Page 71 of Exes and O's

TARA:Lmao! Oh no. Hope he’s okay! You would never catch me dead at the Ninja gym. Things are dandy over here. Crystal got pampered this morning. Now we’re eating.

I send him a photo of the table spread.

TARA:Are you guys having a good time? Heading to the club tonight?

TREVOR:Ya.

TARA:Have fun!!

TREVOR:Thx.

TARA:I’ve been meaning to tell you... I think you still need some help with your texting game. You better not be texting Kyla like this

TREVOR:My texts are perfectly fine.

TARA:For the 39434th time, you simply cannot punctuate with a period. It’s a mark of death! You’re an emotional person’s nightmare texter

TREVOR:THE HORROR!!!! From now on I’ll make sure I end all my texts with exclamation marks okay?! Just for you!

TARA:I feel so special

TREVOR:You should! I’m only doing this for you!

“Is that a heart-eye emoji? For Trev?” Crystal peeks at my screen as she reaches for a dumpling. HerBride to Besash nearly dips onto my plate.

I dispose of my phone in the back pocket of my jeans and lean against the island. “Yes. But don’t read into it. There’s nothing going on with us.”

“Figured as much,” she says casually. I don’t know why her knowing tone irks me so much, but it does.

Mel analyzes me, her expression marginally less critical. “You’re not telling us something.”

I buckle immediately under the pressure of her callout. “Fine. He kissed me. When we did surveillance at Daniel’s work. One minute, Daniel was coming out of the elevator, and the next, Trevor was kissing me. With tongue.” I elegantly gnaw at a chicken wing, awaiting my crucifixion.

Crystal’s eyes bulge, as if I’ve regaled them with a tall tale about running a 10K, or something equally unbelievable and outlandish.

I rehash our hot-and-heavy make-out, explaining his justification—how he was diverting attention away from us. When I say it out loud, it sounds weak. Surely, he could have taken less drastic measures, like tossing his coat over my face or pushing my head down.

Crystal scrutinizes me, shifting out of the way as Aunt Lisa inches behind us to the perimeter of the kitchen, eager to serve her lemon cake. “You’re not overthinking this, are you?”

“No,” I say quickly, my eyes turning to my chicken wing bone.

“You are. I can see the wheels turning,” she says leerily.

“Okay, fine. I can’t help but wonder sometimes. We have the best conversations. He’s opened up to me a lot in the past month. There’s actually a lot more to him than meets the eye. He’s sensitive and he listens, like, really listens,” I gush.

Crystal gives me a pitiful look, like she doesn’t want to hurt my feelings. “Is he still... sleeping with other women?”

“I don’t know.” I hang my head. “The last girl he brought home was Gabby. From your gym. Though he is casually texting one girl he used to date. Kyla.”

“Has he ever given you any hint he has real feelings for you?” Mel asks.

“He smiles at me a lot, mostly when he thinks I’m not looking. Oh, and he feeds me,” I add, grasping at straws. “He even tries to make food I’ll like.” Just a few evenings ago, he made me a flatbread pizza. Half was loaded with veggies, while the other half was plain sauce, pepperoni, and cheese, just for me.

Crystal’s doubtful expression tramples my theory to dust. “I mean, the smiling... he’s a bit of a flirt in general.”

I frown. “Maybe. But hypothetically, what if I’m not reading too much into things? What if he did catch feelings for me?”

“Expecting to be the exception to the rule is like eating Taco Bell and being shocked when you get mad diarrhea,” Crystal says pointedly.

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