Page 77 of The Hearts We've Broken
“Can I get anything for you guys?”
Reid, Jake, and Hayden had walked up behind me.
“We’ll just do a few Coors Banquets,” Reid answered.
“You want something?” she asked me directly.
“Nah, I’m good.”
Her eyes widened. “You sure?”
“Yeah, I had a couple at the rodeo, so I’m quitting for the night. I want to be able to drive you home tonight.”
“You don’t have to do that. Natalie said she’d pick me up after she dropped me off earlier.”
“Tell her she doesn’t have to worry,” I assured her.
Her facial expression shifted from confusion to suspicion. “Okay,” she said, drawing out the word.
“We’re going to play a round of pool, but I’ll be back.” I leaned over the bar to give her a quick peck on the cheek before joining the boys.
“Colt and Ellie are dancing, so someone will have to play with Mikey.” Reid tossed us all pool sticks.
“Nose goes.” Jake placed his finger on the bridge of his nose. Reid quickly followed, leaving Hayden as the odd man out.
He groaned. “I always get paired with Mikey. No offense.”
I waved him off. “Eh, none taken. I guess I can’t be good ateverything.”
“We’ll let you guys go first.” Jake gestured to the table.
Hayden went first, taking the break shot and hitting a solid ball into one of the pockets. He hit another one in then missed his third shot.
“Juniper looks like she fits in here just fine,” Reid mentioned as he took his shot.
I nodded. “I think so, too. She’s made good friends with Liv and Nico. And then she’s got her other friend, Natalie, who she’s living with, too.”
“I swear we’ve seen her before. You sure you don’t remember that?” Reid asked.
I shook my head, and he shrugged before continuing.
“You think you’ll ever ask her to live with you? You’veclearly proven us all wrong, so Colter’s scoping out that plot of land for you.”
I thought about it for a second. I didn’t even know if she was going to stay here. The easy answer would be yes. I would love for Juniper to stay in the area and pursue arealrelationship with her now that our fake one had almost run its course, but I didn’t know how she felt about it. The idea of not holding her back still rang true.
I didn’t know if she wanted to end the arrangement to find someone better.
I didn’t know if she was only still with me for the benefits.
I didn’t know if I was justfunfor her.
But I didn’t say any of that. I just settled on, “Not sure,” then lined up my own shot after Jake had taken his turn.
“Please don’t hit the eight ball in,” Hayden muttered.
“That wasone time!” I protested as I pulled back my stick before striking and making contact with the cue ball. It bounced around the table a few times, not hitting any of the targets I’d actually intended and nearly brushing the eight ball. “See, I didn’t hit the eight ball in.”
“Let’s get out of here.” I grabbed Juniper’s hand a few hours later after her shift ended and pulled her along, not wanting to waste any more time to get to the pickup parked back at the fairgrounds.
