Page 53 of Catch Me

“Now I really want to know what’s going on,” I press, looking between the two of them.

The corners of Lex’s mouth tilt up. “Cade likes Jules.”

My mouth drops. “No.”

Lex smiles and nods. “Yep.”

I look to Reid who confirms it with a nod.

“What the fuck? What? But Jules—” I stop where I was going with that train of thought because it was headed in a direction that isn’t true. Jules isn’t Brady’s girlfriend anymore.

“Don’t worry, Briar,” Lex says, reaching out to squeeze the top of my shoulder. “Jules doesn’t see him like that.”

“Yet,” Reid adds. This time, his lips do twist into a smile, but it’s short-lived. What we overheard in that tiny room is really bothering him.

I sit back in my seat, holding my arms to myself. I don’t know how I feel about this. Brady and Jules were the real deal. They loved each other. They—

But Cade is a good guy.Ifhe likes her and she likes him back, who am I to say anything about it?

“Relax, Briar,” Reid says. He puts his hand on my thigh and squeezes as he drives down the highway. “Jules is still grieving. This isn’t anything that’s going to happen for a long time. If ever.”

That’s true, I tell myself. Jules might not even like Cade like that even when she does want to move on after Brady. I take a deep breath and let all the mixed emotions about this scenario seep away. Jules will find someone. It’s not like she’s going to become a nun just because my brother died. Eventually, I’ll have to see her with someone else, and when that time comes, I need to be the friend she is to me. I need to tell her it’s okay. As long as he’s a good guy, of course. I need to tell her this is what Brady would want. As long as the new guy isn’t a douche. Brady wouldn’t like that. As long as—

Sweet Jesus, just stop!

Reid sighs after looking over at me. “You just had to say something, didn’t you, Lex?”

“Dude, I thought she already knew. It’s obvious.”

Reid just shakes his head. “Just forget we said anything, okay?”

Yeah, right.

Reid and Lex talk a little about the game the rest of the way to Cade’s camp, but I don’t utter a peep. When Reid parks the car in the long driveway and I get out, Lex moves next to me. “Hey, don’t say anything to Cade about what I said, okay? And don’t say anything to Jules either. All I wanted to do was warn him that it’s probably too early to say anything to her. Something he already knows.”

I look up. Lex has always been the most caring out of the four. Always worried more about what other people thought than the rest. “I won’t say anything to either of them,” I promise. “I guess I just realized that someday Jules will be with someone else.”

“It’ll be hard,” Lex says. “But you’ll just have to reassure her.” He shuffles his feet. “Listen, Briar, I hope you know I’m okay with you and Reid.”

The hair on the back of my neck stands.

“It fucking hurts, but I get it. Okay? It’ll never change how I feel about you both as friends just like when Jules finds someone, you’ll be there for her, and I’m here for the both of you.”

It’s hard for me to look at Lex when he brings stuff like this up. I know it’s my fault he even thought he had a chance, and that’s what kills me.

“Don’t say sorry,” Lex says, his voice dipping low. “I’m just telling you that I care enough about you both to let you have what you want. You’re happy with one another. It’s obvious.”

I bite my lip, searching for the right words, but they never come. I don’t know if they ever will come. Instead, I reach out and squeeze his bicep. “I care about you, too, Lex.”

“I know,” he says.

Reid’s car beeps as he locks it, and then he comes around the side of the car, waiting for the two of us, so we can all walk up the drive together. Inside, it’s the same party, different venue. I feel better that it’s at Cade’s parents’ camp, but other than that, everything is exactly like the other parties. The keg is in the kitchen. Plastic cups are everywhere. They’re tipped over on the ground, strewn on any available flat surface, or in people’s hands.

Shouts rise up when Reid walks in. Some guys from the football team walk up to him, most of them probably already half drunk, and greet him with warrior yells that make me laugh. Reid reaches behind him to grab my hand and brings me to his side after bro hugging all of them. “We’re celebrating tonight, Briar. Cade already warded off rooms for the three of us to sleep in. No one’s allowed in any of them until we decide to head upstairs.”

I bite my lip. “I don’t know if I can. What about my mom?”

He winks at me. “She thinks you’re spending the night with Jules. Don’t worry, I told her you needed a girls’ night.”

---