Page 119 of Rules, Roses, and Rivals
“Fine, it’snotcreepy.”
I didn’t roll my eyes but I did sit down and then shot Archie a smile. “Thank you, I’m good. I’m just trying to keep it together.” Frankly discussing my period was not something I wanted to be doing but the guys were not cringing away from it either.
Jake and Bubba hovered at the doorway but moved in as I took a seat. Archie came back to claim his own slice of pizza, but he didn’t sit down so much as face me across the table like we were about to have a team meeting.
Which, to be fair… we kind of were.
“Okay,” I said, setting down the drink. “We’re all here. We all know things need to be said. So—should we just rip the Band-Aid off?”
No one answered.
Great.
I sat back and let out a breath. “I’ll go first, then.”
Coop touched my arm, but didn’t stop me.
“Things got messy. Really messy. Apparently, you were asking me out and I wasn’t noticing.”
I hated that Imissedout on them asking me out. That I’d been utterly blind to their alleged devotion. How stupid was I?
“You were then dating other people andthatI definitely noticed.”
It stung too each time I thought about it. They were so crazy about me, that they ended up dating other people? Hooked up? Heat flashed through me and I clamped my jaw down before I could chase that thought any further.
“Then I find out that you guys have cut off others who might have been interested in me.”
Thatreallyhurt when added to the rest.
“It hurt you.” Archie echoed my unspoken thoughts. “All of it.” He didn’t deny it nor did he try to soften it. His bluntness helped. So did his lack of excuses, denial,orblame.
“Yes.” Since he mentioned it. “I’m going to say that, my obliviousness and failure to notice your interest hurtyou.”
Folding his arms, Bubba frowned. “Frankie…” He blew out a breath. “I don’t know thathurtwould be the right word.”
“Frustrated is a word,” Archie volunteered, then he shot me a half-smile. “But babe, just—having you around was enough.”
I raised my eyebrows and I wasn’t the only one who juststaredat him because Jake snorted and shook his head.
“Yes, having her around—”Jake began before he cut a look at me. “Having you around is more than enough. But I always wanted more. I just didn’t want to put you on the spot when you didn’t seem to want the same things.”
“Maybe you should have been clearer then,” I said, spreading my arms. “Why couldn’t you have just said—I am askingyouout on a date? A real date?”
“Because you laughed at us,” Jake countered. “You joked and teased, then just turned it aside.”
“Or—turned it into a group outing,” Coop said with a faint grimace as he scratched his jaw. “I’m not making excuses, but ifwe’re going to put cards on the table here then… we put them on the table.”
“If you didn’t want us dating other people,” Bubba asked. “Why didn’tyousay anything to us when we did?”
“I didn’t have the right to stop you from going after what you wanted.” It would never have occurred to me that I did. “I’ve always wanted you guys to succeed at everything you wanted to do, even when I didn’t get it. Not just where it concerns football.”
Archie pushed one of the cartons of food over to me. “So… to be clear, we asked you out but you didn’t think we were serious because we’dalwaysbeen friends. That’s what we’re hearing you say?”
I flipped open the carton and stared at the moo goo gai pan and considered it. “Not really sure anyone saw me as attractive.”
Literally, because I could feel the buzz in the room rising, I held up a hand.
“I’m not fishing for compliments. In fact, right now, I have cramps, I can’t make up my mind about whether I want to cry or scream, and I really want to fall face first into ice cream, so let’s just accept that I don’tthinkof myself as gorgeous or attractive. Or any of the things that I would think guys want in a girl.”
