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“Seems like he’s being good to you,” Sawyer put in. “That’s the important thing. Well, and that he makes you happy. Does he?”
Whatever this thing with Hoyt was couldn’t be summed up so simply as him making me happy. Particularly as we hadn’t actually done any actual dating besides the one dinner at his place. The dinner where he’d taken the time to pick flowers, even though he wasn’t even moved in yet. The one where he hadn’t pushed for a decision on our status, even though that had been the original point.
“He’s good to her,” Gabi insisted. “He’s stood up for her in front of jerks on several occasions.”
My sister wasn’t going to be satisfied until I actually said yes.
I waited for Rios to point out that we weren’t even really dating at this point. But for once, my brother was quiet. And if he hadn’t already spilled that detail to his friends, maybe he didn’t plan to. At least, not until I’d made whatever decision I was going to make.
“That’s good enough for me,” Ford announced. “So you’ve got primer up in here. What about the rest of the place?”
“Gabi, Rios, and I were here until two this morning, knocking out the primer.” A decision I knew I’d regret about halfway through work tonight. “I’m hoping we can get the first coat on everywhere else before I have to leave for my shift at the tavern.”
Jace clapped his hands. “Then let’s get to it.”
“There’s pizza in it for all of you when we break.”
“Always a valid form of payment,” Sawyer insisted.
I gave them the quick tour and divvied up assignments. We elected to knock out the downstairs first. I passed out the rollers and paint trays I’d picked up from the hardware store and reluctantly charged to Hoyt’s account. I still didn’t like this feeling that I wasn’t fully paying my way, so I’d make up for it in doing a hell of a good job with the actual work.
One of the guys started a classic rock playlist on his phone, and we dove in. Conversation was easy and simple—a lot of the boys ragging on each other, catching up in the way of friends who were never truly apart, no matter where life took them.
“So, I broke up with Emily.”
I glanced over at Ford, who was dutifully applying a coat of warm, buttery yellow to the living room wall. “Isn’t this, like, the third time?”
“I thought it was the fourth,” Sawyer remarked.
“No, no. Remember? There was that other time they broke up during sophomore year,” Jace added. “Over the—what was it?—the thing with her roommate?”
To say that Ford and his college girlfriend had been on again off again for their entire college career was an understatement. I’d been hearing secondhand stories of their relationship since he came home for Christmas freshman year.
Ford’s broad shoulders hunched up toward his ears, and he kept his attention on the wall. “Counting all the times either of us broke up with each other, it was five.”
In my opinion, if breaking up was ever on the table, the correct answer was breaking up and staying that way. But I wasn’t sure Ford was ready for that kind of tough love yet, so I held my tongue.
Rios had no such qualms about busting Ford’s chops. “Are we taking bets on how long it takes you two to get back together?”
“No. I think we’re really done this time.” Ford refilled his roller. “I mean, the fact that we keep going off again is a sign, right? There’s some underlying reason for that, and that’s not a good basis for a long-term relationship.”
Sawyer shot a fist into the air. “He can be taught!”
Ford scowled. “Man, don’t be a dick.”
Jace clapped him on the shoulder. “We’re not being dicks. But seriously, I think this is a good thing. She’s messed up your head enough. Maybe take some time on your own, figure out what you really want in a partner. Or more importantly, in life. Let the partner come later.”
Look at these guys, making solid relationship suggestions.
Ford dropped his shoulders and nodded. “Yeah, I think that’s a good idea.”
I dipped my brush into the paint and continued cutting in at the edges. Bree was going to be really happy to hear this. Whether she had a thing for Ford or not, she’d always despised Emily. Maybe with her out of the way, Bree could finally figure out how she really felt. Would she be brave enough to take that leap this summer or let the opportunity pass her by?
Rios hauled his tray across the room and refilled it with paint. “So Ford is newly single. What’s new with you, J?”
“Well, there’s the fact that my parents have every expectation that I’m going to finish school next year and go directly to Ivy League law school. Do not pass ‘Go.’ Do not collect $200. Go directly to jail. It’s the last thing I want to do. I’m trying to decide what to do about it.”
“What would you want to do if your parents’ opinions didn’t come into play?” It was a question I wasn’t sure Jace had ever considered.
