Page 89 of Before We're More Than Friends
Yeah, my insides were melted to the ground. “I’m glad.” I reached for his hand, which still had the bandage on it from Friday. “Really.”
“Of course.” He squeezed my hand.
“Oh my gosh!” Arielle exclaimed as she jumped up and down like a bunny. “Stop it,that’s so freaking cute.”
It took me a moment to realize that holding hands with Dallas looked completely different from what it actually was.
The burning in my face shot through my veins. “It’s not what it looks like.”
“People only say that when it is what it looks like,” Caleb said, being no help whatsoever.
Hayden smirked at Dallas.
“It’s really not what it looks like,” Dallas said, letting go of my hand. I knew it wasn’t personal, but my heart dipped anyway. “You guys all probably hold hands and don’t go around making out afterward.”
Hayden and Arielle exchanged a look before turning away from each other.
“BS,” Sienna said, sipping her coffee.
“Leave them alone, guys,” Oliver said, tiredness in his voice as if we’d been arguing forever. His excited demeanor had changed almost completely. “Maybe they don’t want it on display.”
Caleb scoffed. “I’m terrible at relationships, but I know when people are into each other.”
“We arenotinto each other,” I said, defense growing in my voice. “For crying out loud, we’ve known each other for what”—I looked at Dallas, who was suddenly interested in his watch—“two weeks?”
Dallas nodded. “You can’t fall in love in two weeks.” The way he said it made it sound like he was hiding something, but there was nothing to hide. He was just very sweet and shy. There were way better girls to crush on.
Girls who didn’t have intrusive thoughts or a family that kept collapsing before everyone’s eyes.
“Who’s not convinced?” Caleb asked, raising his hand.
“You guys are losers,” Dallas muttered before anyone could agree with Caleb.
“Still looking for the middle finger emoji?”
Dallas flipped him off.
Caleb mock-gasped. “Oh my gosh, I didn’t know he had it in him.”
“Yeah, I’m leaving.” He got up from his chair and gave me one last smile. “I hope you’ll enjoy singing with me, though.” He shot a glare at everyone in the room. “Asfriends.”
“Yes,” I said, smiling back. “We’refriends.”
But the word didn’t feel the same as it had before.
When Arielle and I got home, the aroma of garlic filled the house. I kicked off my flats and walked into the kitchen, where Mom was stirring a bowl of pasta.
“First breakfast, and now a full meal?” I asked. “What’s the occasion?”
“Wanted to end the first day of a long week strong,” Mom said with a smile. “Even though we have Francesca, I hope this becomes a normal thing again. For the three of us.” She swallowed, her eyes traveling to the counter on the other side of the kitchen. “You both have mail.”
“Did one of my packages come?” I’d finally had the motivation to order more supplies for Raining Gems. Because I’d fallen off the face of social media—other than looking at how everyone else had a much better life than me—I hadn’t been getting as many orders. It wasn’t a big deal, but it hurt my heart a little.
Mom shook her head. “Just look at it when you’re done eating.”
“Don’t tell me it’s from Dad,” Arielle said, already shuffling through the heaps of mail. She grunted after picking up an envelope with her name on it. “Of course it is.”
“Please have a better attitude about it, okay?” Mom asked, her voice already tightening. “At least through dinner. I don’t want to deal with any stress while we’re spending time together.”
