Page 31 of Rules, Roses, and Rivals
It never occurred to me to get flowers for her before or any of the stuff other girls seemed to like. Those had just never seemed to be something she was interested in. As I cruised toward my neighborhood, I balled up a lot of what I’d “known” about Frankie over the last few years and threw it out.
She was one of my best friends. She and the guys kept me sane and I’d do anything for any of them. I wanted more with her, I’dalwayswanted more. As I slowed near my driveway, I blew out a breath.
I may have to accept that she really wasn’t interested inusthat way. That wouldsuck. But I needed to know for sure. Frenchy opened the door, fine. I’d live with it.
Didn’t mean we couldn’t kick his ass out while wedging the door open so I could ask her out or Archie could or Jake…
Though honestly, the idea of them asking her out too made me grimace. We’d all been on equal footing for so long that if one of them succeeded in getting her to date them—would it change everything between all of us? What if I did? What if I could convince her to be my girlfriend?
I pulled into the garage and set the kickstand down just in time to see Mom and Dad coming out through the garage door.
“Hey, Ian,” Mom said with a smile as she led Dad out to their car. When she paused next to the bike, I removed my helmetand climbed off. Then I dropped an obedient kiss on her cheek. “There’s leftovers in the fridge.”
When she paused a beat and glanced behind me, I parked the helmet on the bike. “Frankie’s still coming over. She went home to feed her cats first and drop Coop off.”
“Oh, well, I was hoping to get to see her. You tell her to stop being a stranger.” She glanced out again as if she could will Frankie to arrive faster if she kept watching.
“C’mon, sweetheart. We’re already running a little late and we still have a drive to get to the restaurant.” Dad nudged Mom along and gave me a firm look. “Don’t keep Frankie here too late.”
Not something I was going to worry about right now. “You guys have fun. I’ll see you later.” In fact, the sooner they left, the sooner I could go upstairs and change into my suit and grab my guitar.
We had more than math homework tonight. I had some samples I wanted Frankie to hear. I had—a lot to share with her. Three months’ worth of stories, music, events—stuff. Honestly, I just wanted time with her.
It didn’t take me long to change into swim shorts, grab my guitar, and head back downstairs. We had big towels for swimmers in the linen closet downstairs. A glance at my watch said it hadn’t been that long, but I still unlocked the front door and glanced out for her.
My phone buzzed a couple of times on the table while I grabbed some Cokes out of the fridge. Untwisting the bottle top, I let out a sigh when it released a fizzy sound. Yeah, I was definitely ready for a drink.
The first message was from Archie. He wanted to know if Frankie was here. The second message was Jake in my group chat with the guys asking if she was here. A third message had come in while I was upstairs. Frankie was on her way.
It was only a ten-minute drive from her apartment to my house, slightly longer if she got caught at the light. Excellent, she’d be here soon. My phone vibrated with another message from Archie.
Archie:WTF? Is she there or not?
Me:She’s on her way. What’s eating you?
Archie:Some asshole sent her flowers?
Well, I couldn’t exactly argue with that, but I wasn’t going to take that out on Frankie or one of them.
Me:Someone sending her flowers has nothing to do with her coming over.
I headed over to the door and leaned against the wall where I could see the driveway from the side window. Archie was still typing something based on the three little dots flashing on the screen.
Me:She’s here. I’ll catch up with you guys later.
I sent that to the group chat rather than just Archie. I exited the app as a message from Sharon came in. Rolling my eyes, I swiped away the notification and muted her chat. She could stay unread. I didn’t need or want to talk to her.
Shoving the phone into the pocket of my swim shorts, I opened the door. The heat was a sucker punch after cooling down inside. But that was Texas.
Frankie was wearing a one-piece green bathing suit that I’d never seen before with a pair of shorts over it. She’d ditched her Chucks and had on sandals. She grabbed her backpack out and closed the door with her hip before I could get there.
“Hey,” she said, an actual grin on her face even if she was flushed and sweating a little. It was hot, I didn’t blame her for turning red. The sunglasses hid the deep green of her eyes. She’d pulled all that blonde hair up into a high ponytail, and it really emphasized how slender her throat was.
“You wore your suit,” I said, catching her backpack. The fact pleased me way more than it probably should have. It was hardly the first time we’d have gone swimming together. For that matter, we had guest suits upstairs if she needed one.
“You did mention swimming, right?” The teasing snark in her voice just made me grin wider. Especially when she motioned to me. “Or did you just lose your shirt somewhere?”
Laughing, I jerked my head to the house. “C’mon in, I grabbed what I needed from upstairs. I got cold Cokes out. We have the house to ourselves, it’s date night for Mom and Dad.”
