Better.
Hitting send on it before I could change my mind, I tried not to focus on the lack of read receipts on the earlier messages I’d sent him.
In the bedroom, I laid out the scholarship letter, took a picture of it, and then sent it to the group chat withGUESS WHAT!!!!!in all caps and lots of exclamation points. Excitement eddied in and out of the worry and the irritation. Could you be excited and pissed off at the same time?
Apparently.
I toweled off and hung those up before I changed into Jake’s boxers—a surprise for him if we ended up getting naked—denim shorts, a thin bra, and a tank top. I felt so much better, and I didn’t smell like grease and hamburgers.
I blew out some of the dampness from my hair, but didn’t dry it all the way and left it down. Then and only then did I go back to check my phone.
Coop:Holy shit! Go Frankie!
Jake:Damn! Congrats!
Archie:You’re a rock star. Glad the rest of the world knows it, too.
Coop:We need to celebrate.
Jake:We will.
Archie:You’re funny. All of us, tomorrow. This deserves more than just a text.
There wereheart emojis and great answers. But no response from Ian.
None.
My smile faded, and my earlier irritation resurged. There was a read receipt. It said all read. That meant they’d all seen itincludingIan.
I tabbed over to his text message, and there was a read receipt and three blinking dots.
Sinking onto the bed, I stared at those three dots and waited.
And waited.
Finally…
Ian:Congrats on the scholarship. You deserve it. I’m not mad. I promise.
That was it.I gave it another minute, but he said nothing else.
Me:But you’re hurt?
C’mon,Ian, talk to me.
Ian:I spent the weekend with my dad, Frankie. It’s—a lot of this is complicated, and you’re on the spot with everyone. We’re still friends, I mean that.
Me:That didn’t answer my question.
Ian:Getting ready to have dinner with Mom and Dad.
I staredat the message and frowned. If I got up early tomorrow, I could see Ian at school before practice. It would have to be really early. But he couldn’t just walk away if I was in front of him.
Ian:Not hurt. I promise. I’m sorry this has been confusing. I meant what I said yesterday morning. Talk tomorrow, okay? You have a date with Jake tonight, and I don’t want to spoil it.
I could cancel.Tell Jake I needed to go see Ian. Hell, I could probably ask Jake to go with me to see Ian. He’d been the one who went after him yesterday, but he hadn’t said a word about it since. So maybe I should talk to Jake first.
Me:You’re not spoiling anything. I just miss you. I don’t like this distance.