Page 11 of Endgame

Lila looked over her shoulder to ensure nobody was watching and fired a text back.

LILA: Hey, at least she was fully clothed this time. Not that I’m opposed to nudity. I just prefer to not be bombarded with my roommate’s naked backside doing downward dog in our bedroom. I will never be able to unsee that. Ever.

Wren’s response was immediate.

WREN: Sounds like a sleepover is in order, especially since there’s no class tomorrow.

LILA: Yes, please. I’m off in about 30.

WREN: See you soon. Bring DDP. Please and thank you.

LILA: I mean, it’s the least I can do.

WREN: You are an angel among us mere mortals.

LILA: Tell that to Becky’s ass.

WREN: Too far.

LILA: *insert maniacal laughter here*

Lila slid her phone back into her purse and stashed it back in the cupboard where employees’ stuff lived during their shifts. Her last table had blessedly left her an amazing tip, so the night ended on a high note.

After a quick run to the local gas station that had the best fountain Diet Dr. Pepper, Lila was off to Wren’s with the hope that when she returned to her apartment the next day, it would smell a hell of a lot less like burnt patchouli.

Chapter 7

“You’re an asshole, you know that, right?” Knight said as he entered King’s room and flopped down on his bed.

King swiveled his desk chair around to face his friend, though he couldn’t mask the annoyance on his face.

“I’m not even going to pretend I know what the hell you’re talking about.”

Knight threw a pillow at his face. “I’m talking about Lila, man. Did you really ghost her?”

King frowned. He didn’t appreciate being called out, and he really disliked it when Knight talked about Lila with such familiarity. So instead of processing all of that, he evaded. “What, are you two besties now or something? How is this any of your business?”

“As a matter of fact, we are friends, and because she’s my friend, I’ve got her back. You totally hit that and quit that, bro. Which is a pretty shitty thing to do to anybody, but especially to somebody like her. She’s kind. Genuine. She’s not fucking around.”

“I did not hit that and quit that,” King countered. “We barely tapped second base.”

Knight rolled his eyes. “Semantics. Also, don’t act like such a dick. I thought you actually liked her. If I had known you were going to treat her like a one-and-done situation, I never would have encouraged her to hang with you in the first place.”

“If you like her so much, why don’t you date her?” King baited his friend, though the very thought of Knight and Lila together romantically made him seethe.

“Real mature response, bro. You know that’s not our vibe, though sometimes I wish it was because she’s pretty damn great.”

King growled, though he did realize his friend had the moral high ground here. He had pretty much ghosted Lila after their date. He didn’t like getting attached, and that night had been heading in a direction that he didn’t want to go. Especially when Lila had talked about her lack of experience. Before she’d said that, he was just in the moment…wanting to show her just how fun their time together could be.

Her honesty in the car had thrown him, made him feel uncomfortable for some reason. Like her expectations were too high, that he’d let her down. So he’d distanced himself to let things cool a minute. Which hadn’t gone exactly to plan since she was still in his damn head. And he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t secretly glad that Knight wasn’t interested, because he was— Nope, King wasn’t going to go down that road.

“Why is she telling you our business in the first place?” King redirected.

Knight rolled his eyes. “The only thing she said to me is that she hasn’t heard from you since you went out. I connected the rest of the dots myself.”

The moment was tense enough as it was, but Jason’s sudden entrance into King’s room just added another layer to his irritation.

“What are we talking about, dudes?” Jason leaned against the doorframe, his tricky grin a near permanent fixture on his face. Jason took a moment to assess the two and then perked up. “Ooh, this is all about Alexander, isn’t it?” He turned his attention to King. “Is Knight getting ready to kick your ass because you ditched his new best friend?”

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