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“Do you think that’s such a good idea?” To Rae’s shock, it was Mitch who asked the question—and he was frowning at her. Mitch hardly ever frowned. It looked weird and slightly unnatural on his face.
“Why don’t you think it’s a good idea?” she retorted rather than answering. She really didn’t know if it was a good idea for her, but she didn’t like the idea that Mitch thought it was a bad idea.
Mitch hesitated, his gaze darting around the table.
“Look… I don’t know how much you know about Brian after Hideaway, but he’s not really someone who gives second chances. He’s very much a ‘you’re in or you’re out’ kind of person. It’s not always cut and dried. The last girl he dated didn’t show up for a date, called him after it was supposed to be over and said that she’d had car trouble and her phone had died. He wasn’t happy, but he accepted it. The next time she didn’t show up for a date, we don’t even know why she didn’t show because he never bothered to find out. He was done. Refused her calls and blocked her number. For all we know, her mom died or something.” Mitch shrugged, but the concern in his eyes was clear.
Wow. Okay, that was brutal. And yet, because Brian had told her about his childhood and his parents, Rae got it. He wanted reliability and someone who was going to be there for him. Someone who made him a priority. And he didn’t give people extra chances to prove to him that he wasn’t.
“Except you.” Mitch eyed her, and Rae almost jumped because it felt like he was answering the thoughts she was having in her head. “You, he’s given multiple chances. Which makes me think that it’s because he has even deeper feelings for you than he wants to admit.”
Oh.
Oh.
Yeah.
Rae had turned him down a number of times. Walked away from him more than once now.
Yet he’d still offered up his villa on Hideaway. Had still fallen into bed with her. Had still agreed to be exclusive roommates-with-benefits for that whole week. But he’d cut off a girl he was dating without even getting an explanation the second time she didn’t show up for him.
Rae was getting special treatment, and she hadn’t even realized it.
As she was turning that revelation over in her head, Sam walked up to their table. Her eyes were a little pink, as if she’d been crying, too. The urge to go hunt Noelle down and impress upon her how people were supposed to be treated surged again. Sam gave them all a small smile before focusing on Iris.
“I’m so sorry. I had no idea she was going to do that tonight.”
“No, how could you? It’s not your fault at all,” Iris reassured her immediately. “I should have just ignored her. Or at least told Rae and Domi not to look before I told them she was looking at me.”
“No, you shouldn’t have to ignore her.” Sam shook her head. “I just wish I could have stopped her. But she’s been so edge on, and she’s not listening to anyone.”
“Well, if I shouldn’t have to ignore her, you shouldn’t have to stop her,” Iris retorted with a little smile of understanding. “And trust me, if anyone understands what she can be like, it’s me.”
Sam huffed a little sigh.
“Yeah. Well. Did you all happen to see where Amy went?”
“She’s over there crying… Brian’s got her, though,” Rae said, pointing past Sam, who half turned to see before Rae’s next question drew her back. “What did Noelle say to her?”
“Oh, it’s not just Noelle, though I don’t think that helped. Noelle did snap at her about taking Iris’ side, but there’s a lot more going on with her fiancé and… yeah. It’s just a hot mess. Sorry, y’all, I’ll have to talk to you later.” Sam rubbed her forehead.
“Go, go,” Domi said, making a shooing motion with her hands. Amy obviously needed some friend support, and none of their group was close enough with her to truly count as that.
Rae felt a little disappointed that she didn’t have an excuse to go after Noelle now. Seriously, someone needed to slap some sense into that girl.
Why not me?
If wishes were fishes…
Speaking of wishes, she watched as Sam sat down to the side of Amy and Brian. Amy threw herself into Sam’s hug, but Brian didn’t get up to go anywhere. Of course, he wouldn’t. Not until he knew Amy was okay.
Rae sighed.
As much as she wanted to go over to him, as much as she wanted to talk to him, she knew Mitch was right. She needed to be one hundred percent sure what she wanted from him before she tried to talk to him. It wasn’t fair to either of them for her to keep going back and forth.
This time, she wasn’t going to be impulsive.
She was going to think first. Then she was going to decide what to do.
