Page 44 of Endgame

“Um, I’m going to need my hips back at some point, King.” She looked down to where he was still gripping her tightly, his thumb lightly tracing one of her hip bones.

“Right,” he said, releasing his hands and taking a step back. “Sorry.”

“No worries.”

They stood there in silence for a minute, locked in place, unsure of how to proceed.

“You leaving?” Lila asked.

King nodded. So she unzipped his hoodie and started to take it off to give back to him. “Thanks for the loan…” she started to say.

“Hold on to it for now,” King said. “It’s colder than balls in there. I’ll just grab it from Knight next time I see him or whatever.”

She hesitated but then shrugged back into it and zipped it back up. “Okay. Um, thanks. That’s nice of you.”

“I’m trying to be nicer to my friends,” King replied.

“So we’re friends, huh?” Lila raised a skeptical brow.

“I’d like to be.”

Her heart soared and sank in equal measure because King wanted to be friends. Which was great, but that also meant that he was past whatever else they’d been before. Lila didn’t know if she’d ever fully get to the point where she felt okay about that, but she was sure as hell going to try.

“Okay, then. Goodnight, friend.” She tried out the word carefully with a tentative smile and didn’t hate the way it felt coming out of her mouth, but she didn’t love it either. Maybe eventually she would.

And he smiled too, just barely. Blink and you’d miss it. “Goodnight, La.”

Chapter 24

“Keep this pace up, Spencer, and I’m going to pass out or puke before we complete another lap,” Knight managed to stutter between sucking in huge spurts of air.

King wasn’t even winded, but he slowed their pace to a brisk walk. “Punking out on me already, Patrick? We’ve only done six miles.” He’d already run two by the time Knight joined him on the track. It was early in the morning, before the summer sun beat down too forcefully, though their shed shirts were an indication that temperatures were rising quickly.

They walked one more lap around the track and then veered off into the grass to stretch and grab their water bottles.

After stretching, King splayed out on the grass and closed his eyes, breathing for a minute. He’d forgotten how potent Lila’s proximity was. It had been torture to sit so close to her and not be with her. Though he’d known going in that Lila was bringing her date home, it had been more difficult to see her with the guy than he had anticipated, even if he could tell by her body language that she wasn’t really into it. But seeing her date with his arm around her, his hand in hers, did something awful to King’s chest.

The past two months of counseling had been really helpful to him, and he was finally starting to feel like he was capable of being the kind of guy he’d always wanted to be but thought was impossible to become. He’d also set some boundaries with his parents (in the form of blocking their cell numbers and only communicating via email) that had helped him to get his mind right.

He channeled his former inclination toward self-destruction into healthier outlets, like running and other forms of exercise. He’d also started reading a lot more. And he’d made the decision to officially return to the soccer team for his last year. He was only two classes away from a double major, so he’d filled the remaining holes in his schedule with classes he’d always thought sounded interesting but hadn’t really fit in with the course load he had to take. If they also happened to be classes Lila mentioned she was interested in taking way back when, it was purely coincidental.

Bullshit.

“So, how serious are Lila and glasses guy?” King stretched his arms behind his head and hoped his voice only sounded mildly interested in the answer.

Something soft hit him in the face, and it took a moment to register that it was the hoodie he’d loaned Lila the other night. It smelled faintly of her, a heady combination of their scents, and he tried not to be a creep and inhale too deeply. Knight would notice and never let him live that shit down.

“Oh that’s totally done. She let him down gently on movie night,” Knight chuckled. “Honestly, I don’t think she was ever that into him. I think she was definitely trying, though, for whatever reason.” Knight paused for so long that King lifted the hoodie from his face to see what was going on, only to catch his friend suggestively wiggling his brows in King’s direction. King groaned and dropped the hoodie back down on his face.

“I wonder what reason that would be?” Knight prodded. “Perhaps the arrival of an old flame tipped the scales? Or maybe it was a total and complete lack of chemistry.” He shuddered. “I might have walked in on them kissing one time, and I felt really bad for the girl. Dude had absolutely zero finesse.”

King tried to stop the growl that erupted as soon as he’d heard she kissed the guy. But, based on Knight’s laughter, he’d been unsuccessful in his attempt.

“Look, man, just because this particular person wasn’t her jam doesn’t mean that she won’t meet somebody else. Hell, most of the guys are half in love with her but are too afraid of you to make a move.” Knight plucked the hoodie off of King’s head. “You need to up your game, King. She practically forced this into my arms when she heard I was meeting you for a run.”

“Just taking it slow.” King took the hoodie back and tucked it under his head. “We’re trying the friendship thing.”

Knight snorted in reply. “Yeah, I’m sure you both are going to be great at the ‘friendship thing,’ as you call it.” He scratched at the dark stubble on his jaw. “Bro, I think that now’s the time to put our plan into action. Otherwise, all bets are off.”

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