“Yeah. It’s not a big deal.”
I get the urge to throw my arms around him then, but I control myself. Maybe it’s really not a big deal to him. After all, I’ve spent something like half my waking life in his family’s presence. Surely he can spare one night to hang out with mine.
Even if we’re significantly ... less.
“Okay, cool,” I say. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” He takes a step closer to me as we stand outside my car. For one second I think he’s going to lean down and kiss me, but all he does is sweep a tendril of hair off my face.
“Night, Jessi.”
“Good night, Luke.”
16
NOW
It’s Monday, thestart of a new week, and things are already off to a strange start.
Willow and I are setting up for the day when Eric enters the rec room. I immediately go back to unstacking chairs, expecting him to ask Willow for whatever he needs. Instead, he stops in front of my stack of chairs.
“Do you need something?” I ask.
Behind him, Willow shoots me a look that says she has my back.
“Yeah. I actually thought we could talk,” Eric says, scratching his head.
I blink at him. “You want to talk?” Is that code for something? Is this a setup?
“If you don’t mind,” he says, then throws Willow a look over his shoulder. “And could it be in private?”
Maybe it’s the complete unexpectedness of the request, or maybe I’m just a tad curious to know what’s going on, but I nod in the direction of the door, and we start toward it.
“I’m here if you need me!” Willow calls after me.
I give her a grateful smile, which gradually turns back into a frown once I’m outside the building with Eric.
“So the thing is ...” Eric begins, his eyes darting all over the place, like he’s looking for a way out. Which makes no sense, since he instigated this. “I know Ro considered you his best friend.”
Not the words I’m expecting to hear.
I stiffen at the name.
“Hear me out,” Eric says, sensing that my walls are up. “You were his best friend—but for me, he was mine.” He looks down at the ground. “We were competitive, yeah, but in a good way. We made each other better.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” I say now. “Is there a point to this?”
“The point is, I always had his back. I still do, and for the longest time, I’ve thought that meant giving you shit for what happened.”
He scuffs his shoe on the pavement. “Anyway, I’m sorry for that. It wasn’t—isn’t—my place. Ro wouldn’t have wanted me to treat you like this.”
“You don’t know what Ro would have wanted—” I spit out, too late to catch myself. I hate when people speak for people who can’t speak for themselves.
“I do know,” Eric says without hesitation. “He’d do anything for you.”
My stomach turns at those words, so similar to what Luke said to me on Saturday, and guilt is wrapping itself around my intestines like a noose. “Is this because of Luke? Is it because we’re ...”
Eric shakes his head. “I mean, kind of, but not really. I just started to wonder whether maybe what happened that night was more complicated than I thought. And really, even if it wasn’t, he was still your best friend. He would kick my ass for being such a dick to you.”
