Page 134 of Before We're More Than Friends
“I think it’s a nice idea,” I said.
Everyone else murmured in agreement.
“All right then,” Hayden said. “Welcome to the band, Arielle.”
“Thank you,” she said, her cheeks flushing.
We bounced around ideas and discussed times we wanted to meet during the week. Thankfully, there wasn’t much happening at school, which meant we could all meet up after dinner at Oliver’s house to practice. It was a lot to do in only a few days, and since Saturday’s practice had been a disaster, we needed to play catch-up.
Once we agreed to meet at Oliver’s after dinner tomorrow, Arielle and I did our first task together, which was bathing the dogs.
“So was that an impulsive decision?” I asked Arielle as we prepared the supplies for the bath. “I didn’t know you wanted to join the band.”
She shrugged. “It’s just temporary. I thought it would be fun to take part, you know?”
I raised an eyebrow. “Did something happen with you and Hayden?”
“No!” She let out a defensive grunt. “Why does something always have to happen for me to make decisions? I’m not Mom.”
I blinked, her words stinging. “I never said that.”
“Sorry, I just hate how stressed he is. And even though we had problems . . .” She tugged her golden necklace. “I just want to calm his nerves.”
“Wouldn’t performing with your ex make you more nervous?” I didn’t understand her dynamic with Hayden after the breakup. Yeah, she’d forgiven him, but it was obvious they both still liked each other.
“I’m not just his ex,” Arielle said as she started the water. “And it doesn’t matter that we used to date. It’s all left in last year. Okay?” She sighed. “I just wanted to make things better for him. For everyone.”
“Okay.” I stopped prying and focused on our task instead. “I hope you enjoy yourself.”
She gave me the smallest hint of a smile. “I will.”
When Arielle and I arrived at Oliver’s house the next day, Dallas was sitting on the couch with his rhythm guitar. When he saw us, he smiled.
“Hey,” I said before kissing his cheek. “What’s going on?”
“They’re having a talk in there.” Dallas nodded over to the garage door. “Hayden, Oliver, Caleb, and Sienna.”
“Is everything okay?” Arielle asked, her face pinching.
Dallas shrugged, though his face stiffened. “I don’t know. It sounded like they were arguing, but it died down.”
Something twisted in my stomach. From what I knew, Sienna rarely argued with the boys.
The door alarm chimed, and Caleb came out of the laundry room a few seconds later with his blond brows furrowed and jaw clenched. When he saw us, his blue eyes widened. “Oh, hey, guys.” He put on a tight smile.
“What’s happening in there?” Arielle asked.
“It’s nothing.” He waved a hand, though I knew better. He looked this way a lot after his breakup with Gracelynn, about to snap any second. “Come in. I’m just getting some water.”
“I thought there’s water in the fridge in there,” Arielle said.
“I want water from the freezer filter from the kitchen,” Caleb half-barked before he rushed off into the kitchen.
Dallas and I exchanged worried looks before we went into the garage. Mollie and Bella were in there, playing with Oliver’s dogs, Niall and Harriet, and they seemed to be the only people in the room who were happy. Sienna was focused on scraping something off her shoe while Oliver and Hayden exchanged annoyed looks.
“Okay, what the heck happened?” I said, crossing my arms. “Are we already cracking?”
“Just a little disagreement,” Hayden said, but his chest rose and fell heavily.
