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ILY
Den barks out a laugh. "Oh my, he’s got it bad. Poor guy."
That puts the first smile since arriving at school on my face.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Wes texts Deniellesometime during practice. We’re meeting the guys at Bones, a local BBQ place that serves everything on the bone. It’s far enough out of town that not many high school students go there during the week, which I’m sure is why they picked it.
I drop my car off at home and ride with Den, figuring I’ll either drive back with her or Rhys. Rhys’s and Wes’s cars are both already in the parking lot when we pull in, and Denielle lets out a string of curse words.
"Why do they have to pick the one place with a gravel parking lot? If I find one scratch on my paint, I’m going to kill Wes."
Denielle drives a brand-new, shiny, gray Audi Q3, which she got for her seventeenth birthday. I shouldn’t have been surprised since her previous Audi was a hand-me-down from her brother, Oliver, when he left for college, and was alreadytwoyears old. Of course she needed a new one. At least, that’s how her mom justified it. But then, this is pocket money for Mr. Keller, who is a neurosurgeon in the city. Every so often, I’m still surprised how down-to-earth my best friend is compared to some of the others with parents on the wealthier side.
Before exiting the car, I turn to Denielle. "Is this weird?"
She peers at me questioningly.
"That we’re all having dinner together? I mean, now that Rhys and I..." Heat creeps into my cheeks.
Denielle smirks. "Oh, you mean because you are sucking face with your brother?"
"Den!" I scowl at her.
That makes her laugh even harder. "I’m sorry, babe, I can’t help it. I understand what you’re asking, and the answer is, I have no idea."
My stomach clenches. I’m glad she’s honest with me, but it doesn’t make me feel better.
"I’ve known both of you forever, but as I told you before, you guys have never been thetypicalbrother-sister pair." She makes air quotes around typical. "I guess what I’m trying to say is, we’ll have to wait and see. It’s not like this is a normal, everyday situation. Probably no one could say at this point how they’d feel about it?" She phrases it more like a question and shrugs her shoulders.
The elongated silence in the car is starting to get uncomfortable when she slaps one hand on my thigh. "Let’s go. Don’t let your guy wait any longer."
The boys arein a booth farthest from the entrance and windows. The inside of Bones is dark. There is no other way to put it. The tinted windows don’t let a lot of natural light in, and the walls have wood paneling probably last replaced sometime in the seventies. The brown and beige tile-looking linoleum floor, same era, is paired with brown linoleum chairs and bench seats around more beige tables. I don’t think I have to worry about being spotted in here with Rhys. I can barely make out anything myself. The majority of the light comes from the various neon beer signs and random phrases the owner has collected over the years. Definitely not from the pendant lights hanging over the individual tables, whose light bulbs seem to have been installed at the same time as the wood paneling.
Both look up as we approach the table, and Wes stands, letting Denielle and me scoot in. Den waits for me to move next to Rhys, and I don’t know if I should be excited or embarrassed. This whole situation is...awkward.
No one says anything, and I begin to feel like this was a bad idea when Wes clears his throat. "So, Lil...am I correct to assume there isn’t a chance anymore?" He gestures with one finger between him and me with a ridiculous grin plastered all over his face, eyebrows wiggling suggestively.
Rhys scowls at him. "What the fuck, man?"
Wes just shrugs as if saying it was worth a shot. I have to laugh at his attempt to break the ice. He accomplished what he set out to do; the weird tension is gone. Denielle rolls her eyes, and I smile. "Sorry, I’m taken."
I reach for Rhys’s hand under the table, and he immediately interlaces our fingers, giving it a squeeze.
I’m home.
Wes places a hand over his heart and sighs dramatically in mock disappointment. We’re all cracking up at this point. He holds out his fist to Rhys but looks at me. "Too bad. But I get it. If I would swing that way, I would totally go after his tight ass."
I turn when Rhys bumps his fist to Wes’s and find him looking down at me. He has a goofy grin on his face, and I hear Denielle on the other side, "Awwww!"
I blush but allow myself that one moment to pretend we are a normal couple. I lean into Rhys, resting my head against his shoulder and close my eyes.
Dinner passes as if it has always been this way. We joke, reminisce about old times, talk about the guys’ upcoming matches and our invitationals. Everyone is at ease, and it feels so good to be able to be myself around my friends. We don’t talk about the elephant in the room, also known as my past, but I’m sure it will come up eventually. For now, I simply let myself enjoy the moment.
As we walk toward the cars, I pull Denielle aside. "Is it okay if I ride with Rhys?" The awkward feeling is back.
She genuinely smiles at me. "Sure thing, babe. I’ll see you in the morning."
