“Why?”
“Because… you… hands… me…” I wave my hand in front of my chest.
“You want to have fun. What’s so wrong with that?”
“Fun doesn’t have to be sexual.”
“No, it doesn’t have to be. What kind of fun are you looking for?”
“I have two classes coming up, but after… Yeah, let’s have some fun. I just wish…”
“Wish what?”
“I need…” I shake my head. “I don’t have any money.”
“What were you thinking about?”
“I don’t know. Bowling. Miniature golf.”
“Because they cost so much money. I got it.”
“You’ll take me?”
“Why not? You need to blow off steam, and I… Fuck, Katie. I’m sorry. I was being an ass.”
“I heard from Rob, before we broke up, that you and the others weren’t happy with me.”
“No. Ghosting us wasn’t fun.”
“Ghosting is usually used in reference to ditching a guy you’re dating.”
“Well…” Gabe makes a face.
“Well, what?”
“Seeing you two that one time… I thought we would be a part of it.”
“A part of what? Our relationship?”
“I don’t know,” he mutters, running a hand through his hair. “I just know that I was invested in you two, invested in you, and if you were in a better place, I would’ve had some fun with you already. With your boobs. With all of you.”
I suck in a breath.
“And I think you were afraid of what you feel for the rest of us, and that’s why you wanted some distance between yourself and us. You wanted to make sure you weren’t tempted to cheat on Rob.”
“You guys wouldn’t have done that to him,” I whisper.
“Maybe some of us would’ve been tempted, so we hate ourselves, and maybe we take that out on someone else, someone who doesn’t deserve that, and maybe that someone in question is the one who tempted us in the first place.”
“I didn’t mean—”
“I can’t stop thinking about you and Rob… seeing your body… I want to touch you myself, but I… I’m not a good guy.”
“Oh, come on now. Don’t be so hard on yourself. No one thinks you can do anything wrong. You’re a victor, not just on the race track.”
“A victor, huh?” His grin is infectious. “I’m going to beat you at golf and bowling.”
“Probably. I haven’t gone before.”