“Rye is not the part for you to focus on here,” I remind her, sounding as desperate as I feel.
There’s no reason for me to see him for a while, so I’m really hoping she gives me something to work with.
“Sounds like he has it bad, but if he disappeared right after someone in your family died, he might be staying away to show respect.”
I snort, and then I think about it, and I snort again. “You obviously haven’t heard very much about Kode. So tell me what to do. We agreed to casual, so I know I sound crazy right now. But—”
“But you want him. Got it. How long have you liked this guy?”
I look at her with narrowed eyes, and she points her small finger at me. “Don’t give me that look. If you want advice, I need to know details. That’s how this works. The more details I have, the better I can advise you.”
Shit. Shit. Shit.
“Fine. I’ve liked him for… a while. Then I hated him. Then I liked him again. But even when I hated him, I sort of liked him.”
She groans while gripping her head. I’m stressing her out? Does she realize the caffeine overdose I’ve had? It does not make me a patient person, and my mind is running a thousand miles a minute.
“Timeframe, Tria. How long ago was it when you developed this crush?”
Admitting this will just make me look all the more pathetic. But I cave and acquiesce, “Thirteen years ago.” I was just a kid with a crush for two years, but he never noticed me. Then Rain came along, and Kode hated me.
Her eyes swell up to be softballs. Then she coughs and takes a sip of her drink.
“And you’re just now doing something about it?”
Here’s where it all starts getting complicated. “He sort of, well, he was too busy being in love with Rain.”
“Oh,” she mouths. “So it’s definitely important to you that this thing works out. Then you’ve got to pull out all the stops.”
“And those stops would be?” I ask her, wringing my hands in my lap as the caffeine buzz maddens me with jitters.
“It’s apparent that he wants you, but since he’s not making any moves, that means it’s up to you. So, send him a picture.”
As much as I adore her, right now I’d like to strangle her for not making any sense.
“I don’t think sending him a picture is going to do anything but make me look like an idiot.”
“Naked,” she adds, winking at me.
My mouth forms an “O” while I sit back and think that over. I guess it can’t hurt to try. It’s not like he hasn’t seen my body before. Might as well remind him what made him want me to begin with.
***
KODE
“The back nine and you are not getting along today,” Dale says as we drive along the cart-path of the eleventh hole.
My ball is in the second cut of the rough grass… on the fairway of the fifth hole that is way off to the side. My mind is on one thing, and for the hundredth time since almost two weeks ago, I check my phone, making sure I haven’t missed a call or a message.
Nothing. Fucking nothing.
“The front nine didn’t like me too much either,” I mumble, hopping out of the cart when we stop.
After grabbing a club, I walk over to my poor golf ball that has been treated like shit all day. Golf is supposed to be relaxing, but I’m tense from head to toe. Should I just call her? I should at least text and see how she’s doing. No. That would seem less casual than what we agreed on.
“For Christ’s sake, are you going to hit the ball or not?” Corbin yells from the putting green—on the correct hole.
Bastard has a pro game going today. Why did I agree to come golfing?