I have to understand that the two of them are like brother and sister and this is just what they do. But I want to be the one he talks things through with.
I’ve been sitting here for at least twenty minutes when a group walks past on the sidewalk. It’s Bailey and Simone and a couple of guys. I squint and notice that one of the guys is Jack.
“Hey,” Bailey shouts. “What’s going on?”
“Oh, nothing,” I say as I glance at the doorway and then look back at them, feeling completely out of place.
“Come with us,” Simone says. “We’re going to the Circle.”
Part of me thinks I should, just to get out of Brett and Tori’s way, but the other part wants to know what the hell is going on. “I’m okay, but thanks for asking.”
They wave and walk off, but in a moment, Jack comes up the steps toward me. “What’s going on?”
I force a smile. “Nothing. I’m just sitting here.”
“Mmm-hmm. Now do you want to tell me what’s really going on?” He pulls up the empty chair next to me.
I glance at the house. “Are you supposed to be here?”
“Most definitely not.” He nudges me on the knee. “You don’t seem okay. Talk to me.”
I look through the window at the bedroom door, which remains irritatingly closed. I give him the short version about the day and then say, “I guess he wanted to talk to Tori about something to do with it all.”
“Let me give you a word to the wise. Anybody who wants to date either one of them has to be really okay with what they’ve got going on. I’ll be honest, I couldn’t handle it.”
“Is that what happened between Tori and you?”
He smiles. “If you wanted to know, all you had to do was ask.”
My neck heats up. “I’m sorry, I guess I got caught up in the rumor mill.”
“You really don’t have to worry about the two of them hooking up or anything.”
“I believe that,” I say, failing to mention she’s in there in a bathrobe. “But is this what it’s like? When there’s a problem, he goes to Tori and not the person he’s dating?”
He considers me with a smile. “Come to the Circle with us. Just step away for a minute. When this is blown over, you can talk to him about how you feel, and then maybe he’ll come to you next time.”
His words make perfect sense. But I certainly don’t want to mess things up by hanging with Jack when I was supposed to be waiting for Brett.
A car pulls up, and Janelle opens the passenger door and then slams it shut. Shouldering a tote bag, she marches up the steps and seems not to notice us until she’s opening the front door. She looks Jack up and down. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Just leaving.”
She glances between Jack and me. “What’s going on between you two?”
I sit up straight like a teacher has scolded me. “I’m just waiting for Brett. He’s inside with Tori.”
She gives me a skeptical look, shakes her head, and then goes inside.
I meet Jack’s gaze. “I think I’ll take you up on that night out.”
“Yep.”
21
Kylie
The Circle is a really fun place filled with bars, restaurants, and carnival games, all surrounding a lake in the center. People wait in line to strap themselves into a harness and zip-line across the water while kids jump on a mega trampoline that skyrockets them into the air. It’s family-oriented and a little cheesy, but I like it.
In the course of about two hours, we have hit three bars, and Jack won a huge stuffed animal that he offered to any of us girls who wanted it. We all knew to step back and let Bailey have that one.
I keep checking my phone, but there’s no messages from Brett, which really starts to irk me. He has to know by now that I left, but it looks like he doesn’t care. It would be fine if he wouldn’t have said all that stuff to me last night about his feelings for me. I’m starting to wonder if I didn’t fall into the same trap a thousand girls have fallen into before me.
Simone and Bailey are out on the dance floor putting on a show. I’m not quite in the mood to be a girl sandwich, so I stand at the table, nursing a beer, which is not helping my strained heart. Jack comes back from the bar with a bottle of water. It hasn’t gotten past me that he’s not had a single alcoholic drink tonight.
He glances down at my phone. “Nothing from Mr. Right?”
I shake my head and drag my gaze to meet his.
He pulls me into his chest, and I’ve got to admit, it feels good there. Jack is a really tall hunk of a guy. And he’s nice on top of that. It’s comforting to be in what feels like a safe space for a moment.
I pull back from him. “Do you ever just feel defeated?”
He nods. “Yep. I do.”
“Last night was really great. I mean after you left, and actually, before that, too. It was good when you were there but…” I stop before I make this any worse.
“I know what you mean,” he says.
“And then things change like this.” I snap my fingers. “Not to mention what happened with Janelle earlier. I was only supposed to be staying with Tori because she was back with Chris. I don’t even know what’s gonna happen when I go back there tonight. I’m hoping Bailey and Simone will let me crash on
