Page 94 of Play Fake
“I know you’re gonna tell her about this, but please fucking tell her I didn’t want any part of it.”
“I will, definitely.”
“And tell her I’m sorry, and I miss her. I know I fucked up. I know she’s probably with him right now, and they’re probably… fuck, I don’t even want to think about it. I’ll get sick again. But I need the chance to fix things. She didn’t give me a chance to explain or apologize.”
“I will tell her. Don’t worry. She’s stubborn, but she’ll listen, eventually.”
TWENTY-NINE
Mackenzie
I’ve cometo Ally’s place for the evening to hang out, play some board games, and chill with some of my old friends. I tell myself it’s that I want to be here, but if I’m honest, I’m mostly trying to avoid Waylon, and I worry he’ll show up at the house for the party Olivia’s hosting. She’d offered to cancel it, but I didn’t want to ruin everyone else’s fun by being a petty bitch.
“You’re up, Mac.” Kane, the bassist of the band, nods to the board.
“Sorry, daydreaming,” I apologize, and roll the dice before I move my token the appropriate number of spaces.
“I know it’s hard, sweetheart, but you gotta try to get over our hookup.” Billy winks at me from across the table.
Ezra’s got a girl in his lap across the room, but he still looks up and glares at the back of Billy’s head. His eyes flash to mine, and I give a little shake and he nods. The brunette in his lap says something, and he’s distracted again. I search my heart for the jealousy that should be there, but there isn’t any. Not for Ezra, anyway.
It’s too busy coming up with scenarios of what Waylon’s doing right now. Who he’s doing right now. I shouldn’t care. I should be happy, really. It’ll help me get over him that much faster if I remember who he really is. But every time I picture him with someone else, my heart fucking aches.
“You want another drink?” Ally points to my empty glass, just as Kane and Billy start debating the ethics of a particular play on the board and negotiating what the trade’s going to be for the next turn. I sigh. I already know this is going to take ten minutes of chest beating to work out.
“Yes, I’ll come make them with you in the kitchen.” I hop up and grab the glass.
“Is that bothering you?” Ally whispers as we root through the different bottles in the cabinet.
“What? Ezra?”
“Yeah, I saw you watching.”
“Nah. I’m happy to see him move on to someone who isn’t a maneater. I’ve seen her around. She seems nice.”
“She is, but she’s not you.” Ally frowns as she pours the mixers into the shaker.
“But I’m here now, back and better than ever!” I check my hip into hers and smile.
“Are you sure you’re better?” She eyes me skeptically as she shakes the tumbler.
“Mostly? I don’t know. The new guy screwing me over the same way as the old is fucking with me. Especially since I think I might have really liked him.”
“Liked him, eh?”
“Listen, you saw him…” I smirk.
“I mean, I would fuck him too. If it wasn’t for Hunter, of course,” she gives me a little mockwhoopsieas she pours our drinks out.
“He was honestly more than just that, though. Or at least, I thought he was. I don’t know. I really don’t know anything at this point, other than I feel like I maybe need to take time off men in general and figure out where the hell I belong. I need to stop dating men in my friend circles, so I don’t have to feel like an outsider when things go tits up,” I laugh, but honestly, the self-deprecating humor is hitting a little too close to where it still hurts.
“You are always welcome here. Always. Seriously. They weren’t exaggerating when they said they miss you too.” She nods to the rest of the band.
“I know,” I say because I do. But it feels like no sooner I fixed this, I broke something else. What I feel is the fact I miss Olivia and Wren. I miss drinking a beer with Ben. I miss Waylon saying something that pisses me off. I think I might even miss some oversized oaf linebacker saying something ridiculous loudly enough other people just start cheering and chugging beer for the hell of it because they won a game that night.
“So anyway, tell me how’s things going? With the band? With Hunter?” I ask, tired of talking about myself and my problems, and hoping to get lost in someone else’s for a while for the escape.
THIRTY
