Page 113 of Faking Ties

“Me, too,” Trey says.

“What happened?” Quincy asks. “We all saw her video, but she didn’t go into details.”

“The scrutiny put a strain on us,” I say, hating that I have to lie to them. “It also brought up a lot of pain from her relationship with Jax. She’s an amazing person, just not the right one for me. We really are better off as friends.”

“But,” Jake says, “friends don’t have the chemistry you two had.”

“It is what it is,” I say, turning my back on them.

Someone claps three times in quick succession. I spin around and Quincy grins at me. “All right, boys. Breakups suck, but we’re a family, and families help each other.”

“Amen,” Marcus says.

I glare at him, and he grins.

“Operation get Stellar back together is now live,” Jake says. “Ideas anyone?”

“We could have him serenade her live on TV,” Trey says.

“He’d scare her away,” Quincy says, “with that voice of his.”

“What if he rented out all the billboards in New York City,” D-Rock says, “and put a special message on it just for her.”

“Ohhh, I like that one.” Jake points to him.

“What about,” Marcus says, “getting one of those skywriting planes and having it fly over her next concert?”

“Now that’s romantic,” Quincy says. “I say we do all the ideas. Hammer it home how much she means to him.”

“You guys,” I say. “I appreciate the gesture, but we’re not going to get back together.”

“You two were perfect for each other,” Marcus says. “We all agree that this is best. You were happy, and so was she.”

“Okay, more ideas,” Jake says before I can respond.

“What if we all do a song and dance at our next game for her?” Trey proposes.

“What is it with you and singing?” D-Rock jokes.

“It’s her passion,” Trey says defensively. “You’d be doing something that means a lot to her.”

“Fair point,” Jake says. “I like it.”

“We will not be doing anything,” I say.

“We will,” Quincy says. “We know what’s best for you.”

They all continue their brainstorming, and when they start talking about kidnapping her, I draw the line and take out my phone and call Stella.

“Hey,” she says. “What’s up?”

I pan to the guys. “I need you to tell them we’re not getting back together.”

Stella laughs. “We’re not getting back together.”

“But why not?” Marcus whines. “We love you and can’t lose you.”

“Aww, I love you, too,” Stella says. “But I do need your help with two things.”

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