Remind me why you’re doing this again?”
Bella is sitting on my bed as I apply makeup at my desk. I have a first date with Anerie tonight, and my redo date with Nathaniel tomorrow. My other match ended up canceling, so I’m calling that one DOA. Julian has been very cagey about when our third date will be, but I’m assuming it’ll be on Sunday. Three dates in one weekend. I’ve never felt more like a player. Or aSex and the Citycharacter. Take your pick.
“If you think about it, it’s not that different from what I was doing before. I’m simply exploring my options.” I dip an eyeshadow brush into an ethereal shade of lavender. “Julian included this time.”
“And he’s really okay with this?”
“He wants a chance at more, and I have no idea what I want. Complicated with Julian, or uncomplicated with someone else.”
Not to mention he might be in love with someone else, but that’s one spiral I really don’t want to go down tonight.
What if you choose someone else?
That won’t happen.
How is he so sure of that?
“Does it have to be one or the other?” Bella asks. “You’re both clearly obsessed with each other. Why not be together, fuck the complications?”
“I’m not sure how clear that is, for one.” When she asks what I mean, I shake my head. “But mostly I’m scared it won’t work out and it’ll create an even bigger rift between me and Andrew. As it is, he’s already convinced all I’m going to do is hurt Julian in the end.”
“You’ve never cared what that asshole thought before,” she says as I reach for the black liquid liner. “Don’t start now that you’ve finally found someone great, bad taste in best friends notwithstanding.”
“It’s not that easy.” I sigh. “As my best friend, you know you come before any romantic partner I’ll ever have in my life, always. I’m betting good money the same rule applies to Julian, which doesn’t exactly leave me in a good spot.”
“I hadn’t thought about that,” Bella admits. “But he also decked Andrew for talking down to you, on hisbirthdaymind you, so I’m sure it’s more nuanced than that.”
It was the first time in recent memory that anyone stood up to Andrew on my behalf, so maybe Bella has a point. Still, Julian’s delusional enough to believe that with a little intervening, he can help fix things between me and Andrew. What will he do when he finds out he’s wrong?
