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Unknown:Lucas.
Unknown:Are you waiting for somebody else to take you out?
Unknown:I thought I was your only one
“If only you knew,” I muttered under my breath, saving his number while trying to come up with a reply that wouldn’t expose me.
Rosie:fine, we’ll be experimentally exclusive
Lucas:we weren’t?
Shaking my head, I decided to cut to the chase and answer his initial question.
Rosie:6pm sounds good. Thanks!
I was going to ask how he’d gotten my number—honestly, it was a little strange he hadn’t had it, considering we’d been living together for over a week—but the explanation landed in my inbox in a trail of texts from my best friend before I even hit Send.
Lina:Hey bestie! Just arrived in Trujillo. How is NYC?
Lina:Sorry for the radio silence, we were hiking and out of reception.
Lina:BTW I forgot to mention that my cousin would be visiting for the next few weeks. He’s staying at my place.
Lina:Okay, fine. I didn’t forget, I messed up the dates and thought he was arriving today. I suck. I still have wedding brain.
Lina:Anyways, I gave him your number. ONLY for emergencies, ’kay? Don’t feel obligated to waste your time on him. He’s a grown man.
Lina:if he texts you with unimportant shit, tell him to google it.
Guilt lodged itself deep in my stomach. Lina didn’t know about the rooming arrangement Lucas and I had. Inherapartment. Nor did she know about our newly established experiment.
God, I really needed to stop lying by omission to every single person in my life.
Another text notification popped up.
Lucas:check this out.
Tapping on his conversation, an image opened on my screen.
A selfie of Lucas wearing anINYCblue cap. His smile was lopsided, smug, and I could see the Empire State Building nearby in the background.
My rib cage squeezed, feeling a little too tight all of a sudden.
Rosie:living the full tourist experience.
Rosie:I love the cap!
I didn’t just love it. I loved it so much that before I knew what I was doing, the photo was saved to my gallery.
Rosie:Lina just texted me. She said she confused the dates and thought you were getting here today.
Rosie:she also mentioned she gave you my number.
Rosie:For emergencies.
I was working out a way to tell Lucas that we should probably tell her about the current situation, but his incoming text disrupted my train of thought, derailing whatever intention I had to confess. It was another selfie, this one from an angle that showed that wide and strong upper body I had ogled more than once or twice, and he was looking down at the camera. His crooked smile had been promoted to a full-fledged grin and the earlier flutter in my stomach had no choice but to revel, pulling out the big guns and turning into a riot.
Lucas:looking this good and not having anyone around to share it with was an emergency, Graham.
