“Wha…?” he mumbled, but didn’t open his eyes. She tried again, nudging until he sat up. “The hell, Asha? It’s too early.”
Still speechless, she raised a hand and pointed at me. Boomer’s gaze followed the direction of her finger. Emotion flashed across his face like a flip-book—from shocked to panicked to guilty as charged.
A strained silence dragged out between us, but I refused to be the one to break it.
After another tooth-grinding moment, Boomer reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, fuck.”
I opened my mouth, but all that came out were the choked beginnings of laughter as hysteric anger billowed inside my chest. “That’s all you have to say?” I sputtered.
Boomer lifted a shoulder, equal parts apologetic and blasé. “What do you expect? It’s not like we wanted you to find out this way.”
“No.” Shaking my head, I held up a hand to stop any further explanation. “I can’t deal with this right now.”
There was already enough on my plate with Rose and the letters and Stanford. It was impossible to imagine squeezing my friends’ love life on there as well. My feet were moving before I realized it. I had to put space between myself and the situation so I could think.
“Wait, Felicity!” Asha cried as I fled the room, but I didn’t stop.
***
Alec was already by the front door when I rushed down the stairs five minutes early.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, pulling out his headphones.
“Can we just get out of here?” I glanced over my shoulder to seeif my friends were following, but the landing at the top of the steps was empty. “I’ll tell you on the way.”
In contrast to my mood, the weather was perfect—sunny enough to warm my skin, but not so hot that I was constantly plucking at my dress. As we made our way up the sidewalk, I pushed on my favorite sunglasses (a pair of electric-blue cat eyes I’d bought at Dollar Discount and jazzed up by splatter painting the frames), and explained how I’d found Asha in bed with Boomer.
“Wait. You didn’t know they were together?” Alec asked, not bothering to keep the surprise from his voice.
I froze on the sidewalk. “Are you saying you did?”
He nodded.
God, I was such an idiot. The biggest of idiots. How was it possible that Alec, who’d only known Asha and Boomer for a day, had figured out they were together? I was the person who supposedly knew them the best. How had I missed the chemistry between them?
“Why didn’t you say anything to me?” I asked.
“I’m sorry, Felicity. I figured you knew.”
“Don’t be sorry. You’re not the one who should be apologizing.”
“You’re mad at them?”
“Yes!” I said. Then, “No. Ugh, I don’t know.” I sank my fingers into my still-damp hair.
You’re not angry with them, I tried to convince myself.Don’t be a petty, narrow-minded person who can’t be happy for her friends.
But I couldn’t stop seeing the image of them tangled together in bed. And then I remembered how strange the two of themhad acted when they got to my house yesterday, the vague answer Boomer gave when I asked how they’d arrived so quickly, how Asha wouldn’t look me in the eye. They’d been hanging outas a couple.
“Hey,” Alec said, taking both my wrists in his hands. He gently dislodged my fingers from my hair before I pulled a chunk out in frustration. “Why don’t we get some coffee, and then we can figure everything out, yeah?”
I sighed in lieu of responding, but started walking again.
He was quiet for the rest of our stroll, which I appreciated. I knew he was trying to figure out what to say to cheer me up, and his company alone was enough to comfort me. By the time we reached the end of the street, the anger and confusion pumping through my system had run its course, and only then did I realize that one of my hands was still clutched in his.
I stared down at our entwined fingers, suddenly aware that we probably looked like a couple. Which made me wonder exactly what we were to each other. More than friends, obviously. There was no way I could deny the connection I felt with him. But at the same time, we hadn’t known each other very long. Then there was the matter ofwhohe was, because even if this spark between us blossomed into something more, the longevity of a relationship didn’t seem likely. Not with his career. And besides, I had college and my future to consider. Was committing to a relationship even practical at this point in my life?
Am I being ridiculous thinking about all this?
