Page 6 of False Start

She laughs, leaning her elbows back on the bleacher behind us, her face turned up toward the sun. “Why am I not surprised by that?”

“Sorry,” I say sheepishly, but I’m not really sorry. I should be. And I should put some distance between Vaughn and me, but I don’t seem to have it in me.

Still, she does seem a little sad.

“You okay, Van?”

She lifts her head to look at me, her eyes sullen. “He told you, right?” I cock my head to the side, waiting for her to tell me what she’s talking about, even though I have a good idea. Vaughn tells me a lot of things. “That he doesn’t want to live together.”

Yup. That’s what I thought. And what I really, really don’t want to talk about. But Vanessa is my friend—even if she’s dating the man I’m in love with.

That’s really not her fault.

“He did.”

She nods her head slowly and sits up. “I swear, I’m never quite enough for him.”

“That’s not true, Van. He loves you.” And it kills me to say it—twists my stomach into knots—but I know he does. Vaughn could have any girl at school—they flirt with him shamelessly—but he barely even notices them.

He’s never strayed. Not once, and if anyone would know, it would be me. Vaughn is loyal to a fault.

“He doesn’t want to live with me. You should have seen his face, Austin. He was horrified.”

“That’s just Vaughn. I love my best friend, but he’s kind of clueless. It probably never occurred to him that you may want that someday.”

“Well, he knows now, and he still said no. So what does that tell you?”

I start to pack my books away in my backpack when I see practice is wrapping up, but I keep my attention on Vanessa. I don’t want to be in the middle of their relationship, but I was kind of put here naturally. “It tells me you guys are eighteen.There’s time. You don’t have to get married and have babies right away just because this town usually dictates that.”

She frowns at that, looking out onto the field, and I follow her gaze to where Vaughn is drinking out of his water bottle. Water pours down over his chest. I think he’s doing it on purpose to cool down, but then he continues to gulp the water down. His white t-shirt is see-through now, his abs apparent between the sunlight and the water. I hate that my mouth waters.

He sees us both and shoots us a grin, which seems wider than his handsome face, and waves. We both wave back.

“I’d totally have his babies though,” Vanessa says in a husky tone I really don’t need to hear.

The thought of her having his babies sends a slicing pain through my gut, and I stand up to try to snuff it out. “I’m sure you will, Van.”

She stands up too. “I’m going to go kiss him goodbye before you two head out.”

“You could come too, you know,” I blurt out the invitation. What the hell am I doing? It hurts to see them together, so I’m just going to double down and expose myself to that tonight?

She just laughs though, swinging her backpack over her slender shoulder. “Can’t. I’m going to Katie’s, and she’s not a huge Vaughn fan.”

I frown. “Why not?”

She pats me on the shoulder. “Calm down. Obviously, I’m a huge Vaughn fan.” She shrugs. “Katie’s just my best friend, and she thinks I can do better than being a third wheel.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” My tone is sharp, but Van doesn’t flinch.

“You know what it means, Austin. You saw him this morning. He’s feral for you. Always has been. Always will be. Sometimes, I think you two are soulmates.”

I swallow hard, nerves and fear slicing through me. Does she see it? Does she know how I truly feel about her boyfriend? My vision gets a little blurry, and I worry I’m going to have to sit back down. “We’re friends.”

But then she laughs, like I’m acting ridiculous. “Yes. I know that. And a little too straight.” She winks at me, and I can feel myself pale as I try to smile—fake it, damn it! Don’t let her see.

“Right,” I barely choke the word out, and I hope I’m not acting too weird.

She sighs and bumps into my side with her arm. “There’s such a thing as platonic soulmates though, and that’s you and Vaughn. If he ever had to choose, it would be you, and that’s what Katie means.”

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