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I grab one of my nicer pairs of jeans from their hanger, along with a thin sweater, and turn to leave, but a flash of green from inside a half-open box makes me pause. That specific box should have been in the basement. It’s labelledbasementfor a reason. One the moving company clearly didn’t care about.
My feet carry me toward it despite my annoyance, and I crouch, staring at the box like it might grow arms and take a swing at me. Carefully, I peel back the flaps and suck in a sharp breath. The white stitched name across the back of the old Warriors home jersey has my stomach doing backflips.
I still remember the day I bought this jersey, a month after Maddox was signed by the VW. The shop owner had hardly set the new Hutton jerseys out when I came in and bought one. It was almost nostalgic buying it. I was just so proud of him that the reality of our broken friendship wasn’t enough to keep me from grabbing this last piece of him.
Not once have I so much as tried it on, but if there were ever a time to give it a whirl . . . it would be tonight. Suddenly, my head is full of pain-in-the-butt questions and insecurities.
What if he doesn’t like it? What if it doesn’t fit after all these years? Will it make me look desperate?
The sound of my phone ringing in my room is an unexpected but grateful distraction. I leave the jersey where it’s been tucked away and rush to answer the call.
“Hello?”
“Hey. Am I interrupting something? You sound out of breath.” Cooper, one of Maddox’s and my closest friends since childhood, laughs into the speaker.
“Nope, not interrupting. I just ran to catch your call. You know how I am with running.” I walk over to my vanity and frown at the new pimple on my chin.Perfect timing for a breakout.
“I think you would like it if you really gave it a shot. It’s good for the mind.”
“My mind is just fine, thank you, Dr. Cooper.”
He chuckles. “You’re the only doctor here.”
“Technically, we’re both doctors. Your doctorate is just way cooler than mine.”
“You think a doctorate in art is cooler than you being a veterinarian? Nah, Braxton. Maybe your mind isn’t as solid as you think it is.”
A smile cracks through the stiff muscles in my face. “Did you call for a reason other than to make fun of me?”
“You see, I did, but you just make it too easy to rile you up.”
“You’re an ass.”
“That would actually be you. Considering you didn’t seem to be planning on telling me about your new boyfriend before it went public,” he scolds me.
“Who told you about that?” I groan.
“Who do you think?”
“Oh,” I mutter.
Maddox, Cooper, and I used to be thick as thieves growing up. Sure, Maddox and I were closer, but I think that had more to do with our two-year age gap with Cooper. At least, it did in the beginning.
After everything that went down with the two of us, I kept in contact with Cooper but never had the guts to ask about Maddox, and he knew better than to bring him up. I’m sure he and Maddox had the same agreement regarding me. Coop was the perfect Switzerland, and for that, I’m beyond grateful.
“Yeah, oh.”
“I’m sorry. I was going to tell you, but I wanted to wrap my head around this first before dragging you into it.”
“I understand that. I just expected you to be the one to tell me, that’s all. We’ve always been more open about that stuff than Dox and I are.”
“Are you saying that I’m your favourite?”
“Don’t try and change the subject. What’s up with this fake dating stuff?”
“It just sort of happened, Coop.”
“Just sort of happened?” he echoes. “You signed an NDA.”
