Page 28 of One Day

“Walker,” I tell him, chewing my bottom lip out of habit. There’s no point in even trying to hide it. My parents always said I walk around with a blinking sign above my head saying everything on my mind. I can’t seem to help it. I wear my emotions out in the open.

“What kind of name is Walker?” Fitz asks, having yet to leave our table.

“What kind of name is Fitz?” Bekah shoots back, glaring at him.

“Last name, baby,” he says, a smile playing on the edge of his lips. The green in his eyes holding a brighter quality, like being around Bekah lights something up inside them. “Could be yours one day if you’re lucky.”

I bite my lip to keep from laughing when Bekah’s gaze turns deadly. “I’d rather stab myself in the eye than ever consider the idea of being married to you,” she says, leaning into him. “Repeatedly.”

“Two hundred bucks says they fuck in the next nine months,” Dylan whispers to Reid and me. My eyes widen at the comment. “What? You can bet on my sex life, but I can’t make some bets of my own?”

“I give it a year,” Reid says, still glued to his book, and my lips fall open. Reid never participates in our bets when it comes to Dylan.

Dylan perks up at his bet and extends his hand out to Reid. “Thirty-day window?” he questions, and I expect Reid to shake his head and take it back, but to my surprise, he takes Dylan’s hand without even bothering to look and shakes it.

“Are you kidding me right now?” I hiss, reaching for the book he’s holding. He makes a grab for it, but I tuck it close to my chest and out of his reach.

“What?” he asks, an innocent look in his eyes. “I like to win, too.”

I go to argue when Bekah’s voice grabs my attention again. “I will kill you.”

Fitz is wearing a grin when he says, “I had no idea you were so violent, Beks.”

“I hate you.”

“Sure, you do,” he says with a grin, finally sliding out of the booth. “You know where to find me when you decide you want to put me in my place.”

Silence falls over the table, all waiting for Bekah’s reaction to come as she slowly sinks back into the booth with her brows drawn tight. “You good, Beks?” Dylan asks, biting his lip to hide the forming smirk.

“Just peachy,” she says when Everett approaches the table with a clear tumbler of amber liquid. “What is that?” she asks, pointing to the glass.

“Tequila,” Everett says, and that’s all Bekah needs to grab it from his hand and toss it back. He raises his eyebrow in question, his gaze bouncing around the four of us, but before he can say anything, Dylan extends the flowers.

“Here you go, cutie,” he says, standing up to pull Everett into a tight embrace. “I’m sorry I missed your showcase, but I’m proud of you.”

Everett’s exterior softens as he smiles down at the flowers. “Thanks, Dyl.”

“It’s open for a few more days, right? I want to go by and see your work.”

“Yeah, they’re showcasing it for two weeks,” Everett shares, settling in next to Bekah while Dylan returns to his spot next to me. “We can go next week sometime if you want.”

“I’m in,” he says, looking at me. “Did you figure out a time with Campbell yet?”

I shake my head when the door to the bar opens, and Walker walks in with Flynn, Devon, and Wren in tow. Just like last time—or anytime I see him—his eyes brighten when they find mine. It’s like we’re two magnets, drawn together when we’re in the same room like clockwork. I lift my chin in a silent greeting, smiling at him despite the worry simmering in my belly. I have no reason to worry. I know we’re going to be okay, but it doesn’t change the fact it’s there.

“Would you look at that?” Dylan says. “He showed up.”

I bite down on my bottom lip and nod, chewing my bottom lip. “He kissed me.”

The entire table turns to look at me, and my chest suddenly feels like it’s on fire. Somewhere along the way, keeping that information to myself felt like the weight of the world was resting on my chest, so I spill everything. I catch Everett up on our conversation at the diner and then the rest of it. The kiss, the taking back of the no—all of it.

“So…he said yes?” Bekah asks.

I shake my head, reaching for one of my curls, and pull it straight. “He asked for time to think about it, which obviously he can have, and I know we’re going to be fine with whatever he decides, but the waiting is sending me down a spiral of thinking maybe he is right and sex will fuck everything up.”

Dylan’s smile turns gentle. “I’d say some of the best friendships come from sex.”

“I am almost positive you wouldn’t have given me a second thought if I slept with you,” I say, letting go of my hair and smiling at the memory of him chasing me across campus. Part of me expected it to be an ego thing. People like Dylan don’t get turned down, especially halfway in, but I think the thing that secured our friendship is that I was wrong.

---