“All the more reason not to sleep with him, Chloe.”

“I know,” I sigh. “And I think he hooked up with Lauren Wallace last night. Gross, right?”

“Super gross. But why do you think that?”

“I got lucky and saw Lauren two days in a row and she said she took care of him. I don’t know. She’s always been a liar.”

“She has, and she’s still jealous of you. She’ll take any chance she can get to make you feel small. She’s a textbook bitch,” Farisha reminds me. “And that’s almost literal since I use her as an example of toxic women in my lectures. Now circle back to Sam. He brought up the pact and offered to sleep with you?”

“Not like that. He brought it up and was all flirty and then we came back here. He was rubbing my back and—”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Why in the world was Sam rubbing your back?” she asks.

“I was complaining about my back hurting and was going to take old muscle relaxers, but he said he’s help rub out the knot instead.”

“Rub out the knot…sure.”

I let out an exasperated sigh. “I’m so confused. I like him, obviously. He’s beyond gorgeous, and I know sleeping with him will be amazing. But…”

“But you’ll get your heart broken even more if you have meaningless sex with him, Chloe.”

“Well, send me leg-closing vibes tonight. He’s picking me up to have dinner with his family at five.”

“He’s picking you up? Don’t you have a car there?”

“Yeah, I have my dad’s. I thought it was nice of him to offer to pick me up.”

“So he can take you home, duh.”

“Shit. I didn’t think of that.” I open the screen door and go outside, walking down the stone path to the dock. “There were times, though, when I swore there was something more between us.”

“You guys have a long history, and honestly it used to surprise even me you two never got together. You know I liked Sam. He’s a good guy who was there for you whenever you needed him…until he wasn’t.”

“Yeah,” I sigh again. “It’ll be nice to see his family again. Rory is here with her baby.”

“Have fun over there but be smart. You probably shouldn’t drink. You get frisky when you’re drunk.”

“I thought you liked that.”

“Oh, I do. But you’re not in the safety of my home tonight where we can wake up in our undies wondering what the hell happened.”

I laugh. “Good times.”

“Be careful. I love you and don’t want to see you get hurt. Again.”

“I don’t either. Thanks, Rish. I miss you.”

“Miss you too.”

We end the call and I go back inside. Farisha is right, and I’m so thankful I have a friend like her who will lay down the truth even if it’s not what I want to hear. Though when it comes to relationships, I have a tendency to do the opposite of what’s good for me.

And there’s probably a good chance that’s exactly what will happen tonight.

Chapter Seventeen

Sam

“Where have you been?” Mason looks up from his phone, half-eaten sandwich in his hand.

“I went for a run,” I say, taking off my shoes.

“Bullshit you were running the whole time.”

“What, afraid you can’t keep up?”

“I could outrun you any day,” Mason shoots back. Rory comes into the kitchen holding Adam and gives me a pointed look.

“Don’t start,” she warns.

I take Adam from her, bouncing him gently in my arms. He reaches for my nose, smiling.

“Start what?” Mason asks, taking another bite of his sandwich.

“You know,” Rory says, opening the fridge.

“No, I don’t.”

Rory rolls her eyes. “You’re stupidly competitive, and it’s annoying.”

“I am not,” Mason spits back. “Okay, fine, I am. So where were you?”

“Running, that whole time. Blindfolded and uphill both ways. Barefoot too.”

“Hah-hah,” Mason snickers. “Hilarious. Next time you want to actually workout, let me know.”

“What, are you going to go cut down trees or something? With an ax like a real man,” Rory retorts.

“Yeah, that’s a good idea.” Mason stuffs the rest of his sandwich in his mouth. “But with chainsaws.”

“That is not a good idea for a doctor.” Rory grabs her leftovers from breakfast this morning. “Gotta protect the hands.”

“Why, it’s not like he’s a surgeon,” Mason says with his mouth full.

“Next time you’re not breathing and need a tube inserted down your throat, remember it’s not that important if I have steady hands or not.”

“I bet you use that as a pick-up line, don’t you?” Mason leans back. “I would.”

“Gross,” Rory says under her breath.

I take a seat at the island counter, still holding Adam. “Where’s Dean?”

“Helping Dad fix the fence out back. They should be done soon. But now I’m curious…where were you?”

“With Chloe,” I say, knowing those two words are going to raise a lot of questions. Rory freezes, hand midway in the air to turn on the microwave, and gets a big smile on her face. “Calm down. We just had drinks and caught up a bit.”

And then I don’t know what happened. I thought we were on the same wavelength. I thought I had read her right. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe Chloe doesn’t want to be more than friends…if we can even be that at all after what happened.

“You should date her,” Rory says.

“We’re just friends,” I press and hold Adam up so he can see out the window. “Friends who haven’t seen each other in a while.”

“Sure you are,” Mason and Rory say at the same time.

“We are.”

“Don’t you want to be more?” Rory presses, and I want her to stop. I don’t want to snap at my sister, but I don’t want to be asked questions that make me uncomfortable either. Of fucking course I want to be more than friends with Chloe. And I thought Chloe wanted more too. Fuck. Am I that off my game? Or am I just that pathetic when it comes to Chloe, clinging desperately to anything she throws my way, hoping and praying she might feel the same.

I’ve changed, and I want her to know that. I’m not the same lost young adult who didn’t know his place in the world. I’ve grown up a lot since the night of the party, and that was my sobering moment that made me realize how much responsibility for my life I hadn’t yet taken. I was in med school, on my way to becoming a doctor, yet still coasting along carefree, living for me and me alone.

Losing her hurt more than anything I’ve ever experienced, and knowing I hurt her in the process just about killed me.

“We’re friends,” I say, giving Rory a please stop look. “Don’t make her feel uncomfortable when she’s here tonight.”

“I won’t say anything to her,” Rory promises. “But how cool would that be if you dated Chloe and then I got to go to premieres of Nightfall.”