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“You can’t argue with me on that!” I exclaimed. My mouth lifted into an involuntary grin because I knew exactly what her face looked like. “We both agreed to see where it goes, and I don’t want to push him any more than I should jump into it.”
“What?” Katie spun around to face me and her eyes narrowed.
I replayed the sentence in my head and failed to understand my own wording. I decided to simplify it slowly for both of us.
“I don’t want to push him into something he doesn’t want,” I confessed sadly and shook my head. “Yeah, I wanna be with him. But I also have to consider the other outcome. If we mess this up, there’s no going back. I won’t lose him as a friend, Katie. He’s too important to me.”
Katie processed my second attempt at an explanation and went back to her eyeshadow. We paused our conversation for a moment and sang along to the lyrics of “Make Me Proud” by Drake.
“Well, promise me this, then.” Katie’s tone was much more serious than before.
I put down my mascara and gave her my full attention.
“You’ll keep communicating with him, and if it gets too hard for you—youwillend it. I watched you try and be the hookup type with Bryson, and it fucking sucked. Don’t let that become you and Jaxon.”
I sighed and stared down at the mud-colored carpet. “Ironically enough, I think my relationship with Bryson is the best it’s ever been.”
“Because it’s no longer you that he’s sleeping around on,” Katie grunted. It was clear she still wasn’t a fan of Bryson.
“And the pisser is he’s actually a decent guy to get along with now that I’m no longer sleeping with him,” I noted. It was hard not to see a glimmer of humor in the situation.
Katie grinned. “Stop it.”
I had to pause my mascara again so I could laugh. “What are you thinking about?”
“I’m thinking about how you, of all people, found the most anti-relationship guys to fuck around with—two incredibly attractive guys that happen to be roommates slash best friends.”
“What do you mean,me of all people?” I demanded playfully.
“You wanted a hookup at the beginning of the year, remember? You found two guys who fit the role perfectly, and what has that done for you?”
I shrugged. “I’m just not a Fun Dip kind of girl.”
“Morgan did say you can’t have Fun Dip with a person you actually care about losing,” Katie quoted me. I delivered that same line after I invited Jaxon out with us for the very first time.
“Morgan didn’t say that I did!” I exclaimed.
“My point exactly!” Katie yelled, and I doubled over in hysterics.
“Shut up and finish your eyes!” I snapped back. “We told Sam we’d meet him at 149 in five minutes.”
“Done.” Katie tossed her makeup brush on the table in front of her and grabbed her gray leather jacket from the hook by the door. “Let’s do a shot to St. Patty’s Day 2016. I think we both need it.”
“Why do you need it?” I grabbed the bottle of Fireball off the counter and poured two shots. I handed her hers, and she held up her finger.
She took a deep breath and held my gaze for a moment. “I told Connor I loved him last night at dinner, and he said it back.”
“You bitch.” I laughed. “You almost let me leave without that information!”
We clinked our glasses, downed the cinnamon liquor, and walked out the door.
* * *
When we got to 149,the bar was packed. Next to opening weekend and Halloween, St. Patrick’s Day was an iconic holiday at BG. It pulled crowds from surrounding schools like Tiffin University, the University of Toledo, and the University of Findlay. It made things difficult for our group when we were used to the regular weekend traffic.
We spent almost an hour at 149 and decided to pop over to Tubby’s for some Green Beer. We grabbed a table in the corner of the bar to claim some sort of ground while Sam and Owen ordered shots for everyone.
“God, I hope it isn’t—” Katie began, and a tray arrived before she could finish her thought.
