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“Anytime.”
“Do you really mean that?”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“Well, I wouldn’t exactly call us friends.”
I point in the direction of Duncan and Seb. “They’re my friends, Lainey, and I haven’t told them half the shit I’ve told you tonight.”
She gives me a small smile, and I wonder if she’s disappointed I didn’t correct her and tell her we are friends, or that we can be friends. But I don’t have friends outside of Duncan and Seb—my guys—the people that get me. I sure as shit don’t have friends who are girls. Lainey is a cool chick and all, and I enjoy talking to her, but we only hung out like we did because of Amber and Lucas. Now that they’re out of the picture, I really can’t imagine us spending time together.
I mean, what would we do if we did hang out? I can’t see her drinking with me and the guys while I’m trying to hook up with someone. She’s not into things that bring an adrenaline rush like I am, either. Just the thought of getting on my bike had her knees shaking. And I can’t see myself hanging at Lainey’s for a tea party, or a powwow over the latest book she’s read. We have nothing in common except for our exes. Lainey will realise that if she stops to think about it for a minute.
“We don’t have to be friends to have a drink and vent,” I tell her. “Just call me if you need to.”
“I don’t have your new number.”
“Give me your phone and I’ll put it in.”
At least now I understand why she reacted the way she did when she first saw me. She thought I ignored her messages, but I would never do that to her. We might not have much in common, but I like Lainey. I’d even go so far as to say I have a real soft spot for her. When the break-up happened, I let her go, along with Amber and Lucas. I figured that, like me, she’d want a clean break. But she didn’t write me off the same way I wrote her off. She reached out to me, desperate to grab on to something to stop her from going under. She hasn’t moved on. She doesn’t know how to.
And neither do I.
When I hand Lainey’s phone back to her, she smiles politely. “Thanks.”
I can’t help but feel she’s still disappointed I haven’t said we’re friends as she puts her phone away in her bag.
“Well, I should go.” She glances back at her friends and her eyebrows lift. “Whoa.”
I follow the direction of her gaze and immediately spot what she’s reacting to. Our friends are practically in each other’s laps—Duncan is whispering something to Cass and making her laugh.
“Those two look pretty cosy,” I remark.
Lainey frowns. “Yeah.”
“Is that a problem?”
“No. It’s just a little surprising. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Cass like that with a stranger before.”
I rack my brain to see if I can remember a time when Cass and Duncan have met, but I come up empty.
“My boy has some pretty good moves,” I offer up lamely.
“He must have,” Lainey replies, hopping down from her stool. “So, I guess I’ll catch you around sometime, then?”
Her words are friendly, but her smile doesn’t reach her eyes.
I hate feeling like I’m disappointing her—like she needs something from me that I’m refusing to give her. She might not see it now, but I’m hopeless. I have nothing to offer a girl I’m not going to screw. Lainey is better off without me.
And yet as she turns her back on me, I find myself reaching out and taking her arm, twirling her around so she’s facing me.
“Listen, Lainey. The only people who want me as a friend are those guys.” I point at Duncan and Seb with my beer bottle. “I don’t have friends who are female. It’s been cool talking to you tonight, but generally I wouldn’t have a clue what to do with a girl I wasn’t trying to...”
“Find a release with?” she teases, a smile tugging at her lips.
I smile back at her. “Yeah.”
“Then you weren’t really serious when you told me I could call and vent to you anytime?”
