Just a Little Crush(63)

“Thanks, but I’m going to catch up on some work and call it an early night. I’m exhausted.”

“I bet. You little slut. Here I’ve spent the whole weekend prepping for that damn internship interview and you were off being fucked senseless. Ugh, so not fair.”

“That’s right! When’s your interview?”

“Wednesday. But no talking about it. Bad karma.”

“Oh, sorry. I forgot.” I mimed zipping my lips.

“See you later.” She grinned and opened the door.

Mason stood there with his hand up, prepared to knock. “Hey.” Lowering it, he stepped in as she left the room.

“Hey.”

“How’s your grandma?”

“She’s recovering. She should be released today.”

“That’s good.” Mason sat on my bed and stared at my bookshelf. “I came by to check on you last night, but you weren’t here.”

The lavender polish was chipping on my nails. I picked at it, flicking off small pieces. “Um, I didn’t come home last night.”

“So you were with Ryder this weekend?”

I nodded, figuring I might as well get it all out. Mason didn’t seem to have plans to drop the conversation. “We stayed at his parents’ house. It’s closer to the hospital.” That wasn’t a total lie.

“You met his family?”

“His parents were out of town but his stepdad came home early. I met him this morning.” Again, not a total lie.

Mason chewed the inside of his cheek as he processed what I’d said. “So, you two are pretty serious?”

“I told you we were dating.”

“Hmm, yeah.” He tilted his head to the side and popped his neck. He clenched his jaw and tapped his fingers. “Did you sleep with him?”

“Mason, you’re my best friend and I want to be able to talk with you but if you’re going to get weird about things…”

“I know, I know. I’m sorry. Look, tell me what you want and I promise to be cool. I just hope you don’t feel like you have to keep secrets from me. But I get it, and if it makes you uncomfortable sharing this kind of stuff, you don’t have to.” He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “It’s hard, you know. Things are already changing. We’re growing apart.”

He didn’t know I’d heard what he’d told Ryder the day before, but it all made even more sense now. This wasn’t just about his distrust of Ryder, it was the fear of where our friendship was headed. And he was right, things had changed lately, but my feelings toward him hadn’t.

I sat next to him on the bed and leaned my head on his shoulder. “You’ll always be my best friend. No one could ever replace you.”

“Obviously.”

I laughed.

“And the feeling is mutual,” he said. “Now, my roommate is being an annoying dick and I need a nap.” He made himself comfortable sprawled across my bed, and patted the spot next to him.

I tucked into him and he wrapped his arm around my shoulder. “Okay, so tell me the real story about your grandma. No more ‘she’s fine.’ That may be the quick answer, but it’s not the true answer. How are you handling things? Was your mom there?”

I’d done a good job keeping most of my emotions locked away, but now, with Mason here, I let it all out. And he listened with a level of understanding nobody else could have, confirming my feelings about my best friend. He was irreplaceable.

—

The next day Ryder walked me back to my room after studying at the library. Though he was a huge distraction, I also discovered he was extremely smart. His being so damn perfect was giving me a complex and only made my crush that much harder.

Fallon sat on her bed, gnawing her fingernail. She slammed her laptop shut when I stepped through the door. She glanced at Ryder, narrowed her eyes, then stared at me. “We need to talk,” she blurted.

“Um, sure.” I faced Ryder. “See you later.”

Fallon made a sound of disgust and we both glanced at her. She shook her head and turned her back to us, while hugging her laptop to her chest.

I shrugged at Ryder and he smiled.

“See you tomorrow.” He waved then disappeared down the hall.

“What’s up?” I plopped onto my bed and kicked off my flip-flops.

“First off, let me just say I’m really sorry. I know you like him a lot. But I think you deserve the truth and, well, I’d rather you hear it from me before it’s blasted all over campus.”

“What in the world are you talking about?” My bed bounced as I reached for my pillow and tucked it into my lap.

“Remember my friend Mel?”