Page 13 of Undeniable

“I remembered today was your last day of tryouts and wanted to stop by. I’m also getting my new room ready for the year. Figured I’d get a jump on it since I have to completely start over.”

During our conversations at the bar, Amanda and I realized that we worked at the same school. She was one of the middle school-level science teachers while I was across the school in the gym. But at least I could count on one familiar face in the hallways.

“Let me know if you need any help. Two-a-days are over, thankfully, so my schedule is a little less chaotic,” I offered.

Right before the previous school year ended and only a few months ago, Amanda was in her classroom with Reed when they were cornered by her brother’s boss. Her brother, Adam, had found himself in hot water and it all came to a head in her little classroom.

She’d promptly requested to switch rooms which I knew from experience was a pain.

“Don’t worry about it. What good is having two boyfriends if I don’t use them for times like these? They’re actually both moving stuff right now, which is part of the reason why I came down here. I wanted to ask you something.”

She tucked a piece of her long hair behind her ear and didn’t wait for a response before she continued. “We’re having Sunday dinner at our apartment this weekend. It’s a tradition we recently started up again, and this week is special since it’s our last week in our apartment. We closed on our house this morning and are moving in next week. So, I wanted you to come.”

“To Sunday dinner? With your friends?”

She nodded hopefully, and I hated that I was about to stomp all over that hope.

I’d only just recovered from my previous run-in with James. Over the two weeks since it happened, we’d done well keeping away from each other. He’d only come into the bar one other time, and I’d been on my break when he’d stopped by to talk to Josh. I’d heard part of the conversation from my spot seated at the small table in the break room, but luckily, James hadn’t seen me.

I didn’t think our current situation—doing everything in our power to steer clear of each other—was viable in the long run, but it worked in the interim. And although I hadn’t asked them to, everyone had even stopped bringing up James’s name around me.

No one had asked a single question about what went down in the break room during the party. It was hard, however, not to notice the questioning stares and curious glances nearly everyone threw our way after we’d both rejoined the festivities that night.

I was trying to pretend like it didn’t happen, which was my one and only coping mechanism at that point.

“I really appreciate the invite, but—”

She held up her hands, effectively cutting off my argument. “He’s not going to be there,” she said in a soft voice.

My brow furrowed in confusion and she continued. “He’ll be working, as usual. He told Reed that there was some merger or something going on. He’s going to be at the office all weekend and already declined my invite. So, if you don’t want to come for any other reason, that’s fine. Butheshouldn’t be the reason.”

It wasn’t hard to miss the way Amanda refrained from using James’s name. It didn’t help much, but the gesture did soften me to the idea a little bit.

I knew James spent most of his time at his office downtown. He was the definition of a workaholic, so I wasn’t surprised that he’d miss out on dinner to work instead. It was one of the main reasons he claimed he often couldn’t go back to Willowwood.Work.

“I’ll think about it,” I conceded.

Amanda scrunched her nose at that response and sighed. “I don’t think you understand that I’m not going to let this go until you agree. That’s just kind of the way I work.”

I hadn’t known her long, but in the little time I had gotten to know Amanda, I knew she wasn’t lying. And the idea of hanging out with the rest of the group sounded fun, even though the possibility of any long-term friendships with them was unlikely. James was already an important part of their group and wasn’t going anywhere. And I couldn’t be a part of it if he was constantly around.

He wouldn’t want me to be anyway.

“So, you might as well save us both a lot of time and heartache and just agree. It’s one dinner.”

One dinner. I could do one dinner. “Okay.”

She clapped and jumped up and down. “Yes! That was a lot easier than I thought it would be.”

“Yeah, well, you led with the most important information,” I mumbled.

Her smile dropped slightly and her features softened. “James hasn’t said much to us about…” She struggled for a moment. “The two of you, but if you ever want to talk…”

I waved her off and pushed the equipment door closed before locking it and hooking my key ring over my finger.

“It’s in the past. There’s nothing to talk about.”

She lifted a questioning brow and crossed her arms over her chest. “Is it? Is that why the two of you can’t stand to be around each other? Because it’s‘in the past’?”

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