We enter the restaurant and stand in line, and I spot Ellie working behind the register, taking orders with a cheerful smile on her pretty face. Her long dark hair is in braids again. Looking cute as can be. My once aching heart now thumps in excitement at seeing her, and I tell it to calm the hell down.
We haven’t even done anything yet, and look at me. I fingered her once. We’ve kissed a few times. And here I am, like a lovesick puppy dog.
“There’s your girl.” Tony jabs me in the ribs with his elbow. “Hayden mentioned you two haven’t seen each other much lately.”
“We’re both busy,” I say with a shrug.
“You’re not leading her on, are you?” he asks.
I glance over at him, scowling. “No. I don’t know what we’re doing, if you want me to be real.”
“Yeah. Just asking. Hayden is worried. So is Gracie,” Tony says.
Great. That makes me feel terrible. I don’t like it when those chicks gang up on me. They’re fiercely protective of Ellie.
“Gracie is what?” Caleb asks, always nosy when her name pops up.
“Ready to beat your ass,” I tell him.
He frowns. “What did I do now?”
“What do you always do?” Tony asks him, going along with it. “She’s sick of your shit.”
“She can suck my dick,” Caleb says cheerfully, just before his expression turns serious. “Actually, I really wish she would.”
Eli shoves Caleb, so he topples over a little bit. “You need to learn how to respect women.”
“I do respect them! I love my mama,” Caleb says, his expression wounded as he rubs his arm.
Lately we’ve all been giving Caleb endless shit, and it’s fitting because that’s usually his job. He’s been more subdued lately and none of us are quite sure why. He’s still seeing Baylee on the side, here and there, which is messed up, but I have no room to judge or talk, so I keep my mouth shut. He’s also working hard to get into Gracie’s panties, and while she plays a good game of stay away from me when it comes to Caleb, I don’t know if she actually feels that way.
I think, deep down, she’s attracted to him.
“Leading on one girl while trying to get with another isn’t cool,” Eli says.
“I’m not doing that,” Caleb says defensively. “Gracie and I, we’re just joking around with each other. And Baylee knows where we stand.”
“Uh huh.” This is from Tony.
We’re all looking at Caleb as if he’s full of shit.
“Hey, I’m not being any worse than Ellie.” Caleb jabs his finger into my chest. “You know she’s still seeing that Carson dude.”
“What?” All the hairs on my body seem to stand on end. I glance in her direction once again, and as if she can feel me looking at her, she meets my gaze, offering me a sweet smile and a little wave.
I lift my chin in greeting before looking away.
“She is,” Caleb says, his expression smug. “I see the two of them together on campus all the time.”
“They have classes together,” I say in her defense. I do not want to go down this path. I don’t want to get jealous and act like a dick. I’m not that guy. I’m not.
I don’t want to be, at least. But it’s like I can’t help myself when it comes to Ellie.
“Yeah, keep telling yourself that. Pretty sure they’ve even gone on an actual date,” Caleb says, stressing that last word extra hard, so it’ll punch me right in the gut. Gee, thanks, my friend.
“Bro, why you gotta be like that?” Eli says to Caleb, coming to my defense. “Are you purposely trying to rub it in his face?”
“Caleb,” Tony says, sending him a dark look. “Why are you starting trouble?”