Page 223 of While You Were Trending

“Why the fuck not?”

“I’d like to know that as well,” Ginny says.

Goddammit.

I suck in a breath that makes my eyes wetter and my nose burn and a lump stick in my throat.

My girlfriend and my best friend, teaming up against me.

“I always loved her, Alex,” I say quietly.

He sighs. “I know, bro. And you’ll be good for her.”

Ginny and I lock eyes, and I can see she’s as surprised as I am.

“You—you what?” I sputter.

“I knew,” Alex says.

“But—buthow?”

“Bro, it was all over how you acted. Took me a minute to realize you were keeping her at a distance by being a dick, and then I figured it out, but I didn’t want to embarrass either one of us if I was wrong, and I didn’t care. I mean, I didn’t want you to be mean to her, but I didn’t want you to try to steal her either, so I thought it was just…for the best. For us to not talk about it.”

Ginny purses her lips together, half smiling, half shaking her head. “Not talking about it and pretending everything’s fine is always the problem, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Alex says heavily. “It really is.”

“You knew,” I say again, still wrapping my brain around this.

“And you’re my best friend,” Alex says. “And this won’t change that. Okay?”

“Yeah.” I clear my throat. “Thanks, man. I—I can’t even tell you how much I appreciate you being cool about this.”

Ginny smiles at me.

Her eyes are misty too.

“Ginny?” Alex says.

“Yes?”

“Hurt him and die.”

A tear slips down her cheek and heads toward her smile. “Good. You might still deserve him.”

“I’ll take care of the shitheads on socials talking about us,” he says. “You two just—just be happy, okay? And again, hurt him and die.”

“Thanks, bro,” I say thickly.

“We friends or not?” he replies.

“We’re friends.”

“Exactly.”

We chat for another minute about inconsequential things, taking that step back into normality, then hang up.

I look at Ginny.