JOSH
My head spun, and the air felt like it was heavy and hard to breathe. Cards were still sitting in a pile in the center of my makeshift tabletop. A hushed silence hung in the air. Eyes stared upon me, like everyone was hiding some sort of bad news they were trying to shield me from. I took a long swig of my beer before smacking it back down. I’d already lost three hands.
I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. My thoughts had been stuck on April. It was the first night in more than a week I was without her and I was off-kilter. Not that I could tell them.
“I dunno.” I glanced around the group, wondering what the fuck was going on. They had been oddly quiet this evening, none of the usual ball-busting. “You guys are being weird tonight.”
“Nah, man, we’re just thinking is all.”
My eyebrow quirked up. “All of you?”
“It’s about the bet.”
“You need to come clean,” Carlos demanded.
He had been on a roll at practice yesterday. He wasdetermined that I was lying and wanted to prove it. He had started asking questions, complained he was confused as to who the mystery girl was that I kept mentioning. He asked why Summer was never around and implied I should have been seen with her. I had been. Not that they knew, because Summer and April were the same.
“Come clean?”
“Who is she? You’re playing two sides, man,” Milos added.
“What?” I scoffed.
“I saw April coming out of your room in the morning in Philly,” Milos said in a whisper.
Shit. I swallowed a large gulp of my beer. Guess this conversation was happening. I knew it would, since it was part of the bet and yet, I was nervous. “Yeah, we’re a thing.”
“You’re not just shitty bulls?” Milos asked.
“Bullshitting,” Jake corrected. “And I doubt it. See that face? Nah, he’s into her. But the true question is—is she into him?”
“April?” Carlos echoed. “Nah, I’m not falling for that. The last time we all went out together, I asked you specifically what was going on with you two. You told us the thing with April was lies, something about helping her out. There’s no fucking way I’m buying that you’re into her. Unless you’re using her to win the bet.”
“Using her?” I squared my shoulders.
“Yeah, faking it.”
I did my best to keep my composure. We were so close to the end of this bet and even if it was true, I couldn’t out us like that. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“Nothing. Just that you’re glued to your phone, secretive, and you don’t stop going on and on about Summer, you practically sound like Romeo about her. But then what, you fuck April in the meantime?”
“April and I are together. It’s real and I don’t give a fuckwhat you think. Sure, I lied about there being a Summer, but that was to protect April!” I yelled.
“Hold on. What do you mean lied about Summer?” Carlos demanded. Kev and Jake both tilted back in their chairs. Crap. I hadn’t meant for that to slip.
Swallowing my nerves I took another swing of my drink then hung my head. “There is no Summer. It was always April.”
“So, it’s real? You and her? You love her?” Carlos questioned.
My mouth went dry. The room fell silent and five pairs of eyes gawked at me.
“Love?” Carlos echoed in a taunting tone.
I leaned back in my chair and threw my cards down on the table. I inhaled a long breath, waiting for the blowback of my admission. “Yeah, maybe? Fuck, I dunno.”
“How do you not know?” Kev asked quietly.
“I dunno. April’s different. Whatever I thought was love before, doesn’t feel like this. It’s like, I go out of my skin when she’s not near me.”
