“Boring,” he teased, letting go of my hand to put in an order for us. I waited by the pickup counter while he flirted with the girl working the register. It made me shake my head because he’d been rejected by her twice already, but he didn’t care. I was pretty sure the other girl working was her girlfriend, so it was all innocent enough. A typical day in the life of Ren.
I pulled out my phone to check a few emails while we waited only to find a text from Theo. Opening it, I couldn’t help but smile over the picture of Ramsay sitting obediently and staring up at the camera. There were no words that accompanied it, which only made the smile grow.
Ren walked up beside me, looking down at the screen. “Why haven’t I met your dog yet? Who gets to see him?” Without asking, he plucked the phone from me and studied the sender before groaning. “I thought we were mad at Theo.”
“We’re not mad at him. I am.”
“Which means I am by default.”
“You never liked him,” I countered.
“Because I see how you look at each other. It just weirds me out a little considering the age difference.”
Heat blasted over my face. “Not again. He isn’t that much older than me.”
He raised his hand. “Eighteen years. But hey. Whatever, Del. I’ve done weirder things with people older than me. I just want to make sure you’re okay, and whatever went down with him upset you.”
“I’m fine,” I told him for the hundredth time. How many times did I have to tell him before he was convinced? I wasn’t going to explain that I had the most intense kiss of my life thanks to my father’s best friend and how I’d gone home that night and slipped a hand between my thighs to relieve the pressure he’d left, even though I was pissed at him for backing away. If it was like before, we’d be the same. Tiptoeing around each other until the frustration built again. It was a cycle I wanted nothing more than to break.
“Which definitely means you’re not.” His tone was casual as he called me out, but there was a hint of amusement tilting his lips upward. “I thought you said you weren’t talking to him. By the way, you still haven’t told me why.”
I snatched my phone back and hip bumped him. “Stop pouting. I don’t want to talk about why. And he’s watching Ramsay because the owner of my building almost caught me when I was taking him out to go to the bathroom. Or he did. I’m not sure. I dropped Ramsay off at Theo’s house yesterday morning after he went to work then texted him because I was afraid if I did get caught, Ramsay would get taken away while I was here.”
He gaped at me. “Dude.”
I winced. “I didn’t want to actually see Theo. Don’t judge. You just said you’ve done worse, so don’t hate on me.”
He parted his lips before realizing he couldn’t argue. Shrugging, he nodded. “Fair. But I still want to know why you’re angry at him. My imagination has gone wild, so it’s better to just tell me.”
He wasn’t wrong, but that didn’t mean he was getting anything from me. Whatever he was imagining was probably way dirtier than what had happened, but I wasn’t caving. “You could meet Ramsay if you want. I never told you that you couldn’t.”
“Uh, at his house?”
I gave him a “duh” stare.
“Pass.”
“Coward.”
“I’m not denying it.” He walked up when the cute raven-haired girl called out to him. I was sure he winked, and she blushed, which made me question my previous assumption over her dating status. Maybe she was like Ren. They’d be cute together. Then again, a lot of people would look good with my best friend. It was like he fit everywhere.
It made me wonder if I did. I couldn’t picture myself with him when the opportunity struck, and I never saw myself with anybody else either. Lawrence had told me it was because I was infatuated with Theo for so long, I couldn’t get my mind to let it go. I wasn’t so sure it was that simple though. If I wanted to, I could at least try being around other people. Guys my age. Maybe some a few years older. It just didn’t feel…right. Not because I was obligated or owed anything to Theo, but because he was the only person who truly understood me. Who made the flutters appear in my stomach with a single side-smirk. Theo was just…my person.
We walked over to Ren’s friends as expected. I was glad to have the distraction because as soon as he sat down, his friends started in on him. The ragging lasted long enough for me to finish my drink and check my school email. One of them was from my art professor who wanted to meet with me before I left campus for the day. After replying with an agreed time, I hovered over Theo’s name until Ren decided to pay attention to me.
“No.”
“No, what?”
He grabbed my phone and turned the screen off before shoving it into his pocket. “If you’re angry with him, you’ll be angrier that you texted first. Remember all the times you tried stopping me from making stupid choices?”
I deadpanned. “It didn’t stop you.”
One of his friends snorted. “She’s got you there. You cave in seconds when chicks are pissed at you.” Men too, but I didn’t say that aloud.
A girlfriend of one of his teammates leaned over and grinned at me. “Are you having boy troubles? The chase always worked for me, girl. I’m just saying. Play hard to get and he’ll be eating out of the palm of your hand in no time.”
The blush was unstoppable. “It isn’t boy trouble. It’s complicated.”
Ren laughed, the fire in his eyes mischievous as ever. “More like daddy issues.”
Everybody got quiet in a second. Ren stiffened beside me before his wide eyes found mine. The mischief extinguished when guilt flooded them.
Clearing my throat, I squirmed and looked down at the folded hands in my lap to avoid the pitied glances cast in my direction from the people surrounding us.
“Shit, Del. I’m so—”
“It’s okay,” I whispered, voice cracking. I knew he didn’t mean it like that. Ren was being…Ren. Dirty-minded. And he wasn’t wrong to make the joke. Maybe if it were a year or two later considering what happened to my actual father, people would have laughed.
“Can I have my phone back? I should get going to get some work done. Plus, I need to meet with Professor Ambrose.”
He passed it to me but didn’t let me just take it right away. “Are you really leaving? We can head out and maybe go to—”
I patted his leg with a soft smile. At least, what I hoped looked like one. “It’s okay. Really. I still have that project due, and Ramsay needs to be taken care of.” I was aware people were still watching, though some pretended not to be. Badly. “I’ll text you later?”
He just frowned but nodded.
I pecked his cheek. “Love you.”
His voice was full of sympathy. “Love you too. If you need anything, let me know.” He knew I wouldn’t, but he always made it a point to say so.
I waved at everybody else and walked out without looking back. Pulling out my phone, I typed out a text to Theo and hesitated to send it. When I realized it wasn’t what I wanted, I sighed and turned it off, so I wasn’t tempted. Ren was right, I would have been angry at myself to reach out even when part of me was still irritated.