“No,” I agreed. “It’s not.” But if he couldn’t find a way to make things work with Frankie, too…
Huh.
Should it matter if he was out, other than he was still one of our friends? One less person I had to split her time with, and I got that she was dating all of us, but…
But if she did end up choosing, how weird would it be? Worse, how much would it hurt?
Thoughts like that weren’t going to get us anywhere.
I wanted to make some grand gesture and say no matter what happened we’d all still be friends. But Bubba was the poster child for how challenging that would be.
Maybe we did need to do more to help right that boat.
We could, but the real question was, should we?
That one didn’t have an easy answer.
Ian
Bike parkedbetween Archie’s car and Coop’s, I slid off and removed my helmet. Jake was already out of the SUV, the mums he’d picked up at the craft store in the bag. They were building a Homecoming mum for her. The fact that they’d all planned it together and the guys were working on it at her apartment while she was out stung.
Not that I didn’t deserve it. I accepted the clothes bag from Jake as he passed me my suit and waited while he grabbed his own. We were all getting ready here. Archie had the car picking us up here, and it would drop us off after here.
No hotel rooms. No after party plans.
At least none that anyone had shared and, at the moment, I hadn’t wanted to ask.
“Dude,” Jake said as he locked his car. “Lighten up. I get it. You’re not happy, but today isn’t about you anymore. It’s about her. We need to keep it upbeat and focus on her having fun.”
Yeah. “Just tired,” I told him. It wasn’t totally a lie. I was tired. Sleep had been elusive, because last night after our little celebratory meal post-game, Frankie had gone home with Jake and Coop, and I’d gone home alone. Dad and Mom had left me a cupcake on the island with a congratulations note.
Dad asked me whether I’d be home tonight after Homecoming. I hadn’t told them about the breakup or the fact I wasn’t going with Frankie. The way Dad stared at me, I knew exactly what he was thinking. Instead of a straight yes or no, I’d only told him the five of us were going to hang out and we might do a movie after.
I was pretty sure he didn’t believe me.
“Bubba…” Jake yanked my attention back to the present. “Where’s your head?”
Same place as my heart, but that wasn’t what I said. “Just worried about tonight.”
Sharon and Patty had been on a tear at the parade. They’d pasted on smiles, but I hadn’t missed the cutting looks.
“Look, tonight is going to be great. We’re all going. We’re all going to have her back. No one is going to do shit.” The vehemence in his voice made me smile. Hell, my jaw still ached from his version of handling things. Not that he looked much better.
We were both still sporting some yellow and green in our bruises. “You think she’s going to mind we’re still beat up in the pictures?”
“They air-brush everything,” Jake said with a shrug. “It’s hardly the first time we’ve been bruised or beat up on each other, for that matter.”
Also true.
“It’s the first time she’s not teasing me about it.”
Garment bag over his shoulder, Jake met my gaze. “You did it to yourself.”
There was no sympathy in his expression.
None.
“Don’t you think I know that?” I’d been jealous. I was still jealous. I hated the fact that I was jealous, and at the same time, I hated all of them because they were right where I wanted to be and I didn’t want to feel that way.