But then as I'm putting my shit in my truck, a hand taps me on the shoulder. No way. I turn around, expecting Freya, but it's Tobi.
"Hello, Rhett," she says, giving my name an ironic twist with her tone.
"Is there something I can do for you?" I ask, crossing my arms. I know Tobi is protective of Freya. I've expected something like this for a while.
"You can stop pissing off my friend, how about that?" Tobi is almost as tall as I am, and I wouldn't fuck with her. She's jacked, and I would put money on the fact that she could knock plenty of people on their asses. Not me, but that's only because I have martial-arts training.
"I'm not trying to do anything, Tobi," I say. Her brown eyes narrow slowly. I know she has a bullshit detector, but I'm interested to see how far she's going to take this.
"Let's not pretend that you don't have a thing for her, okay? It's insulting to both of our intelligence." I keep my face neutral.
"Who told you that?" I ask.
She rolls her eyes and then smiles.
"You did. The way you look at her, the way you talk to her. The way your eyes follow her around the room. Plus, the way you looked when you were stunting with her." She whistles and shakes her head.
"And?" I ask. "What's your point?" I'm not going to deny it. Neither of us is an idiot.
"And I think you need to back the fuck off. Seriously. Find some chill. Because it's freaking her out, and if you want to be friends with her, you're gonna have to stand back and let her come to you." Is she giving me advice right now?
"And how do you suggest I do that?" I ask. I'm still suspicious that this is some sort of elaborate ploy. If I annoy Freya so much, then why is Tobi giving me tips on how to be her friend?
It's true that I want to be more than Freya's friend, but if that's all I'm ever gonna get, I'll take it. I just want to be around her shine.
"Back. Off. Don't follow her. Don't fucking invite her to get pancakes with you. Don't stalk her while she's running. Just leave her alone. Don't be rude, but don't be all up in her face. Just give her time. She's . . . she's been through some stuff and she doesn't trust easily." I sort of got that. It's nothing she's said or done, but something in her eyes and just . . . I've been through my own shit and I can recognize that in another person. Like sees like.
"Got it," I say, putting my hands up. "I don't want to hurt her or make her life more difficult. I really don't." Tobi nods, as if she believes me.
"I get it. She's gorgeous and a firecracker, and you're a dude. But if you're just into her for a good time, or a quick fling, than pick someone else. Seriously." That's definitely not what I want with Freya. I have no idea what I want, but something quick isn't it.
"I'm not into her just because she's gorgeous." Tobi gives me an appraising look.
"Okay, Rhett. I'll take your word for it now. But I'm keeping my eye on you." She makes the hand motion with two fingers pointing to her eyes and then pointing to me.
"Message received," I call after her has she walks to her car. I'm not pissed that she accosted me. It actually makes me proud that Freya has such fierce friends in her corner. She should.
* * *
I take Tobi's advice and pull back from interacting with Freya. The next morning run, I blow by her after saying a quick hello. At practice, I keep our conversation to stunting without any extraneous comments. If I see her in the library, I go to another floor.
It's complete shit. I fucking hate it. But I do it because if it makes her feel better about me, then that's what I want. Even if I can't stand it for a little while. At first, I can tell she's puzzled, and I find her watching me, as if I'm going to say "boo!" in her face or attack her or something. I don't, of course, but she still watches me. I pretend not to notice and try not to stare at her as much. Not sure how I do on that front. Tobi hovers, as if I need a physical reminder to stay away from Freya. Honestly, I think if I tried to have a regular conversation or flirt with her, Tobi would throw herself in front of Freya as if she was saving her from a bullet. She's intense, that Tobi.
I'm doing good about staying away from Freya (as much as I can when I have to have my hands all over her in order to stunt) until Friday night when Jem asks if I want to go out.
He's acting more like his old self, so I agree, knowing there's a chance I could run into Freya and the rest of the squad. I know a lot of them hang out outside of practice, but I don't feel like they've accepted me into the club yet. I'm fine with that. Socializing with big groups isn't really my thing. I like just hanging out with Jem and having a few drinks.