Xavier
Brie:Come to your senses yet?
Brie:I said I was sorry about the snapchat story. What else do you want from me?
Brie:Stop being such a fucking baby and come over. I need some… loving ;)
Scrolling through my ex’s texts, I hop out of my truck and toss my gym bag strap over my shoulder. The girl’s been blowing up my phone since I told her we were over.
I text back quickly.
Xavier:I’m good. Thanks.
She replies in a nanosecond.
Brie:How about now?
Brie attached a picture.
My eyes pop out of their socket at the picture on my screen. The lighting’s shit but just bright enough for me to discern a topless Brie lying in bed in her panties with nothing but lollipop emojis covering her nipples.
I’m not above a “please take me back” nude, but I’m also not looking to date her again. Eh, what the hell, maybe I’ll stop by her place after detention.I don’t need to date her to fuck her.
I text back for the first time in days.
Xavier:You should be careful who you send these to.
I dated the girl for a year. She can rest easy knowing I’d never do anything with her nudes, but there are guys at Easton who’d make that shit viral in a heartbeat.
My phone pings once.
Brie:Is it another girl?
Twice.
Brie:Xavier?
Then comes the threat.
Brie:Mark my words, if you’re fucking someone else, I don’t care who she is, I’ll rip her apart.
Annd that’s enough of that.
I don’t give her tantrum another thought and toss my phone into my open gym bag. I catch a whiff of sweat as I stroll toward my house. Jesus, is that me? I really need to hit the shower before detention. Practice was brutal.
Hank’s car sits in the driveway.
So does my dad’s.
I almost forgot. Tonight’s poker night. Poker Tuesdays are practically a ritual around here. Finn and I might be good friends, but our dads? They’re as tight as you can get without being blood related. What’s that saying again? You can choose your friends but not your family?
My friendship with Finley Richardswasn’t as much of a choice as it was fate. Thanks to our old men,we grew up together, played ball together, went to school together. What else was there for us to do except follow our dads’ lead and become ride or dies?
I spot the white roses scattered across the countertops the second I enter the kitchen. There’s a card tucked inside one of the bouquets. I make my way over to snatch the piece of paper.
For Delilah,
Here’s to twenty-years together.