AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Closing my eyes, I counted to ten. Five bucks said they’d never expressed the thought in those exact words. But… it wasn’t just about what they’d said. “Jake, did you beat up Kent in sophomore year because he wanted to ask me out?”
Silence greeted my question and Archie folded his arms, but Bubba rubbed the back of his neck and grimaced. I waited. Jake sighed. “Yeah, I kicked his ass—not because he wanted to ask you out but because he was pretty sure he could tap that. You don’t date, Frankie. You don’t need some guy at school perving on you.”
Did he actually hear himself?
“Jake’s not wrong,” Bubba said slowly. “You don’t date. We know you don’t. You blow off every guy who has ever flirted with you. A couple of the girls thought you might swing that way, but…” He actually went a little red.
“Are you really mad at us because we made it clear you’re off-limits?” Coop asked, finally joining our conversation. He had to eel between Bubba and Jake to even get in the room. “Because we didn’t want anyone making you feel uncomfortable?”
“Did it occur to you to ask me what I wanted?”
They really thought they were all in the right.
“You made it pretty clear what you wanted,” Archie said bluntly. “I’m not going to apologize for having your back. You can’t ask any of us to apologize for protecting you.”
All at once, the tired hit again. I couldn’t do this. “You guys need to go.”
“Frankie,” Jake said taking a step toward me, but I held up a hand.
“Don’t. If you guys want to protect me so bad, just—go. I have to work tomorrow, I’m tired. I have to explain that table to my mom and I still have homework. Right now, I’d really rather be alone.”
They glanced at each other and then back at me.
“Call you tomorrow?” Bubba said and I just waved a hand at him.
“We’ll pay for the table,” Jake volunteered.
“I can take care of it,” Archie added. “We’ll plan another night for the escape room.”
I trailed after them as I herded them out. Coop dragged his heels and when he turned around, I shook my head. “I’m tired, Coop.”
“Can I come over tomorrow?” he asked, his voice low and far more sober than I think it ever had been.
“I have to work,” I reminded him. “And I’m busy tomorrow evening.” No, I wouldn’t explain it, and I ignored the looks the other three sent my way.
“We’ll see you Monday,” Bubba said, clapping a hand on Coop’s shoulder and tugging him out the door. I didn’t say anything, I just closed it after them and locked it.
Leaning against the door, I closed my eyes. Tired didn’t begin to cover it. On the counter, my iced coffee sat there, condensation sliding down the side of it. Picking it up, I took a sip and then stared at the living room. The table was gone. All of the damaged pieces were picked up and, except for needing to be vacuumed, it was like the table hadn’t been there.
The vacuuming took me a minute. I went ahead and did the whole living room, since I got it out. Afterward, I took my coffee back to my room, fixed the blanket on the bed, and then ran a comb through my hair before I braided it. It was a wreck anyway, but at least a braid kept it out of my face.
All four of them had messaged me, but I wasn’t in the mood. I answered Mathieu, thanking him for his advice, then put the phone indo not disturb. YouTube cued up on my laptop, I curled up with the cats.
I didn’t make the rules, but apparently I had to play by them.
Chapter Ten
Hard Truths
Mom took the destroyed coffee table pretty well—Sunday morning. Interestingly, I heard her coming back in, so I knew she hadn’t been home all night. But she slipped into her room, and by the time I headed to the kitchen, she came out and played it like she’d been there. Considering how the night before ended with the guys, I couldn’t bring myself to call her on it.
At least one of us was getting lucky.
The moment that thought alighted, I grimaced. That would take a lot of brain bleach to get out.
“So, you have work today,” Mom was saying as she added creamer to her coffee. The groceries she brought in—this morning—I reminded myself had at least included bagels and cream cheese, so I was having a toasted bagel for breakfast along with my coffee. “What else?”
“Working on a French project after work. I’m making a dessert, or at least practicing it. I have to prepare it, then prepare a video—you know, like a French cooking show—do it all in French, then present it to the class. Tonight is kind of dry run.”
