Page 103 of Unloved

I step into the pristine, empty bathroom, smiling brightly at how beautiful the dress looks on her, the slit perfect for her muscular thigh, the entire cut of the garment elongating her short stature.

“You know,” Sadie says, a little glint in her eye as I find the zipper pull low on her back, pulling slowly so the fabric doesn’t catch. “You could be coming with us. Bennett would be happy to take you. Rhys said he’s never taken a date.”

Bennett would be happy to takesomeone, but I’d bet we’ll never know who that is if even Rhys doesn’t know.

“Or Freddy?”

The question is pointed, and I want to prod her on how much she knows.

Specifically, if she knows that Freddydidask me. After showing up at my classroom and waiting for me to get out, he asked me if I couldplease, pleasehelp him with finding a suit to wear, even offering to get me an extra-large dirty chai for going shopping with him.

The bribery was very unneeded, but I let him take care of me.

We spent the afternoon at a few shops in downtown Waterfell, eventually stopping at a vintage store I’ve frequented before—mostly because the blue suit in the window easily caught my eye. It didn’t fit him when he tried it on, but I knew the alterations were easy enough for me to do for him.

And in the quiet of my dorm room late one night, after measuring his broad chest turned to labored breathing from us both and another almost-kiss, he backed away with a signature smile and settled himself on my bed, though he never looked comfortable, instead stiff and anxious.

“You know you could come with me—be my date.”

It made my heart soar. For a long moment, I considered it. Imagined it.

But I remembered the date marked on the calendar hung on the fridge, circled in red with hearts. Sadie told me about it with true, blinding excitement when she asked me to watch Oliver and Liam.

“I can’t. I’m sorry.”

He shook his head with a pained grin that made my chest hurt and nodded. “Right. Right, of course.”

I know Sadie would hire a sitter—which shehatesto do when she doesn’t know them—if I even hinted at wanting to go. But I want Sadie to have fun for once. Real fun that makes her feel full and not empty afterward.

Rhys is good for her.Loveis good for her.

“Is this you playing matchmaker now?”

Sadie grins. “C’mon, tutor and athlete?” The question is playful, mocking how much I’ve teased her cliché of figure skater and hockey player making the perfect romance pair.

“Yeah, yeah,” I say. The ache of Freddy’s familiar words and knowing I’ll face him downstairs in a pretty suit coat I helped him select is enough to have me fidgeting, desperate to get out. “Besides, you need someone to watch Oliver and Liam.”

“The Koteskiys probably wouldn’t mind if they came,” Sadie says, but her words are tinged with anxiety, like she’s not sure of the truth of that statement.

Do this for her.

“Honestly, I’m excited to have them for the night.”

Sadie shakes her head. “No, just grab them from practice—they’re having pizza night tonight, so it’ll run late anyway. And then you can bring them to the dorm or wherever until the gala is over. But I figured they can stay here.”

“You sure? If you and Rhys want to have time alone—”

“No, I don’t wanna leave them for another night so soon.”

Acquiescing, I nod and fix one of the fluttering strands of her curtain bangs that I know for a fact she cuts herself once a month. If I had the budget for extra, I’d send her to a proper salon. She has the perfect hair for something cool and creative—something more than my YouTube hair scholar information created tonight.

“Ready?”

To see Matt Fredderic in a suit that nearly made me choke on my dirty chai the first time?No. No, I am not.

Still, I nod and lend her my arm to help her slip on her strappy heels before she heads for the stairs.

CHAPTER 38Freddy

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