“Do what?” We finished up drying the puppies before placing them back in their crates.
“Pretend you’re over him.”
“I’m not. Over him, I mean.”
“Well, duh, took you long enough to admit it.” She grinned.
“Oh hush.” I rolled a towel and whipped her arm with it. “You know what I mean. Just because I’m not falling at his feet, doesn’t mean I don’t care about him.”
I still cared.
I cared too damn much and that was half the problem.
“So why put yourselves through this? I don’t get it.”
With a half-hearted shrug, I let my eyes wander anywhere but to her. “Because I’m tired of always being cast aside when things get rough. I wasn’t enough for Jermaine and Asher made me feel that all over again.”
“Oh, Mya, you know it wasn’t like that. He loves you, but he’s a guy and we all know how emotionally stunted they can be.”
“It’s not good enough,” I said around a sad smile. “I chose him, Flick. I put him first. He asked me to pick Cleveland, and I was going to do it. But I’m done being that girl.”
Felicity stared at me, but I saw no judgment in her eyes this time. “Okay,” she said quietly. “If that’s what you need to do, then okay, I’m right behind you.”
“Thank you.”
“Hey, that’s what best friends are for. Now let’s get cleaned up so we can go make your boy suffer.”
I rolled my eyes, smothering a chuckle. It wasn’t quite what I meant, but I’d take it.
Because it was better than her trying to play Cupid.
“You’d better get in here if you want pizza,” Jason yelled the second we stepped into Felicity’s house.
“He has a key now?” My brow quirked up.
“I... uh, sometimes he waits for me to get done at the shelter.”
“And what do you parents think about that?”
“Usually my mom tries to feed him.”
“And when they’re not here?”
She flushed. “What they don’t know won’t hurt them.”
“Scandalous.”
Our laughter ushered the Giles’ living room into silence as we entered.
“About fucking time.” Jason grumbled around a mouthful of pizza. “Get over here.” He patted his lap, pulling Flick onto his the second he could reach her.
“Hey, Mya, how did you enjoy puppy season at the shelter?” Hailee asked, pushing a half-empty pizza box toward me.
“It was... just what I needed.” My eyes found Asher across the room. He offered me a small nod in greeting but didn’t say anything.
“What are we watching?” I forced myself to look away, even if I could still feel his intense gaze on my face.
“Yeah, Cam, why don’t you tell them what we’re watching,” Jason teased, throwing a handful of popcorn at him.