It felt like she was judging me. There was a lot to judge at the moment.
Or maybe she was trying to decide if she could bring the boyfriend home.
The thought made me shudder.
Don’t know. At Archie’s for a party.
There. Suck on that news. Not that I planned on staying here. Not long. But if I went home, that meant seeing her. I had no idea how ready I was for that at the moment.
Mom:Dinner?
Have you ever wished you didn’t know what you did?
I could feel Jake’s gaze on me, and I slanted a look at him. Then I sent.Have plans. Gotta go. Talk later.I had plans every night this week. And into the weekend. Like a neat little box I’d walked into.
His smile was almost blinding, but I put the phone in do not disturb and shoved it back in my pocket. I still hadn’t read all of their messages. Jeremy arrived with a tray of sandwiches and chips. He dropped off the food and didn’t comment on the alcohol.
“You know what,” Coop said. “Tonight—let’s just be us. We’ll party, maybe dance, have a few laughs, and when we kick everyone out, the five of us can crash and watch a movie. No pressure. No expectations.”
“I don’t know that I’m staying.” I didn’t want to go home. I had no idea where I could go. Maybe just get in the car and drive.
“I’ll set the alarm,” Archie said. “One of us can go with you to feed the cats and you don’t have to see your mom alone if she’s there.”
If. That of course was the big question.
“Does she know you know?” Did I really want the answer to that question?
Archie shook his head slowly. For some reason, that helped. God only knew why. Mom had to know Archie’s dad was married. Why?
Beyond that—the guys had still lied to me. They’d gone behind my back. I wasn’t…
“Stay, Frankie,” Coop said, a quiet plea in his voice. “You don’t need to be alone, and I know it may not feel like it, but you’re not...”
I glanced around at them. “Yes, I am.”
“Frankie…” Ian began but I shook my head.
“Don’t. I—really can’t do this right now.” I’d come over here with a plan. Establish boundaries. Make it clear I would not put up with this crap.
“Nothing has to happen,” Jake said. “Coop’s right, we’re here for you. We’re friends first. No pressure. No expectations. Don’t—don’t walk out.” At the moment, walking out was pretty much my only option. I’d already surrendered my keys.
“To be perfectly clear, I’m game for more,” Archie told me bluntly. “But you can put on the brakes at any time. Last night’s rules apply.”
Heat licked up my spine at that memory. He had let me dictate the speed and whether anything happened. Then again, he’d been playing with all the cards. If I’d known—if I’d forced the issue about Mathieu—and he’d told me the plan the night before? Would I have had sex with him?
Probably not. We’d probably have had the fight then.
“Guys, lay off,” Ian said.
“Excuse me?” Archie slanted a look at him.
“You heard me, lay off. She’s in shock, she doesn’t need us telling her what to do.” The firmness in Ian’s voice got to me. Yeah, he was standing up for me, but… “Just—let her breathe.”
“We’re not doing anything,” Jake said. “We’re allowed to tell her wewanther here. All of this started because weassumedshe didn’t want us, and now we know differently.”
I twisted to look at Jake, but he was focused on Ian. Were they really…?
“Whether she wants us or not, she needs a moment,” Coop said, apparently landing on Ian’s side of the line. “She just found out about her mom, and I needed a shower after Archie told us.”