Page 167 of Twisted Needs

Fuck. My stomach drops.

It’s happening.

Anders looks at me a little nervously. “Just me?” he asks, turning back to Luca.

“Just you,” he says.

Anders’ gaze flickers toward me for half a second.

Emelie takes a slow sip of her drink. “Oh, this should go terribly.”

“Emelie,” Luca warns.

“What?” she asks innocently. “I’m rooting for everybody.”

Luca pinches the bridge of his nose and shakes his head. “Not helping.”

Anders lets out a breath. “Okay.” The word comes out quieter than normal. “Fine. We’ll talk.”

Luca nods once. Then the two of them disappear through the sliding doors.

The second the glass closes behind them, I set my beer down.

Em snaps. “Absolutely not.”

I don’t even have to look up. “Emelie, c’mon.”

“No.”

“I’m not doing anything wrong.”

She laughs. There’s no way in hell she believes me. “Parker,” she says, setting her drink down. “You’ve been friends with me for fifteen years. Don’t you dare insult me with your lying bullshit.”

She stares at me. I stare back.

“Go ahead,” Emelie says. “Tell me you’re not going after them.”

I open my mouth and close it again, proving her right.

“That’s what I thought.” Something about her expression shifts. The irritation remains, but something heavier settles underneath it. “What exactly was the plan here?”

The question catches me off guard. “What?”

“The plan.” She gestures vaguely toward the lake. “Because apparently you had one.”

“Em—”

“No, seriously.” For the first time all afternoon, she looks angry. “What was the endgame, Park? You were just going to keep sneaking around forever?” Emelie presses.

“We weren’t sneaking around.”

She narrows her eyes. “Parker. Be real.”

“We weren’t sneaking around. We’re slowly starting to tell people.”

Her laugh is humorless. “My Anders looks like he’s waiting to be executed every time somebody notices you standing too close together.”

The words land harder than I expect. Because they’re true.