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I never told any of my friends about the fact that I kept in touch with the girl from the coffee shop. More than kept in touch—I talk to her more than them. From the moment she mentioned she was going to try to visit this summer, I knew I was going to have to tell them. I bite the damn bullet. “Auden is visiting.”
“Auden? The chick you hung out with last summer? You’re choosing agirlover celebrating with us? Dude, that’s cold.”
“You don’t have boobs, Luke,” Josh explains unhelpfully.
I glare at him. “We’re just friends.”
Josh shakes his head. “You’re so deep in denial, man, it’s not even funny anymore.” He pauses and reconsiders. “Actually, it’s alittlefunny still. I never thought I’d see the day.”
I scoff. “I’m not in denial about anything.” It’s true. I’m well aware of how dateable Auden Harmon is, how she makes me laugh and gives the best advice. If I were to date a girl, it’d be her. But while I may be open to having a girl as a friend, my stance on girlfriends hasn’t changed, especially when it comes to Auden. She’s the last person in the world I’d ever voluntarily hurt, and that’s the only way a relationship would end—badly. I’ve hooked up with enough girls who said they were fine with it being a onetime thing…and then turned up heartbroken.
“Yeah, you are,” Josh refutes.
“Ease up,” Luke advises. “Elliot has never been friend-zoned before. Poor guy probably doesn’t even know how to get out of it.”
I clench my jaw. “Ichoseto be in the friend zone. Iwantto be in the friend zone.”
Oliver looks totally confused. “Is this athing? How come I didn’t know about it?”
“You’re oblivious?” Luke suggests.
“It’s a thing,” Josh confirms. “He texts her all the time. Probably what he’s doing right now.”
He leans over to glance at my phone screen. I quickly shut it off. Because yeah, fine, thatiswhat I was just doing.
Josh grins. “Knew it.”
“Whatever” is my witty response.
“Bring her to the formal,” Luke suggests.
“Not happening. If she wants to, we’ll go to the party after,” I concede.
“Ifshewants to?” Josh shakes his head. “Yeah, you couldn’t care less, man.”
I clench my teeth and turn my phone back on. “I never said I don’t care.”
“Yeah, well, it’s pretty obvious you do.”
I crank myI don’t want to talk about itexpression up to full blast. It seems to work…until lunch ends and Oliver and I head for our shared calculus class.
“Be careful, Reid,” he says as we walk toward the math wing.
I glance at him. “With what?”
“With this girl.”
I tense. “You don’t know what you’re talking about, Oliver.”
“Maybe,” he concedes. “But I’m not an idiot. She’s affecting you.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I repeat. “We’re just friends.”
“Toss that line around all you want, but I know you have feelings for her. You think I didn’t notice she’s gorgeous? Why the hell do you think Josh went over to her table for a pen instead of the middle-aged dude at the register? If she acted interested in any of us, it would have just been a fling. We wouldn’t be texting every day a year later.”
Even hypothetically, I don’t like hearing Oliver talk about Auden and a fling. “A fling? Sure you’re not just pissed I have a new friend who happens to be a girl who wasn’t interested in you?”
He snorts. “Reid. We’ve been friends for as long as I can remember. You really think I’m not used to girls passing me over the second you show up? I haven’t seen you so much as flirt with one of them in months. What does that say, huh?”
