Page 55 of Don't Puck His Best Friend
I grab onto Cole. “I would love to go as your girlfriend.”
Cole turns to me. “Really?”
I nod, smiling.
He kisses me, and Sirus and Maddie start shouting, whistling, clapping. I tune them out and kiss Cole back.
“Oh, wow. They’re going at it,” I hear Sirus say, so I flip him off. He laughs.
When we break apart, Maddie says, “I am so excited I got to witness that!”
I roll my eyes at her as Cole whispers, “Have I ever told you how beautiful your eyes are?”
I glance down shyly, but he pulls my chin up and says, “Don’t stop looking at me.”
Maddie claps. “You guys are so cute!”
The server comes and puts our food down on the table, and I’m so glad to be saved from another embarrassing moment.
Cole grabs my hand under the table and smiles. I squeeze his hand and smile back.
My phone buzzes against my pocket, so I pull it out and glance at it automatically. My stomach drops when I see Liam’s name on the screen.
Liam:There’s a team party. You should come.
I stare at the message, my heart frozen in my chest. I need to relax before everyone asks me what’s wrong. I take a quick bite of my burger, shoving my phone back in my pocket.
The smart thing would be to delete it without responding, to block his number and pretend this whole thing never happened. But I can’t ignore him. I need to end it.
I take a few more bites of food and say, “I need the bathroom.”
Cole scoots out of my way, watching me with a certain look that makes guilt eat at me.
When I get into the bathroom stall, I text Liam back.
Me:We made a deal, remember?
I hit send before I can talk myself out of it. If I’m going to end this, I might as well be direct about it.
Liam:Yeah, but I changed my mind.
My pulse jumps—part irritation, part unwanted thrill. The casual confidence of it, like he can just decide to override ouragreement because he wants to, should annoy me more than it does.
Me:Why?
The typing indicator appears, disappears, appears again.
Liam:Because I want to keep seeing you.
It’s so simple, so unlike the usual Liam arrogance, that it completely throws me off guard. No innuendo, no cocky pickup line, just straightforward honesty that I wasn’t expecting. This is exactly what I was afraid of—that underneath all his player bullshit, there might be something real. Something that could make me question all the smart choices I’m trying to make.
No. I steel myself, thinking about Cole. I like Cole. He’s never going to leave me wondering where I stand.
I actually use the toilet and think about what I should reply.
Me:I heard about you at the party Saturday night, Liam. You want to keep seeing me AND other people. You weren’t exactly acting exclusive.
I pause, then add.
