Page 67 of Now That We Don't Talk

“Not much. Kyle said I needed to call you.”

I let out a long breath, I realize I’ve been holding in. A wave of relief washes over me—Kyle didn’t give her any details. That’s good. I want Katie to hear everything from me.

“Okay,” I say slowly. “Just promise me you’ll let me tell you everything before you say anything.”

“Of course.” Her voice is cautious, like she’s bracing for something she might not want to hear.

I swallow, my mind racing through all the things I need to say. Where do I even start? There’s no perfect entry point, so I just dive in.

“Remember when you asked Mac and me to try and get along? Well…we kept that promise to you.” I exhale slowly then keep going. “But it’s more than that now. We’ve been talking and texting. He brought me ice cream last week, and then we had dinner the other night…” I hesitate before saying the next part, knowing how wild it sounds even to me. “And he kissed me.”

She keeps her promise and hasn’t chimed in yet.

“His mom invited me to have dinner with them.” I run a hand through my hair, still processing how quickly everything has changed. “I know this sounds crazy. I never saw this coming, and I still don’t fully understand it myself.” I pause and take a breath. “Anyway, when Mac told Kyle, they had a huge blow up, and now they’re not speaking to each other.”

Silence stretches between us. My stomach twists as I wait for her reaction.

Finally, Katie lets out a slow breath. “Wow. I get sick for a few days, and everything implodes into chaos.”

I let out a nervous laugh. “Yes. You’re obviously the glue holding all of us together.”

She snorts. “So, let me get this straight—you and Mac, who have barely tolerated each other all these years, are now…seeing each other?”

Hearing her say these words makes it feel more real. “Yeah…I guess so. Honestly, I’m still trying to wrap my head around it. But he’s been…different since he’s been back.” I pause, chewing over my next thought. “Or maybe I’m the one who’s different.”

It’s difficult to explain something I’m still figuring out myself.

“Well, I believe people can change,” she says, her tone thoughtful. “But Mac is only here for a few months, andthen he goes back to his life. Have you thought about that?”

Ha—only every single day.

“Yes,” I say with a sigh. “And I’ve thought about what you said when we were at Casa about Mac having summer flings.”

“Mm-hmm,” she mumbles.

“Honestly, I tried to ignore my attraction to him,” I wail. “You know me—I wasn’t looking for this. In fact, I would have been just fine not interacting with Mac at all…but somehow, it just happened.”

It’s the best way I can explain it. How do you put into words the feeling of being drawn to someone unexpectedly, like gravity pulling you in no matter how hard you try to resist?

“Huh,” Katie says. “Well, you and Mac hooking up definitely wasn’t on my summer bingo card.”

“Trust me, I know.”

“And I guess this means you’re not interested in Cash?”

Crap. Cash.

I feel a knot growing in my stomach. Katie was so excited about setting Cash and me up. How did I let everything with Mac consume me to the point I’d forgotten about him? This whole situation has turned me into a mess.

“Oh, Katie,” I wail. “I’m so sorry. Cash is an amazing guy, and I do like him?—”

I just like someone else more.

“Well, this explains why Kyle has been in a mood,” she finally says. “I thought maybe he was overwhelmed with all the wedding talk, but if he’s not speaking to Mac, that’s a problem.”

I nod. “Yes. Mac’s pretty upset about it.”

“We’ll just need to fix that situation,” she exclaims. “Thisshould be the happiest time in my brother’s life. Being at odds with his best friend will put a huge damper on it.”

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