Page 17 of Delay of Game

He ditched you?

Ash

maybe he and Olivia are having a little video chat if you know what I mean…

Alice

Ew, no Ash. Why would you give me that visual?

I try to wipe away the mental image of my brother and Olivia doing god knows what over a video call when my phone rings.

“Robbie?” I ask, my vision blurry with tears.

“Hey, Al. I’m sorry, I completely spaced out on time. I’ve been trying to get a hold of Olivia but I think something happened with her phone, it keeps sending me to voicemail.”

“Oh, do you think she’s okay?”

“Yeah, I’m sure it’s nothing. I just worry about her, you know? She went out last night with some coworkers but she didn’t give me any more updates.”

“I can try giving her a call too. But, Robbie, are you still coming to get me?” I ask, feeling stupid. Here I am, worried that he won’t take me to the bookstore, when he’s worried about his girlfriend not making it home safely.

“She’s calling me back now. Al, I’m sorry, I have to take it. I don’t think we’ll have time to go to the bookstore before dinner,” he says hurriedly.

I bite my lip and nod, even though he can’t see it. “Yeah, that’s okay?—“

“I gotta go, I’ll see you later,” he says, hanging up on me.

Jordan

I stareat the group text from Alice. Did Robbie ditch her? She was so excited about that bookstore trip and has been talking about doing that silly trend since the summer. Would it be weird if I took her instead?

Without giving it too much thought, I call her.

“Hello?” she answers, voice hoarse, like she’s been crying.

“Alice, it’s Jordan. Is everything okay?”

“Hey,” she says in a wobbly voice. “Yeah, I’m good. What’s up?”

“Have you heard from Robbie?” I ask, not liking the sound of her voice one bit. I don’t care that Robbie is her brother, I’m gonna smack the shit out of him for hurting her.

“Yeah, he’s got something going on with Olivia. He’s fine though, sorry I freaked out over the group chat.” She sniffles, and I swear to god it physically hurts me to hear her so dejected. This girl is nothing if not sunshine and rainbows.

“Wait, so he did actually ditch you? What the hell?” I ask hotly. My fingers are already on the keys and I’m grabbing my jacket off the hook as I say, “I’m coming to get you. You’re getting those books today no matter what.”

“Really?” she asks, her voice filled with surprise and what sounds like wonder. Fuck, doesn’t she know I’d do anything for her? I guess I’ve hurt her badly enough keeping my distance the past couple of years, but that doesn’t mean I stopped caring about her. If anything, I caredmore, knowing she was right within reach, and yet so far from me.

I really hated myself for making her miss family gatherings, all because she didn’t want to be near me. If anything, I should have been the one to stay away. But I didn’t. I couldn’t. Because deep down, I still wanted her friendship. I wanted to be around her and hear her sweet laugh and listen to her ramble about her most recent book obsession. I just didn’t want to add the pressure of a relationship, not when I wasn’t sure that something between us would last. She’s my best friend’s little sister.Complicated.

“I’ll be there shortly. Bring your biggest tote.”

Alice giggles on the other end of the phone and my smile grows wider. When Eli and Ash joined the team, and Robbie started inviting them to family dinners, I was jealous. Not because of the attention they got from the Elliots, but because Alice started attending more and more again. And she wasmaking genuine friendships with them, getting Eli out of his shell and flirting with Ash.

And I realized that I wanted that back. I wanted to be the one that made her laugh. I wanted to be the one she confided in when she was struggling with her career choices.

I wanted to be the one.

I wanted to be hers.

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