Rae Rae the fuck out. I should have taken the extra two minutes to get you into a store and then caught up with them.”
She shakes her head. “Are you kidding me? It wasn’t like you had time to formulate a plan.”
“That’s the point. I should’ve, and I didn’t. This is my mess, and he’s going to be pissed, and he has every right to be pissed.”
Liv folds her arms across her chest. “You saved some girls from some drunk assholes. This isn’t your mess. It’s their mess.”
I smile at her, valuing the fact she can still see the world with so much simplicity—so much trust. “I appreciate that you’re willing to go to the mat for me, but trust me, your dad’s not going to want you there. This is a football issue. You need to pack. We’re going to be late.”
She peeks at Rose. “Do any of the videos show the entire fight? How the guys started it all?”
Rose nods. “Yes. The birth of Arlo’s shiner and split lip are all on tape.”
Liv releases another sigh. “I’m going to take a shower.” She disappears down the short hall, the bathroom door closing behind her, the painfully loud fan whirring to life.
Rose’s face breaks into a smile. “I knew it!”
My grin is barely controlled as flashes of last night flip through my memories.
“I told you she likes you.”
“She’s leaving for Texas,” I say more to myself, a sobering reminder that while Liv and I shared something, she’s returning to Texas to see Matt today.
Rose frowns like she hears my unspoken words—fears of if Liv is going to feel the same conviction when she sees him, and if this thing between us will change when she gets back—and if it won’t. Am I ready to be the guy who Liv deserves? To do more than hold open doors and order her favorite Chinese food, but put her and her priorities before my own? “Liv won’t do that,” she tells me, but there’s a silent question behind her gaze, lacking her usual confidence.
I step into the kitchen, making a large batch of coffee.
She leans her arms on the counter. “So, are you going to tell me the details, or are you going to make me pry it out of Liv?”
“Use your imagination,” I tell her.
Rose shakes her head. “Oh, no. No, I’m asking for all the details.”
“Nothing happened,” I tell her.
“Oh, something happened. Something’s been happening. I knew it.”
I don’t tell her it feels like I’m at the top of the tallest roller coaster of my life, and I can’t see the track.
“This is good. You guys are good for each other. You’re different when you’re around her, and so is she.”
I fill a cup with coffee once it hits the three-cup mark and pass it to Rose before setting it back on the warming plate to continue filling. “How am I different?”
“You’re happier—like a genuine happiness. Before, you were happy, but it was seventy percent sarcasm and ten percent inappropriate jokes.”
“Oh, I’ve got plenty of both, still.”
She laughs. “I don’t doubt that.”
“You know, Ian’s a pretty good dude. I usually warn girls away from most of the team, and if you were into Paxton or fucking Derek—I’d tell you to run, but Ian is good people.”
Her laughter grows. “You’re best friends with Paxton.”
I nod. “Exactly.”
She sobers. “I suck at trusting people. I just don’t know how to do it.”
“One date at a time,” I tell her.
She scowls.
“He’s not going to have the patience to deal with me and my baggage of crazy.”
“Pretty sure he’s been offering to help you carry that bag.”
She adds a liberal shot of flavored creamer into her coffee. “I don’t have time right now, even if I wanted to consider it. I’m trying to get my yoga training certification while doing full-time classes.”
“Step one, complete.”
“Step one?”
“You finally didn’t say no.”
She looks shocked, her eyes bright as she traces our conversation. “You should be warning him away from me.”
I shake my head. “You sell yourself short, Rose. Your friendship with Liv only assures me you’d make a kickass girlfriend whenever you’re ready.”
She’s silent, stirring her coffee.
“Give yourself a chance—give him a chance.” I grab a skillet and place it on the stove to heat up and reach for some eggs.
“When did you start learning to cook?”
“After you told me Liv doesn’t like leftovers.”
Her eyes turn droopy like they do each time Juliet is around. “I won’t lie. You guys give me hope.”