Page 41 of How We Loved

“Do you know him?” I raise my eyebrows to him in question.

“No. Does that matter?” he responds.

“Yes, it matters. It’s Maya,” I state, making sure they clearly hear my tone, knowing I’m not playing around.

“Yeah. Our friend. She’s none of our girlfriends. Why should we care who she dates?” Eli asks.

Dalton grabs the basketball and tosses it at me. “Yeah, why do you care, Ben?”

I glare at him. He’s the one always giving me shit about our friendship. He’s never believed that we’re only friends.

I toss the ball back at him. “We’re all her friend, which means we all should care. She’s Maya.” I state her name like that’s the only explanation they need. “As her male friends, we all should want to protect her.”

Dalton takes a shot, and Marcus gets the rebound when he misses.

He shoots as he says, “I get that.”

I nod my appreciation to him. “At least Marcus gets it.”

“I get it. It’s Maya. But I also get that she’s human and that she’s going to have a boyfriend at some point, and I say it’s about time,” Dalton states, eyeing me. “Natalie has talked to her about him a few times. Maya’s never said anything bad. She seems to really like the guy.”

I huff. “About time, my ass. She can date all she wants. Just … why does it have to be a guy none of us know?”

Dalton laughs. “That’s probably why she’s dating him. We know everyone else in this town. Or rather, they know your relationship—I mean, friendship—with her.”

“My friendship has nothing to do with her not dating.”

“Uh-huh. Keep telling yourself that,” Dalton taunts as he takes another shot.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Maya

Now that it’s Friday, I’m super excited for the night we have planned.

At first, it was supposed to be just a double date with Dalton and Natalie, but of course, as soon as Ben found out about it, he said he was coming, too, stating he needed to get to know Trevor better. I know the sooner he’s comfortable with me dating Trevor, the less he’ll bug me, so I agreed he could tag along, and we invited everyone else to join us as well.

Because it’d be my first double date, I couldn’t help myself when I suggested bowling. It just felt like the perfect couple thing to do.

I’m giddy as I sit here and wait for Trevor to come pick me up.

“So, what’s the plan tonight?” Dad asks, cleaning up the dinner he made for himself since I plan on eating out.

“All of us are going to the bowling alley,” I state as I make sure I have everything I need in my purse.

“Including Ben?”

I stop what I’m doing and look up at him. “Yes, Ben will be there, too, but Trevor is coming to pick me up. He’s my boyfriend now, remember?”

He holds up his hands in surrender. “My bad. Trevor is the boyfriend. Got it.”

The doorbell rings, and I do a little happy dance. “He’s here!”

I rush to the door and open it to see the cutest guy who’s looking better than ever in a worn ball cap and tight white shirt that shows off his muscles more than I’ve ever seen. I love how he has his shirt tucked in, showing off his championship belt buckle, which makes me smile, knowing how proud he is of that thing.

I reach out my hand to him, and he grabs it before looking around to see if my dad is in eyesight. When he sees the coast is all clear, he pulls me in for a quick kiss.

“Um, I’ve missed you,” he says as he pulls back, giving me a sexy grin.

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