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It’s Dex.
“Hey,” he says quietly.
“Hey.”
There’s no reason for this to feel awkward—we met once, exchanged numbers, set a date that never happened, and didn’t talk to each other again. But it does feel awkward. His jaw is set and there’s a stiffness in his posture now.
“Sorry we never made that date,” he says when our attempt at small talk dies.
I reach for something to say but can’t think of anything. “I’m…”
“With Timothy, I heard.” He taps his phone on his leg a few times. “I didn’t realize there was something between you two, or I never would’ve asked. I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have to apologize. There wasn’t anything between me and Timothy then.”
Dex side-eyes me. “There was on his side, and I didn’t realize he was serious.”
“Oh.” I didn’t either.
Whatever is weighing on Dex drags his shoulders down. He sounds tired. “Shit got out of hand, for both of us. I want you to know I’m sorry. I can’t get the sound of him hitting that pole out of my head. If I hadn’t—”
The kid is two seconds away from crying, and I’m five seconds away from kicking Timothy’s ass. Maybe Dex’s too.
“What—” I want to ask what happened, but I need to hear it from Timothy, not from Dex. I shake my head and pat Dex on the shoulder. “It was an accident.”
He nods. “At least you two are together now,” he muses.
“Yeah.” For now.
“Why are you sitting here, all alone?” he asks suddenly, turning toward me.
I shrug and stare at the black screen of my phone. “I don’t know where Timothy is.”
“I was kicking Danny’s ass at pool,” Timothy’s cool voice startles me and Dex goes rigid. Probably pale, but the lights are in some dim party mode and I can’t be sure. “You would know that,” Timothy continues, “If you looked for me.”
Dex gets up. Timothy doesn’t even glance at him when he walks past.
I stand. I want to fight with him, scream at him, cling to him while he fucks me and I’m not enjoying this mix of emotions. “I’m going to bed.”
Timothy holds a hand out to me. “Ask me to come with you.”
I stare at his hand. “How did the accident happen?” I ask quietly.
His hand drops as he exhales. “I was a dick, baiting Dex, and I got carried away. The rig tilted. I think I moved into his kick instead of away.”
My heart lurches.Baiting Dex?Why? Over what?
Over me. Over that stupid fucking date I was never going to go on. Tears fill my eyes. “It was my fault?”
“No,” he says immediately, his voice firm. “No,” he repeats, louder. “Never your fault. It was mine. I was in a bad mood.”
“You don’t have bad moods.”
“Everyone has bad moods, Mina. I’m just better at hiding them. Most of the time. Not that day.”
I clamp my hand over my mouth. My throat is burning with the effort it takes to keep the tears in my eyes from falling. He was in a bad mood, just like I was, after that disaster of a friendiversary night. Fuck, if I’d just talked to him…
Timothy moves to the step below me. “I’m grieving my career, but I need you to understand I wouldn’t change any of this. Okay?” He brushes a runaway tear from my cheek. “None of it is your fault. None.”
