Page 37 of The Silent Count
I’ll never condone Abel punching that sleazy talent agent on Mae’s behalf, but I’d say it was a turning point toward the path of the two of them becoming friends.
“I knew she wouldn’t say anything,” Mae chimes in after a beat, sipping on her bright pink cocktail while giving Scarlett an,I told yousoglare.
“She is standing right here, and she wouldn’t tell you anything even if she could, because people’s jobs and reputation are on the line if someone finds out,” I give her a snarky eyebrow, alluding to my father’s rules without actually saying his name. “And one of your boyfriends…” I shoot Mae a tilted-head look with narrow eyes. “Has a history of having a big mouth, and I can’t risk him finding out.”
It’s not that I don’t want to tell the girls about Fortune and I. I’ve been dying to say something for weeks—tell them the dirty details of us fooling around in secret to anyone who will listen. I don’t think either of them would tell the guys on purpose. On the off chance they slipped up, and the guys mentioned it at work, there could be a problem.
I won’t lie to my best friends, but I’m not opposed to skirting around the truth, either. If anything, I find it kind of fun to hear the wheels turning in their brains. Speculating the timeline as they try to piece together the details of our relationship.
“The two of you totally fucked.” Mae brings the martini glass to her mouth to conceal the slow smile building across her face. “That little work around you did right there? That was your way of telling us what happened without telling us, wasn’t it?”
I’m impressed.
She’s caught onto my antics well.
I don’t say a word. Only letting a proud smile play on my lips. Mae matches my grin, and that’s all either of us needs to understand what’s being said without actually saying it aloud.
“Don’t worry, I won’t tell,” she assures me. “October is still so spaced out from his concussion that I’m not sure he’d remember if I told him, but I love you too much to risk it either way, so I’ll keep my mouth shut.”
Mae wraps an arm around my neck, pulling me in for a side hug so tight our cheeks press together. When I glance over at Scarlett, she’s beet red. The furthest end of the spectrum from the usual light pink stain she wears on the apples of her checks whenever she’s nervous.
An uneven breath spills out of my lungs. “What did you do?”
“I may have messed up…”
“What do you mean?”
Mae’s eyes go wide as chokes on the sip she’s taking from her martini. Through a spatter of coughs, she points to Scarlett and Abel’s back door, struggling to say, “I think Scar’s mess up just walked through the door.”
I don’t have to twist my neck to know he’s here, but I do it anyway.
Abel holds open the door, and Fortune walks through it, holding a hand over his heart as he laughs at something Abel is saying. He’s wearing a white button-down shirt with the top few buttons undone. It’s untucked from his black pants, and his hair has that freshly showered and rustled while drying look that I love.
My breath catches in my lungs, and I stand there staring at him for far longer than I should have. Based on the wink he shoots my way when he looks over, he’s not surprised to see me here. Which might be why his grin is morphing into a look of confusion right before my eyes.
“You were trying to play matchmaker, weren’t you?” I turn to Scarlett, who immediately snaps her head to look at Mae.
“Well…” Mae’s voice is an octave higher than normal. “Imighthave had a little something to do with it. I saw the way Fortune was eyeing you all night at my birthday party a few months ago. Then again, a couple weeks back, he was doing the same thing during pregame warm-ups. And Imayhave mentioned to Scarlett that we should invite him sometime to dinner sometime since he’s friends with Abel…”
I roll my eyes at her with a playful smile. The three of us have acquired a strange habit of trying to play matchmaker in each other's love lives. I am responsible for Abel and Scarlett getting together. And Scar is responsible for Mae and October’s relationship. It only seems right that Mae would try to stake her claim in the scheme by trying to get Fortune and me to become a couple.
While I appreciate her efforts, she’s a little too late. Because the man staring at me from across the lawn right now is already my boyfriend, and she had absolutely nothing to do with it.
“Can the two of youactuallykeep a secret?” I turn to them with my eyes narrowed. I know Mae said she wouldn’t tell just a moment ago, but I want to hear it confirmed again.
The two of them share a confused look before giving me their full attention. “Of course,” they say at the same time, almost looking offended that I’d even ask such a question.
“Fortune and I are already dating.” Both of their mouths drop open. “And we’ve secretly been friends for three and a half years.” Their mouths drop wider.
I know I just told myself I wouldn’t tell them, but goddammit, my resolve is running out. The girls obviously set this up to get the two of us to flirt and form some kind of connection. There is no way Fortune and I are going to make it through the night, pretending like we weren’t already a couple. Especially not while these two are actively trying to force us to become one. We would blow our cover within minutes. So, I might as well let the cat out of the bag now. At least this way Fortune and I can enjoy the night as a couple. October is out with his head injury still, and Abel is so quiet I doubt he’d say anything to anyone considering he hardly talks to anyone but Scarlett as is.
I pause for a minute before deciding I’ll take my chances and call Abel into my office next week to put the fear of god into him. October will get a perfectly crafted text to the same effect, and knowing Mae, she’ll temporarily kick him out if he does something as stupid as letting my relationship slip in conversation.
Fortune and I’s first official outing together as a couple. Butterflies take flight in my stomach at the thought of us not having to hide behind closed doors for once.
We took a risk and went on our first date to a mom-and-pop diner earlier this week. He drove us nearly an hour out of town, hoping we wouldn’t run into anyone we know. We went after the dinner rush and the place was completely empty aside from the elderly couple running the place. Neither of which seemed to recognize Fortune, which helped to settle my nerves while we were there.
I scoured the rumor forum we met on all of Wednesday. One foot tapping frantically against the floor while waiting for the ball to drop that the two of us were seen on a date together. No posts ever came through, but I’ve still made it a habit to check the forum twice a day, just in case.
