Page 110 of Outside The Wire

“So, I’ll go to a ball game or something.”

“Alone?”

“Why not?”

“Isn’t that boring?”

He glanced at me. “This is really bothering you, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it’s bothering me!”

I didn’t understand how he could just sit there with a silly grin on his face and act like it was no big deal to have absolutely no friends and only hang out with me. Was that normal? Not by my standards.

“What about you? Don’t you have any friends other than Noelle?”

“Yes, I have—I mean there’s?—”

“There’s who?”

I could hear the laughter in his voice. Crap, I fell into my own trap. “Fine, I may have only one friend, but I still have her.”

“I’m just saying, as you get older, people change and grow apart. That’s part of life.”

“Yes, but you should have at least one friend.”

“Like I said, I have you.”

I wanted him to have more than me. I loved having him in my life and getting him to myself, but he should have someone he could turn to for a guy’s night or just to hang out with. It just seemed wrong. And for some reason, the rest of the way to the restaurant, that’s all I could think about.

“Any chance I could get you to stop throwing me a pity party before we go inside?” Asher asked as he helped me down from the truck.

“I’m not throwing you a pity party. I’m throwing myself one on your behalf. It’s totally different.”

“Mm,” he nodded, taking my hand in his.

And that was it. All he had to say on the subject, which bothered me even more. He really didn’t care.

He guided me into the restaurant and waved when he saw Noelle and Wyatt already seated, signaling to the hostess as we walked past. It was a good thing he was leading because I was too wrapped up in my own thoughts of how he had no friends to think about where I was going.

“Uh-oh.”

I looked up at Noelle and frowned. “What?”

“You. What’s with the intense look? Another fight?”

“No.” I took my seat with a heavy sigh.

“Right, I’m totally buying that,” Noelle snorted.

“He looks perfectly happy,” Wyatt grinned. “It’s just her.”

“He has no friends!” I snapped, pointing at Asher accusingly. “And he doesn’t care. He says that I’m enough. What kind of psycho talk is that? I mean, who doesn’t want friends? I can’t even wrap my head around it!”

Asher placed his hand on my back and started rubbing in soothing circles. “Baby?—”

“Don’t youbabyme. This is not alright. I don’t care what you did in a previous life or what you do now. Normal people need friends. And if you’re going to be friends with me, you’re going to have to find yourself at least one friend. I draw the line at not having any friends. It’s just plain weird.”

He raised an eyebrow at me. “Fine.” Then he turned to Wyatt. “Hey, man. Will you be my friend?”

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