No matter how I twisted the thought, I couldn’t wrap my mind around it. How had I missed them asking me out? Archie said all the times we went to mini-golf, but we’d literally gonedozensof times with and without the guys.
Bubba said he wanted me to keep my options open and he’d made a point to ask me to homecoming, quiet, and low-key so I wasn’t embarrassed. Even Archie—the one I would have guessed at definitely going over the top but he’d kept it pretty normal.
I had to wonder how that had killed him to not go the extra mile. Then Archie had been the one to tackle all the staring at the party and asking me to dance. He’d had my back. It was almost like old times, if you didn’t count the fact that Jake was the one who’d put me in the fire in the first place.
Instead of driving home, I drove out toward the lake just listening to music and trying to figure out where my head even was. For once, I was relieved that there was no Coop at the car and no one in the passenger seat. There had been no rose either, no the sender had taken to putting them in my locker now.
Someone knew my combination which made me suspect the guys even more, but you’d think if it was them, they’d have totally owned up to it. Yet, they hadn’t. When Spotify hit the latest Torched release, I turned it up.
I had four invitations to Homecoming, none of which were from my boyfriend. At a traffic light, I beat my palm against the steering wheel. None of this was fair. Who did I say yes to? Which one? Or none? Because if I said yes to any one of them, the others would get hurt. Now that the dating genie was out of the bottle, it brought more than my wishes to come true.
The urge to scream was right there. An hour later with no easy answers, I swung back by the apartment to feed the cats, then finally opened our group chat. It had been wildly quiet all summer, because I’d muted it so I wouldn’t be notified if they were talking.
Scrolling back, I could see a few messages. But right around the time they stopped talking in the group, they’d still be sending me individual messages and I’d just ghosted on all of them. All the outrage and justification I’d ridden on through the summer seemed to evaporate.
Tiddles wound around my right leg, his tail dragging as he purred. I crouched to pet him as I debated what to send. There really wasn’t an easy way to do this. They’d all asked, even Jake, though his had also included an apology. Coop asked me to trust him, but even if I already had plans, he just wanted to be there.
God, I missed them all so damn much.
Me:I know you guys are probably busy, but can we talk?
I rose to grab a can of Coke from the fridge. I hadn’t even cracked it open when my phone vibrated madly.
Archie:On the phone? Via text? Zoom? Or you want to come over? We can meet somewhere too. Hell, I can come there.
Coop:I can be at your place in five, I just got home. But what Archie said.
Bubba:I’m game for wherever. I was just working on homework.
Jake:I’m down. Time? Place?
A knock on my front door came hot on the heels of that last comment. I set the can aside as three little dots appeared to show someone was typing something. One glance through the peephole showed it was Coop.
I unlocked the door before opening it, letting him in along with a wash of sultry, sticky air. Ugh. He studied me with his gray-green gaze, his focus intent. “You okay?” He nudged me back before closing the door and relocking it. Then I had all of his attention.
“I’m—” I had no real answer for this. Was I okay? My phone vibrated in my hand.
Archie:You know, why don’t you guys just come here. I can get pizza ordered or Chinese or just about anything you want. We can lock ourselves in the game room for privacy. Edward and Muriel aren’t here so we have the place to ourselves.
I never thought I’d say this, but I was sick of pizza.
Bubba:I can be there in thirty. Mom just asked me to do a couple of things.
Jake:I can head out now, if you want. But I can skip if you’d rather I didn’t.
The last line from Jake wrenched my heart painfully. Almost too painfully. How had we managed to get tothisspot?
Coop:Shut it for five guys, let me talk to her.
I blinked, then let out a wet laugh before shooting a look up at Coop. “That wasn’t subtle.”
“I didn’t need it to be subtle. Now, are you okay?” When he cupped my cheek, I wanted to lean into the contact. It was both oddly intimate and yet wildly familiar. This was Coop…
“Mathieu isn’t going to ask me to Homecoming.” The words sort of just fell out of me. “I told him that you guys asked me, but I wanted to know if he was going to and he said no.”
Coop’s eyes narrowed as he wiped away a tear that escaped from my watery eyes with a gentle thumb. “Do I need to kick his ass?”
A hollow, if wet laugh escaped me. “No, I mean—no.” I shook my head. “He wasn’t being mean. He isn’t even breaking up with me, but he wants me to figure out what I want.”
