Morgan tells me she has to use the bathroom before we can order a drink, and I offer to come with. I’d much rather hang in smelly, questionable bathrooms than stand alone in a crowd of horny guys that look at me like I’m an all-you-can-eat buffet.
The line is so long and the bathroom so tiny, I decide to spare myself the claustrophobic attack and wait outside. Morgan manages to get in after ten minutes, and I recline against the wall, arms folded over my chest.
Then I hear him.
“Remind me why we’re here again?”
Will.
I crane my neck to catch a glimpse of him and Alex holding beers right around the corner. They haven’t seen me yet.
“Because Zoey got me a hot date, and I’m not missing it.” Alex shrugs. “I’d tell you to go home, but… I know you won’t.”
“Want to bet?” Will drawls.
“Will you just drop the act already?”
“What act?”
Alex tips his bottle back for a sip, taking his sweet time.
“What, Alex?” Will grows restless. “What makes you so damn sure I won’t bolt?”
Alex snorts. “You’re not going to bolt because Kass is here.”
My pulse shoots up.
What I wouldn’t do to see the look on Will’s face right now. I only have a clear view of Alex from here.
“What are you talking about?” He feigns confusion.
“Save your breath. Phone died earlier, so I grabbed yours to call Blake. You’ve been texting her like crazy. What the hell is up with you two?”
“Remind me to put a password on that shit later.” Will sighs, backed into a corner.
“I’m serious, man. Are you… getting down and dirty with Kendrick’s sis?” Alex presses. “Because I’m not covering for you like I did with Blake. I can barely live with myself as is.”
“No, of course not. We’re just friends.”
“Look, you fuck whoever you want, but if you don’t tell Kendrick, I wi—”
“I told you we’re fucking friends,” Will snaps, his temper slipping away, but Alex doesn’t buy it for a second. “I mean it. Okay, yeah, we’ve been talking. We have shit in common. I feel like she understands me, but she’s like a sister to me.”
Instant gag reflex.
A tsunami of emotions sweeps me away. Rage, disgust, pain. They infiltrate my lungs, destroy every ounce of hope in my system. A sister? He’s going to play the sister card when he practically fingered me?
With awful timing, Morgan comes out of the bathroom.
“Kass!” She waves at me.
The sound of my name is enough to capture the boys’ attention. They whip their heads back, noticing me standing there, eyes locked on them.
Eyes locked on him.
I can confidently say I’ve never seen Will look so pale.
Swallowing the pain crawling up my throat, I don’t say a word, grab Morgan’s wrist, and drag her away.
Resting my elbows flat against the bar and rising to my tiptoes, I attempt to grab the bartender’s attention with hand signals. Poor guy is swamped right now. In his defense, the club has officially reached its quota and closed access to new arrivals.
I got stuck with drinks duty after Zoey spilled her Bloody Mary on someone’s shoes. I’ve personally stopped drinking over an hour ago as I’m not looking to recreate the last time I got wasted—wouldn’t want to accidentally make out with someone who’s not into me again.
“Shouldn’t you be with your friends?”
I twist my head to see the pink-haired girl who was crowding me less than a second ago has shifted into Will. I expected to be hurt, sad even, the next time I talked to him, but right now, the only thing I can feel is burning annoyance.
“Shouldn’t you be with yours?” I say dryly.
“Alex ditched me for Zoey’s friend. Haven’t seen him since.”
I don’t reply, gesturing at the bartender again, who nods, acknowledging my existence and walking over at last. I check my phone notes, where I put down Zoey’s drink of choice, and make sure to add in that glass of water for Morgan. She wasn’t kidding about never drinking again.
As soon as the bartender leaves with my order, Will buries me with questions: How are you, are you ignoring me, so we’re just never going to talk again? And that’s just a few of them. I give the performance of a lifetime, motioning to my ear and pretending I can’t hear him which pisses him off to no end. What did he expect? We’re not okay. Or on good terms.
He hurt me.
Bad.
“Kass… About what I said to Ale—”
That’s the line I stop being deaf for.
“Don’t,” I stop him. “It’s fine. Message received. You look at me like a sibling.”
I could gag just saying it out loud.
“But I—”
The bartender comes around with my drinks. Itching to get away from Will, I throw him a twenty and tell him to keep the change.
“I should go find the girls.” I swipe the two glasses off the bar and turn on my heels. I’ve barely moved an inch when he speaks.
“I miss you.”
I can’t take another step.
“That’s right, I… I miss you, Kass. I’m sorry about what I said when we…” He doesn’t dare finish. “It was dumb as fuck, and you didn’t deserve that. I’m sorry.”
I’m rooted in place, my back all he can see.
“I guess what I’m trying to say is…” He pauses. “I got used to us talking, and I’d like it if things could go back to normal.”
Normal.
As in back to me having an unrequited crush on him.
“You mean you want us to go back to being friends?” I surprise him by turning around.
He nods, exhaling in relief as though I just took the words out of his mouth. “That’s exactly what I mean.”
The answer is easy for me.
“No.”
His face is priceless.
“What?”
“I said no. I can’t be your friend.” I resume walking.
He holds me back. “Why not?”
“Because I caught feelings for you!”
His composure crumbles.
He tumbles a step back, his mouth falling open, but I
