as if she’s ready to speak and I stop playing to look at her.
“Why can’t you just tell her to leave him alone?” I ask.
“Because I can’t tell her what to do. I’ve tried to bring up conversations about you but she always brushes me off and starts another subject. She’s my best friend, Nolan. I have to support her regardless of her decisions.”
“But I was with her first, Harper. She was better with me.” She bites on her bottom lip and silence seizes the room. “Am I wrong?” I ask, my head tilting as I observe her guilty features.
“Tyler is a nice guy. He’s been coming around every day this week and she’s been . . . happy. At first I thought it was just a front but after a while I’m seeing that it’s become kind of real. She’s smiling again . . . foreal this time.”
My heart stops. I look away from Harper and force myself to bite on the angry tears. “Has she asked about me?”
“She asks Dawson about you every day. He doesn’t know what to tell her since you’ve been ignoring his calls, too. She thinks you’ve moved on with Sharon.”
“I haven’t seen Sharon in a week.”
“Why the hell is she even down here?”
I shrug as I stand to my feet. “I don’t fucking know. I’ve been trying to avoid her. She told Natalie something but I can’t figure it out.”
Harper stands with me, shaking her head. Tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, she straps her purse onto her shoulder and makes her way to the door. “Look, I have to get going. I don’t have all afternoon so I’ll just be upfront and honest with you,” she sighs. “You aren’t trying and I think it’s because you don’t want to be denied. You’re afraid that if you talk to Natalie, she’ll reject you so you’re trying to leave it in the air. If there’s one thing I know about Natalie, it’s that she knows what she wants. If she calls you again, pick up your damn phone—no actually how about you call her. Tell her you’re coming over and that you want to talk about it or something! Make her realize where her heart really is. She’s confused right now and with you leaving things in the air, it’s making the situation worse, Nolan. Believe it or not, she needs to hear from you right now. Not talking to her isn’t helping.”
Her blue eyes look me over from head to toe and then she swings the door open. “There’s a party tonight and she’ll be there. I’ll text you the address . . . just make sure you actually look presentable. You look like complete shit right now,” she scoffs.
Laughing, she shuts the door behind her while I look down at my brown basketball shorts and my white T-shirt. My hair isn’t gelled but I don’t think I look that bad.
But she’s right about one thing. I have to go for Natalie. I can’t let Tyler win. She hit it right on the nail. I don’t want to be rejected so I’ve been keeping it open. I don’t want an open relationship. I have to shut it again and the only way I can do that is if I get Natalie to talk to me alone.
I just hope it actually works.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Natalie
I pull out my mascara with a sigh before staring into the mirror. Tyler’s having another party tonight and I’m sort of excited to see him but something has been telling me to check in with Nolan again. I know he’s sick of seeing my name pop up on his screen but he should be calm by now. He should have thought it over.
I was thinking it would be too much to go to his apartment and bang his door down but while thinking it, I didn’t care. If beating his door down would get him to listen, then I would have done it. But I didn’t. I knew it would lead to more drama and another argument. I’ve decided to actually give him his space again and continue to hope he’ll call me back one of these days.
I feel terrible for leading Tyler on but I don’t want to break it off so soon. He’s a really nice guy and I know it’s wrong of me to use him as a distraction but I don’t mind him being around. I’m glad he isn’t looking for a relationship. We’re more