Page 17 of Why Not Us?

Vic picks up her mug. “All right. Let’s stop bugging poor Adalie about her crush. We have work to do.”

Derek stands, but before he follows Vic out of the lounge, he squeezes my shoulder. “For real. I want you to be happy, Ad.”

“I know.” I bite my lip, not sure if I should mention the kiss or not. It’s confusing and part of what kept me up all night was wondering what it meant, if anything. Maybe Nate goes around kissing women senseless all the time. I don’t actually know him at all.

I stand and Derek gives me a hug before we go into our offices to start working. I manage to keep my mind on my job for the rest of the morning. I even manage to get my mind off Nate for a little while when my phone rings right before lunch.

Calista is calling. I’d texted her last night when I got home asking her to call. It’s been over twelve hours since the text, so I let it ring a couple times before I answer.

“Hello?” I say.

“Hey, Addie. What’s up?”

I blink in shock. “What’s…? What do you mean, what’s up? You stood me up last night.”

She scoffs. “Oh that? That’s not a big deal. What were you doing, anyway?”

Anger burns through me, so I stand, using movement to try to keep my voice from showing it. “I was waiting for you. You said you were on your way.”

“Well, you know a brewery isn’t really my scene.”

I close my eyes, pressing my fingers to the bridge of my nose. “Yes, Calista. Which is why we were going to meet there and go somewhere else.”

“If I had known you wanted to go somewhere else, you could have joined me. I went to this cute little spot with a few friends. I totally would have told you if I thought you’d be interested.”

“Iwasinterested. Which is why I said last week that we could do whatever you wanted.”

I flop back into my seat, dropping my forehead onto my hand, rubbing away the headache that’s forming.

“Come on, Addie. You never want to do fun things. That’s why I never invite you out, because you’ll say no, anyway.”

I try to keep my voice light and not accusing when I say, “That’s not true. I was pretty upset last night that you bailed on me again. It was my—”

Calista groans, cutting me off. “You never care. What makes last night different?”

I open my mouth to tell her, actually, Ialwayscare. It hurts when she decides something else is more important and doesn’t even bother to tell me so. Especially since last night was mybirthday. But before I can say anything, Calista says, “Oh, my friend is here. I have to go. See you later, Addie.”

I’m left holding my phone, the line gone dead. I pull it away from my ear to stare at it. Had my sister really just hung up on me? Did she not remember it was my birthday yesterday?

Her accusations rattle around in my head.

You never want to do fun things.

You never care.

She’s my younger sister, but I always feel like I’m trying to catch up to her.

I totally would have told you if I thought you’d be interested.

Why does she think I wouldn’t be interested? What would she say if she knew I’d ridden home on a motorcycle? Or that, after, I’d kissed a man I barely know just because it had felt right in the moment?

“Hey Adalie,” Spencer says, coming into my office with some papers. “Can I get your—”

“I’m going out for lunch.”

Startled, he looks up from the papers he’s holding.

“Everything okay?”

---