Page 35 of I Choose You

She’s joking.

I know it.

She knew we were getting ice cream before she showed up. You don’t meet at an ice cream shack and not get ice cream. Besides, there’s nothing about Nelly’s figure that shouts exercise. I’ve seen her in the summer with a bikini on. She’s in better shape than most of the state, me included.

“I don’t care what you say. I need moral support.” I loop my hand through her arm and haul her toward the short line. “You’re getting ice cream, whether you like it or not.”

She sighs and leans into my side. “Fine, but only if you tell me why we’re actually here.”

Outside of Luke and Mason, Nelly is my next in line. I’ve met up with her at this shack more times than I can count. “I haven’t contacted any of the other matches that popped up on my Fish4U dashboard.” Waking next to Mason in my silk nightie—the one I have never worn because you can see my nipples clear as day, hard or not, means I need to agree to a match on Fish4U ASAP.

Her lips squeeze together in a slash. “And why the hell not?”

“Because.” At this point, I don’t have an answer. Really, I want to spend time with Mason, but the energy between us grows tenser each time we’re together.

“I’ve told you this already…there’s always risk associated with getting what you want with, literally, everything.” She points to the shack window where they have the menu written. “You want ice cream? You risk getting a fat ass.”

I hush her, afraid the person in front of us might hear, but also because I haven’t been completely honest with her.

“It’s true,” she says when I don’t reply. “So what if Ben was a loser and failed to show. There are lots of guys who will.”

“Yeah, well, what if I don’t want to meet someone anymore?” What if I only want Mason? I can’t believe the thought even crosses my mind.

The second I’m alone again, I’m slapping myself straight. Relationships are not for me!

God, what is happening?

“Go big or go home, right? I’m getting the banana split.” They’re my go-to when I’m beyond stressed. I want the creaminess of the vanilla. The smooth texture of the bananas. The crunchiness of the nuts. I want it all so I can forget about the way Mason’s body was curled into mine when I forced myself to hightail it out of there.

I give her a look right back when I catch her staring. “What? Don’t judge me.”

She reads over the menu. “I’m not, but you’re joking, right? You’re not giving up already, are you?”

I ignore her questions. “What are you getting?”

“It has to be something light on the cals.”

“Cals?” I wrinkle my nose.

“Yeah, calories.”

Okay, that’s enough.

“Why are you watching what you eat? You can spare yourself a few calories for ice cream, especially to help me recover from the emotional turmoil I’m in.” I pull in a breath, knowing how selfish I sound, but hello—I’m having a crisis. “What happened?”

She sighs and relents. “Trent and I spent the night together again.”

“And?”

“We’ve been having a fun time, but he made a comment last night that’s been grating on me,” she reveals.

“What did he say?”

“Something about the jiggle.” She does a decent job of picking up her face when it falls.

“The jiggle?”

She puts a hand on her butt and shakes it. “Yes, the jiggle.”

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