I wince. “Ew.”
He shrugs. “I thought it sounded cute.”
“It didn’t,” Arden and I say at the same time.
His eyes snap to my side. “You can be Future Fork.”
“Please stop,” Arden begs.
“Penny, you can be Friends With Fork,” he continues, and Wyatt is now laughing against the rim of his beer, his shoulders shaking.
“I’ll wear it as a badge of honour,” Penny promises, placing her hand over her heart.
We end up winning by one, Danford ends up sucking the whole time, and Declan wins EJ a nice, twenty-dollar bill in his pocket.
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
ariana
“You’re going out?”Carter asks, brow furrowing as he shuts the door to the fridge.
I’ve just emerged from my room. I dressed up to look like I was going on a date. Skin-tight, pink dress (yes, intentional—don’t look at me like that. I want him to drool over me), gold heels, and handbag. I have my hair pulled back into a long, slicked-back, straight ponytail, full glam on my face.
“Yeah, I have a date.”
“With who?” he asks, leaning against the fridge.
“His name is Trey.” I intentionally matched with a Trey on a dating app and went so far as to get his number so that, if Carter pushes, I can prove he exists. I’m trying to be four steps ahead in this situation because one slip up can cost me everything.
“Yuck,” Carter cringes, crossing his arms. “Stupid name.”
“He’s a club promoter.”
He cringes harder. “God, I need to take you to therapy. Something is very wrong here.”
“You know how I operate,” I remind him, offering a little shrug.
“You don’t have to operate that way,” he grumbles. His blue eyes scan my face. “You’ve got to get over those fears one day, Ari. That’s not going to happen with a thirty-year-old club promoter.”
“Thirty-seven years old,” I correct.
“What thefuck?”He grimaces.
“I’m going to stay at his place for the night. Don’t wait up, alright? I’ll keep my phone on loud if you need me.”
“Okay,” he says, dipping his chin, but looking completely unhappy about it. “Thanks. Have fun…I guess. I don’t know what to say to you in these situations.”
“I’ll have lots of fun!” I promise, making him cringe for the third time. I wave as I head for the door, catching Arden’s eye from the couch. She doesn’t wave back or say goodbye. She just watches me, forcing a tight smile.
I slide out of the condo, immediately free from the pressure. I might be the world’s best liar, but I hate doing it.
Wrestling out a breath, I rush down to the lobby and walk half a block until I reach the corner of a dark street that cannot be seen from any of Carter’s windows. I spot the black truck idling on the curb, waiting. For me. I practically sprint to him, excited to see that face for the first time in weeks. It’s been hell. I’m ready to rediscover heaven.
Boston is staring at me when I shut the door, expressionless, eyes roaming my body.
“What?”
His throat bobs. “Do we have plans that I don’t know about?”
