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Since it was stillearly in the day, Kroger wasn’t crowded. We had about an hour before locals started wandering in for weekly grocery shopping, and more students ended their classes.
Katie and I weaved in and out of aisles, picking up snacks that looked appealing. We took our time and wandered aimlessly. I plopped two cartons of cranberry juice into our cart and sighed.
“Am I allowed to comment now?” Katie scanned a bottle of pineapple juice and added it to the cart.
I had just told her about my run-in with Jaxon at his apartment and his interrupted lip lock with Blondie. “I suppose.”
We rounded the corner and entered the soda aisle. I grabbed a case of Dr. Pepper and slid it underneath the cart. With the amount of alcohol I planned on drinking this weekend, it was a much-needed addition.
“You and Jaxon have been dancing around each other since you tried to hook up. He’s got a thing for you, Mace, and you absolutely adore him. I also adore him. He’s a great guy. You will continue to be in this weird state you guys have created until one of you does something about it,” Katie rambled like she had this speech prepared months ago.
We stopped walking and stood right in the middle of the wine aisle. I turned to face Katie, and she continued, “I know you don’t want to try anything because you’re afraid of messing it up. You are scared to lose him as a friend, and I get that. But can you honestly tell me that things have been the same between you guys since break? Since November even?”
“He literally said that hecouldn’tsleep with me, Katie.” I shook my head and grinned. “And that was much more than acomment.”
“Because he cared about you as a friend,” she argued. “Doesn’t that mean anything?”
“Of course, it does, Katie,” I stammered.
I started walking again so I could try and focus on something other than this conversation. Katie held up a bottle of sangria, and I nodded in approval. She placed it in the cart and waited for me to continue.
“Jaxon doesn’t do relationships,” I emphasized, unable to process going through another routine like the one I had with Bryson. “He’s had plenty of chances to make a move on me, and he hasn’t. I’m going along with what’s in front of me because I just want him in my life, even if that means we never go past friends.”
We approached the self-checkout and unloaded our haul.
“So your solution then is to just be miserable until it eventually wedges you guys so far apart that you can’t fix it,” Katie said bluntly.
I blinked and let her words sink in. “He told me I would’ve hated him in the morning, and he said that nothing would change,” I replied softly. I bagged up the last few items and stuck them in the seat of the cart. “It’s not my fault he lied.”
A look of sympathy washed over Katie’s face. She threw her arm around my shoulders and gave me a soft squeeze. “I know I keep saying this, but you guys will work it out.”
I looked over at her and smiled. “Is that Hopeless Romantic Katie, I hear?”
“Bitch just won’t give up.” She shrugged.
We both laughed and loaded up the car with our pregaming supplies. It was clear that we both needed tonight, just for very different reasons.
Chapter43
Jaxon
February 2016
For a Sunday morningafter a night out, the apartment was quiet.
I felt relieved that no one was next to me in my bed. My head throbbed, and I didn’t feel like dealing with the morning-after. However, the empty condom wrapper on my floor hinted that someone had been here. I just had no idea who.
Bryson’s voice came from the other side of the door, followed by the laughter of a broad I didn’t recognize. It wasn’t Maci, and my shoulders relaxed. I instantly threw my hands in the air and dragged them down my face. It was infuriating that I even cared.
Once I heard the front door shut, I dragged myself out of bed and put on some sweatpants. I did a quick peek in the hall to see if anyone else was up and moving and made my way into the kitchen. I did a double-take when I saw Connor making bacon and eggs at the stove.
“Why are you here, man?” I blinked a few times and sat at one of the bar stools.
“I live here,” he answered casually.
“You know what I mean. You usually live at Katie’s on the weekends. I’m surprised you didn’t head over to her place last night.”
Connor shrugged. “We decided to do a weekend out on our own. I think she just wanted some girl time. She hasn’t been out since that night at The Attic.” He looked up at me from the burner. We hadn’t spoken about that night since he gave me my card the day after it happened.
