Page 97 of Clinically Awkward

“I was going to say you love me,” I said quietly.

She looked at me for a long moment, and I watched some of the tension drain from her shoulders.

“Yeah,” she said finally. “I do.”

“So we’ll figure it out,” I said. “You’ll break up with him tomorrow. Or the next day. Or whenever Fitz stops being his new best friend.”

“That could take weeks.”

“Then it takes weeks.”

“Quinton.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” I said firmly. “I don’t care if it takes weeks or months, or if Fitz and Colton end up as roommates. I’m not going anywhere.”

She leaned her head against my shoulder. “You’re ridiculous.”

“I’m patient.”

“You’re really not.”

“I’m patient when it matters,” I corrected.

From across the room, Fitz cleared his throat. “For what it’s worth, I really am sorry.”

Vivian didn’t lift her head. “You’re going for drinks with my boyfriend.”

“Yes.”

“You’re going to talk about women and workouts.”

“Presumably.”

“And you’re going to bond.”

“It’s possible.”

“I hate you.”

“That’s fair,” Fitz said.

Winnie stood up, grabbing her bag as she headed for the exit. “I’m going home. Where I will drink an entire bottle of wine and pretend this day never happened.”

“Want company?” Fitz asked hopefully.

“Absolutely not!”

“Worth a shot,” he muttered.

Gabriel, Nathan, and Hayden were already edging toward the door.

“We should go too,” Gabriel said. “Before anything else insane happens.”

“Wait,” Fitz said suddenly, his eyes lighting up with that particular brand of mischief that made me deeply uncomfortable. “You can’t leave. I need you to come with me.”

Gabriel stopped mid-step. “No.”

“You don’t even know what I’m going to ask.”