"I'm done. You can go on your run if you want."
"Okay. See ya later."
I go in the house to my room and call up Riley.
"Me again," I say when she answers.
"Yeah? What's up?"
"I know things are off between us and I want to fix it. Any ideas?"
"I think it's too soon for that. You said we need time apart and I think you're right."
"Riley, this is our last summer together. We can't waste it fighting with each other."
"We're not fighting. It's just hard to be around you when you're angry at me."
"I'm not angry."
"You are. You're trying to pretend you're not, but I can feel it whenever I'm around you. And you still look at me that way."
"What way?"
"Like you're in love with me. I didn't see it before, but now I do, and it's hard to be around you when you look at me that way. I feel like I'm just making things harder. Hurting you even more."
It does hurt to be around her, knowing I love her but can't have her, but what do I do? I can't avoid her all summer. I want to spend time with her, as much time as I can before I move away.
"Nate, I need more time. Even if you don't, I do. I can't be around you right now."
"Okay," I say, a sadness coming over me. I feel like she's ending our friendship and it's all my fault. I really screwed this up.
"Talk later?"
"Yeah. Bye."
I take a shower, then go out to the living room and try to find something to watch on TV. The pool is closed on Sundays, but I wish it was open so I'd have something to do. I should search for jobs, but I don't feel like it. I don't feel like doing anything right now.
"Hey." Brad walks in, sweaty from his run. He heads straight for his room.
"Brad?" I yell from the couch.
"What?" he yells back.
"Could you do me a favor?"
He walks back to the living room. "What?"
"Would you go over to Riley's?"
"Why?"
"I need you to talk to her. Find out if she still wants to be friends with me or if she's trying to figure out a way to let me go."
He lifts his t-shirt up, using it to wipe the sweat off his face. "Nate, I don't want to get in the middle of this."
"Too late. You're already in it. Riley trusts you. She'll open up to you."
"Why don't you just talk to her yourself?"
"Because she won't answer my questions. Not honestly. You know Riley. She'll try to protect my feelings."
"Then she won't tell me anything either. She'll know I'll come back and tell you whatever she said."
"But it's easier to say it to someone else than to me. Would you please just do this for me? Take her to lunch, or an early dinner. It's on me."
He sighs. "Fine, but I'm not making any promises. If she doesn't want to talk, I'm not going to push it. And I'm not promising I'll tell you what she says."
"That's better than nothing." I get up. "I'll go grab some money."
"Forget it. I got it. I need to go shower." He takes off for his room.
I hope Riley agrees to let him come over. She said she's busy, but I think that was just an excuse to keep me away. I'll know for sure if she lets Brad see her. He'll get her to talk. He can get most anyone to talk. That's just his personality.
I shouldn't use my cousin like this, but I'm desperate. I need to know what Riley's thinking.
Chapter Sixteen
Riley
Brad's name lights up my phone and I instantly smile as I answer the call. "Hey!"
"Hey. Question for you."
"Yeah?"
"Will go you out with me?"
"On a date?" I ask in a flirty tone.
I really want to see him again, and this time I want to do the stuff we didn't do last night. After he left, I fell asleep and had a dream where Brad was my extremely sexy lifeguard who rescued me from the pool and gave me mouth-to-mouth, which was followed by his mouth going other places. It ended with me waking up hot and bothered and dying to see him again.
"Not sure if Nate would call it that," Brad says.
"Nate?"
"He asked me to go out with you today. He even offered to pay."
"Wait—what? Why?"
"He wants me to get you to tell me what's going on with you and him."
"I already told him when he called me earlier."
"Apparently he doesn't believe you. He wants me to see if you'll tell me more."
I roll my eyes. "That's so Nate. Whenever he doesn't like my answer, he keeps pushing until he gets the answer he wants."
"So can I come over? This may be one of the few chances we have to be together without having to hide it from Nate."
"I have a friend here cutting my hair, but we're almost done. You could head over soon."
"Okay, see ya."
"Who was that?" April asks as she grabs the scissors. She does my hair instead of my mom because April cuts it the way I want it. When my mom used to do it, she'd cut it the way she wants, which would end with us fighting and me hating my hair until it grew out again.
"A guy," I tell her, purposely being vague.
"You're not going to tell me?"
"I'm trying to keep it a secret."
"I won't tell Nate," she says, snipping the long layers around my face. "I promise."
April knows about Nate telling me he loves me. I told her the next day at work. She wasn't surprised. She said everyone knew he loved me except me. I still don't know how that's possible.
"Is it someone I know?" she asks.
"You've met him."
"So it's someone who goes to the salon."
"He only went one time. You were the one who cut his hair."
She stops snipping and her eyes widen. "You're not talking about Nate's cousin, are you?"
I cringe. "Maybe?"
"Riley!" She slaps my arm. "Are you insane?"
"I know, it's bad. But Brad's the best guy I've ever gone out with. He's nice, easy to talk to, and he actually listens to what I'm saying. And the way he kisses?" I sigh, dreamily.
"Riley, you cannot date Nate's cousin!"
"I'm not. I mean, technically we went on one date, but it was just dinner and a movie."
She eyes me. "Did you have sex with him?"
"No! We kissed. That's it."
"So it's not happening again."
"Um, it might. But I'm not telling Nate, and neither is Brad. We agreed to keep this from Nate until some time has passed."
"Riley, you can't tell Nate this. Not EVER. The guy loves you. He wanted to marry you. He is never going to be okay with you dating his cousin."
"For the record, he didn't ask me to marry him. And Nate and I never dated, so why is this so wrong? I made it clear to Nate that I didn't have feelings for him, but because he has feelings for me, I'm not allowed to date anyone?"