The Sophomore (College Years #2) - Monica Murphy Page 0,82

easy tonight. She might like Carson, and want to pursue something with him. He’s the better guy for her. I know this. I can’t guarantee shit. I have too much going on, and I’m anti-commitment, while she is the poster child for a long-term relationship. You look up commitment in the dictionary and there’s a photo of her above the definition with the caption, ‘This is the type of girl you look for as a wife’.

Yeah. That’s Ellie. She doesn’t want a one-night stand or a couple of quick hook ups. She’s the real deal.

By the time we get our food, we’re a little more talkative, though we’re consuming food at an efficient rate so not much is being said anyway. Caleb takes off to go flirt with a girl who’s in one of his classes and the second he’s gone, I breathe a sigh of relief.

“I’m pissed at him,” I tell my remaining friends.

“You shouldn’t be,” Tony says in defense of Caleb. “I hate how he said it, like he wanted to taunt your ass, but I’m pretty sure he’s telling you the truth.”

“Yeah, he wouldn’t lie about that,” Eli adds.

I stare at Eli hard, but he won’t look me directly in the eyes.

Hmmm.

“What do you know?” I ask him.

His gaze barely meets mine before he looks away again. “Nothing.”

“Liar,” I murmur, lightly pounding my fist against the edge of the table. “Tell me, Eli. Did Ava say something to you?”

He sighs. Shakes his head. Takes a sip of his drink. Stalling like crazy. I practically growl in frustration before he finally opens his damn mouth.

“Fine. What Caleb said was true. Ellie did go out with that guy to the movies. It happened Monday,” Eli confesses.

I frown. “A few days ago?”

He nods. “All the girls encouraged her to go, including mine. Ava told me about it last night.”

“And you didn’t think you should tell me?” I ask incredulously.

“I didn’t want to, because I knew you’d act like this,” Eli says. “You’re all pissed off, but come on. You two aren’t actually together. You hooked up with her once and haven’t really talked to her much since. She figured you lost interest.”

Say the fuck what? “When did I ever act like I’ve lost interest? I’ve been busy. Just as busy as the rest of you.” My gaze scans the table, and Tony and Eli just shrug. “I’ve been talking to her at night. We text almost daily.”

“Right. Like usual. Like you used to. She truly believes she’s been regulated back to her old position in your life. The girl ‘good enough’ to be friends with, but ‘not good enough’ to date or whatever.” Eli waves a hand, his expression vaguely disgusted. “I sound like a girl. I need to stop hanging out with them all the time.”

When is Eli hanging out with them all the time? He makes no damn sense.

My gaze switches to Tony, who’s watching us with an impassive expression on his face, still eating. Quiet as usual, the broody motherfucker. “What do you think about all of this?”

He swallows his food down before he says, “I think you need to make a move, son.”

My brows shoot up. I expected some long, thoughtful observation, which is Tony’s normal style. “On Ellie?”

“No, on some other random girl. Yes, of course on Ellie. Haven’t you wasted enough time? She’s been patiently waiting for you, and when you finally realize you might have feelings for her, you toy with her for a little bit, and then you back way off.” He shakes his head, setting down his sandwich. “I know it’s some scary shit, committing yourself to one girl, but you can do this. It’s not so bad. It’s actually pretty fucking amazing when you find the right one.”

I contemplate the two of them. My two closest friends who have girlfriends. Who are perfectly happy being with just one woman. One is so over the top in love with his girl, he acts the fool over her most of the time. And the other one is calm and cool, and only ever seems truly happy when she’s in his presence.

That wouldn’t be so bad, right? Why am I being such a dumbass about this?

“Because you’re afraid to love,” Tony says, as if he can read my mind.

Or maybe I said that last part out loud. Yeah, that must’ve been it.

My mind drifts to Diego, the most committed one of all. He has a kid for the love of God, and he’s