Page 89 of Tongue-Tied

I watch as he says something to the blue-haired girl, then heads toward me.

“Here, I poured you an Americano.” He hands me the cup, seemingly oblivious to why I’m upset. “Can you believe Brandon asked me out?”

“I’m not surprised he finally came to his senses,” I say, taking a sip for my parched throat. “He sees what a hottie you are.”

“I don’t know about all that. Probably just hoping for a hookup.”

I clench my jaw. “Then the ball’s in your court.”

“Well, I turned him down.”

My heart vaults to my throat.

“Whoa, look at you!” I force a smile. “A heartbreaker, after all.”

“What? No, that’s not…” Austin frowns. “I turned him down because of our dates.”

“Because of our… Huh?”

He squats in front of me. “Once upon a time, you said we should be honest with each other when we want the dates to stop.”

Jesus, I did say that, didn’t I? And it obviously helped keep our friendship intact.

“Stop our dates?” I squeak out, and he nods.

Was this some sort of chivalrous act? Is Austin saying he can’t accept another offer if he’s still practicing with me? We’ve never said we were exclusive, but God, I love him for being such a good person.

“It’s okay, I get it. Thanks for thinking of me.”

He blinks. “Get what?”

I stare at my shoes. “That you’re a good communicator and think you need to end the practice stuff with me before you accept a date with Brandon.”

“No, dumbass, that’s not the reason.” His laugh is humorless. “But I’m glad you think my intentions are good.”

“So you’re saying you want to end our fake dates outright?”

“Uh-huh.”

I try to control the emotion in my voice. “Okay, fine.”

My stomach throbs. I feel fucking awful. God, this was a bad idea.

34

AUSTIN

Is Dex normally this dense? Or is it because he’s woefully inept when it comes to romance and dating? I want to laugh, but he looks so downtrodden, like I’ve gone and stomped on his heart.

“Ask me why,” I insist, brimming with untapped energy.

He frowns as he pushes the word from his mouth. “Why?”

“Because I’m…” I falter as the nerves kick up in my stomach. “I’m in love with my best friend.”

There, I said it. Dex promised that no matter what, it wouldn’t end our friendship, but I thought I’d die if I didn’t get it out. Ever since the evening we had sex, I’ve been obsessing over everything we did and said. I was half in love with him before that, but that night sealed the deal for me.

“You…” Dex blinks. My heart thrums so loudly that I’m not sure I can hear above the noise. “Y-your best friend?”

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