But I could see Kellan wasn’t about to waver. I would have to accept his one condition if I wanted him to hang out with Grey. So, despite every cell in my body wanting to reject Kellan’s stipulations, I nodded. “Deal. If you think that this is just some game to Grey, then say the word, and I won’t speak to him again.”
“You swear,” Josh said. “Because you’ve said something like that before, and it didn’t exactly pan out.”
“You’re right, and I swear.” I crossed my heart with a finger. “For real this time. If Grey messes up, we’re done. We won’t even be friends.”
Chapter 13
Bowling Night
Istared at myself in the bathroom mirror. We were in a bowling alley on the edge of campus. Josh and Kellan were paying for the lane while I was pulling myself together in the restroom.
Don’t make a big deal out of anything,I told my reflection.Your friendship with Grey is on the line.The pressure of the night had weighed heavily on me even while making the plans with Grey. I didn’t want to overreact and, next thing I knew, Josh and Kellan would be telling me to drop my “new” friend.Which would be a lot easier if She-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named weren’t also coming tonight.I pooled water in my hands, stared at it for a moment, then splashed it in my face.You’ve got this, Ethan. Don’t make it fucking weird.
That should be my new mantra: Don’t make it fucking weird.
Taking a deep breath, I left the restroom. The bowling alley was surprisingly empty for a Friday night, but then, it was still early. As I made my way past bowling lanes to arrive at the one Josh and Kellan had rented for us, the butterflies in my stomach swarmed with a vengeance, but they calmed down when I saw that Grey and Carina still hadn’t shown.
“I got you shoes.” Kellan passed them to me.
I took them wordlessly and pulled them onto my feet. I was distracted even doing such a simple task. My eyes kept darting toward the entrance in anticipation of Grey’s arrival.
Josh noticed. “You seem a bit tense.”
I bit my tongue, knowing full well that I couldn’t vent what was going through my mind. They would at best judge me for being stressed, and at worst, they would tell me it was a sign that being friends with Grey was impossible and I should just let him go. Well, I wouldn’t accept that now that I had a way of having him in some capacity, so I would just have to grin and bear any discomfort that keeping him involved.
“I’m just worried about you two meeting him for the first time,” I finally said. It encompassed the truth, even if it shrouded my true fears underneath.
I really was worried they wouldn’t like how I acted around him or how he treated me. I was also worried that they simply wouldn’t like him. Not to mention I was simultaneously stressing about howIwould react about Carina being there with Grey. I’d never had a conversation with the girl, and I wouldn’t exactly say that I had the urge to change that. But since Grey and I were friends now, I had to get over that hurdle sooner or later, so it might as well be now.
“What’s there to worry about?” Kellan leaned back in his chair. “I’m a goddamn delight.”
Josh let out a sarcastic laugh, and I couldn’t suppress a groan.
There was no time to continue the conversation because, at that moment, the front doors opened, and Grey and Carina entered the building. Nausea twisted in my stomach, then I noticed that they weren’t alone. A third person followed who I vaguely recognized as being in Dreamscape—the one who’d picked up Grey from the party last week.Dae,I reminded myself. Dae was his name.
Grey looked amazing, of course. He wore a black button-up with pale-gold stripes, dark jeans, boots, and a leather bracelet. His hair was doing its usual messy middle part with a strand darting across his eye. And his eyes met mine from across the room.
I took a steadying breath to reclaim the wind that had just been knocked from my lungs. Thishadto go well.
“Is that him?” Josh asked.
“Definitely him,” Kellan responded. “Look at how Ethan is acting.”
“Just behave,” I pleaded with my friends through gritted teeth as Grey paid for rental shoes.
Josh and Kellan laughed then pulled themselves together right as the trio approached.
“This is Kellan and Josh,” I said, hating how my voice sounded oddly formal. “Guys, this is Grey, Carina, and…” I paused, a sudden wave of doubt fumbling the introduction.
Thankfully, Grey stepped in. “This is my best friend, Dae.” He gestured to his friend. “He’s also in my band and asked to tag along.”
Something in Dae’s expression made meseriouslydoubt he was there out of his own desire. I wondered if he’d been dragged along to this, much like I’d dragged Kellan and Josh.
“Well, I for one am ecstatic to meet you all.” Kellan got to his feet and held out a hand to everyone. “I’m Kellan, by the way. Ethan didn’t do a great job introducing us.”
When he got to Grey’s hand, I noticed a twitch in the corner of Grey’s eye. Looking at their clasped hands, I could see Kellan was squeezing harder than necessary. Grey, for his part, seemed determined not to show any signs of weakness.
After a small eternity, they broke free.
