Page 36 of Dire Straights

“Screw you. We’re not a couple,” I said, but my stomach pitched a bit at his words. I’d thought we were being subtle, but… “Just don’t say anything. Or you’re going to be in for a serious ass beating, family lawyers or not.”

“I’d never out anyone,” he said, giving me a look that was ripe with amusement. “Just thought you might want to know that you can sometimes be a little… loud. At any rate, I’m grateful for the help, and I apologize for my behavior before.”

“Which time?” I grumbled, rolling my eyes.

“The morning with the vodka. That was a particularly bad day,” he said, glancing up like he was recalling it. “I had to sell a watch that was very important to me, and I suppose I was not handling my grief in a very healthy and productive way. It won’t happen again.”

“Well… Whatever. It’s fine,” I said. A tiny bit of sympathy had bloomed for him, despite everything. “Sorry about the watch. And the money. And everything.”

He sighed deeply, nodding. “If I can make it through four years of this, it will be a miracle.”

“Why don’t you get a part time job?” I suggested. I was lucky to get a little monthly allowance from my parents for food and general expenses. I couldn’t go nuts but I didn’t need to worry about working. But if he needed money that badly…

“I don’t know how to do anything.”

“Yeah, but there’s a lot of simple jobs that show you exactly what to do. Even you can’t screw it up.”

“I don’t know,” he said, shaking his head. “I’ll think about it.”

“Well, if you need me to show you any more basic shit like how to change a lightbulb or adjust the thermostat, let me know. It’s on the house.”

“How very generous of you. I’ll remember you fondly when I’m back in my mansion on my sprawling estate.”

REN

THE RESTAURANT WASpacked like usual, but as always Maddy and I managed to score a booth near the back. We sat next to each other, both on the same side of the booth, so we could watch the game on one of the big TVs mounted in the corner.

He was right about football being pretty simple to follow, once you understood the rules and everything. I’d watched a bunch of games with him since that first one where he’d taught me about it. But I still kept a little cheat sheet I’d typed out on my phone for when I got confused. When he caught me glancing at it, he shook his head, smirking.

“You are such a nerd.”

I grinned, placing it face down on the table. “Just trying to make sure I understand everything!”

“You could just ask me.”

“Maybe I want to be the student that surpasses the master,” I retorted, popping a salty fry drenched in ketchup into my mouth.

He scoffed, rolling those blue eyes I loved staring into lately. “Good luck with that. Nerd.”

I just laughed. I was pretty sure I smiled and laughed more with him than any other time in my life I could remember. Being with Maddy just felt so natural and easy. Everything felt perfect. Well, almost everything.

It seemed he was echoing my thoughts on the one little issue with our… whatever we were in, as he stared at me withthatlook on his face. I knew that look perfectly now. It meant he wanted my tongue in his mouth, and possibly some other more interesting places. But the place was packed, and a lot of the people here were students I recognized from the school. It was loud enough that we could quietly flirt back and forth and no one could hear us, but there was no way we could kiss or anything like that.

It kind of made me want to live in his bedroom with him, where we could do whatever we wanted without anyone seeing, but at the same time I didn’t want to be a hermit. Mostly. Maybe sometimes. But I really, truly didn’t blame him or resent him for it. I couldn’t bring myself to ask, but my instincts told me that if it wasn’t for all the issues it would bring with the swim team, he wouldn’t have been totally opposed to being public with me. At least, I was pretty sure. I didn’t want to think about it too much.

As we chatted back and forth about the game and how our classes that day had gone, a family at a booth across the floor from us got up and left. I wouldn’t have noticed, except that their space was immediately claimed by a group of guys that I recognized at least a couple of. Three of them were the guys from the swim team that had talked to us in the library before, and then another two I didn’t recognize. They were already being louder than everyone else. When I glanced over at Maddy, he was watching them too, with his eyes narrowed.

“Jackasses,” he muttered. It was clear that he really, really didn’t like them. I didn’t blame him. From everything I knew about them, they were just complete nuisances, holding views that I could politely call problematic. If I wasn’t feeling so polite, I’d say they were straight up bigots. It was no wonder Maddy didn’t want to deal with their judgment of him.

My faced-down phone lit up with a notification, the light reflecting off the polished wood of the table. I picked it up to see a new text from someone I hadn’t spoken to in awhile. The sightof Gwen’s name on the screen made my stomach clench with anxiety.

Your mom told me you were asking about me. You know if you miss me, you can just text me. You don’t have to be such a dork about it.

I hadn’t asked about her. In fact, I’d specifically discouraged my mom from telling me anything they’d talked about when they’d apparently met at the grocery store. I knew my mom had probably relayed this lie to her in hopes that we would reconnect, but it still hurt.

I didn’t ask her about you.

I sent the message, then immediately felt guilty for being so short. When I glanced back up, I noticed there was a girl who’d been trying to walk by the table of the swim team guys, that they’d intercepted. She looked uncomfortable, like she wanted to leave, but one of them had reached out to hold her wrist. They were all razzing and teasing her flirtatiously.

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