“No maybe about it. Daph isn’t nothing to you. She’s everything. You’ve got real, heavy feelings for her.”
I take a deep breath. “I gotta say, it’s killing me, thinking this might come between us.”
“You’ve got it bad, that’s for sure.” He whips a napkin out of the dispenser, wiping his salty fingers clean. “I thought maybe we deserved a redo since last night got so fucked. It won’t be a big bash, but Griff and I are inviting a few people over to our place if you want to hang out. You should ask Daphne to come. Maybe she’d be comfortable since it’s just a small group, and you could pull her aside and talk things out.”
“Doubt it. Daphne doesn’t like crowds of more than two.”
Beau shrugs. “Tell her I’ll make her one of my special rum punch drinks. She can’t hide at home forever.”
This time it’s me who snorts. “You don’t know Daphne very well.”
“But you do, which is why you have to do everything you can to fix things. She’ll come around. Show her the guy who never wanted a relationship has grown up and is willing to fight for her.” He levels a curious stare at me, one brow lifted in challenge.
Picking my phone up off the table, I open my text message thread with Daphne and shoot her the invitation.
Me:Daph, there’s a small get-together at Beau’s tonight.
Me:I was hoping you’d come.
Me:We can hole up somewhere and talk, just the two of us.
Daphne:No. Staying home. I’m not ready for any more parties.
Me:Okay. I don’t blame you.
Daphne:I can’t deal with it right now. I’m sorry.
Me:I wish I could rewind 24 hours and fix things.
When she doesn’t respond, I scroll through some other text messages before I find the thread I have going with the only person who might be able to help me.
Me:Do you have anything yet?
With no answer there, I pocket my phone, collect my trash, and slide out of the booth.
Before we can exit, the whispering between two girls I recognize as juniors from school reaches us from all the way across the diner.
“That was the guy in the video.”
“What video?”
“The sex tape that was shown at that party last night.”
“Ohh.”
“He’s so freaking hot. Micah, right?”
“What kind of girl lets someone record them like that, though?”
“Yeah, probably some skank.”
My entire body goes rigid, my hands fist at my sides. My pulse racing, I take several deep breaths, hoping to calm myself.
As I’m about to turn around and lay into them, Beau claps his hand on my shoulder, shaking his head, and steers me out the door. “Come on, man. Not worth it. Just a couple of chicks with big mouths.”
“That’s exactly what Daphne is going to be dealing with.”
“Only until the next shiny piece of gossip comes along, though. If I were you, I’d be more concerned that her parents will find out—or worse, see the video.” He makes a yikes face.