AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I look at Oakley. “I was too late, it seems. Ava is going to have my balls for this.”
“He punches like a kid,” Tyler says, reaching up to brush his knuckles against the redness. He flinches, and I laugh.
“Do you want a redo?” Oakley asks.
“Pass.”
“I bet you both a hundred bucks that out of the three of us, I have the hardest punch.” I smirk. They both laugh.
“And how do you suggest we test this claim?” Oakley asks.
“Well, you and I could each punch Tyler, and then Tyler could punch you,” I offer.
Tyler scoffs. “What the fuck kind of suggestion is that?”
“It’s only fitting after the both of you ruined dinner.”
“Me? What did I do?” Oakley guffaws. I smile.
“What’s Gracie’s punishment, then?” Tyler places his hands firmly on his hips. “She was giving it back just as good as I was.”
I shrug. “Nothing. And you’re older, so you should know better.”
“She’s eighteen, not twelve. No deal,” he replies.
High heels click on the tile behind me, capturing our attention. I spin around to see Ava standing at the end of the hall with her hands on her hips.
“Are you done yet? The buffet is going to be out of the good stuff unless you hurry,” she says.
Oakley breaks away from us and walks to his girl, collecting her in his arms. She giggles into his chest, and I find myself smiling at the happy sound.
I didn’t think it was possible to be this happy for another person, but shit, it is. The smile on Ava’s face every single time she sees Oakley would be enough to fix the most broken heart.
It took a few hard months to understand that she wasn’t my person—not romantically, at least—but once I did, our friendship only got stronger, more impenetrable.
Thinking back on it now, I wouldn’t change a single thing about our past. The good, bad, and ugly. Everything happens for a reason, and that has never felt truer than with us.
