"Last one! Finish strong!"
"How'd your interview go?" She does indeed finish strong—almost too strong—thrusting her chest forward so hard I'm surprised she doesn't bust through her top.
"Oh my God, I forgot to tell you."
The song fades out, and Brooke throws her hands to the top of her head, gasping for air. "What?" she struggles to ask.
I turn around to grab my water bottle and take a long sip. "It was horrible."
"Stop, there's no way," she argues between breaths.
I pull one arm across my chest, stretching out my shoulder from all the popping it just did. "Oh, but there is."
"How? Liam's like the easiest guy on the planet to talk to."
I shake my head. "Well, there wasn't a whole lot of talking considering it was supposed to be an interview."
I take advantage of the fact that she's completely spent and not pestering me for more details and pivot. I'm not ready to admit out loud how I blew it in a matter of minutes. Especially when I'm still trying to figure it out myself.
"Trevor took my car," I offer.
Brooke sits down and stretches both her legs in front of her. "Like borrowed it?"
"I feel as thoughborrowedimplies permission," I say, sitting next to her.
"No."
"Yep."
She shakes her head, then whips it in my direction. "Wait, what does that have to do with the interview?"
A slight panic creeps inside my chest as she circles back. "I was late because I didn't have my car."
"No," she repeats.
"Well, and because my friend messed up the time."
Brooke tilts her head side-to-side, her eyes turned up toward the ceiling. "But mostly the car thing."
I laugh, nudging her elbow with mine, then groan, reaching for my toes. "Men," I say boldly.
She scrunches up her face, and I can't tell if it's because her hamstrings are tight or she's holding back her response. "B…"
"Mhmm." She avoids making eye contact as she folds her legs back in.
"Brooke, what is it?"
"Oh, come on, Tess."
I look at her, waiting, my eyebrows high.
She sighs, then pulls on her shoelace and begins to retie it. "I don't think that's men. I think that's just Trevor."
I scoff playfully, but a pit settles in my stomach. "You mean Drew has never done something like that?"
"Taken my car when I needed it without asking?"
"Well, to be fair, he didn't know I needed it, but yeah. He's never… I don't know…"
