Page 75 of Your Secret to Keep

“Makes sense. You’ve been obsessed with Willow ever since I’ve known you. That must be wild.” She looks to me and asks, “Any news on the apartment?”

“I got an email that they were able to save all my kitchen stuff and the living room couch, but almost everything else is a loss.”

“I can’t believe that happened. But look, you get to play house with your hottie NBA player.” Shelbie shimmies her shoulders. “Question—the pictures of Rocky on Brooks’ socials… is that you or him?”

A chuckle falls out of my mouth. “All him. He’s never had a dog and has totally fallen in the dog dad hole.”

Brooks is always looking out for Rocky. It has gotten to the point where he’s started making homemade dog treats and exploring a natural diet for him. He orders tons of toys, trying to find the one that Rocky likes best, and donating the rest to the shelter. He really loves him, and it makes me so happy that my event brought them together.

“And we’re not playing house,” I protest. “I needed somewhere to stay. He has the room.”

Shelbie rolls her eyes. “Okay, it’s been three weeks. How many times have you slept somewhere other than his bed?”

I smile before putting a too-big bite in my mouth. The answer is zero, but she already knows that. This is a rhetorical question.

Shelbie scans my face and asks, “Hey, what’s that on your neck?”

My fingers find the rough patch, right under my ear and creeping onto my neck.

I look from her to the table. “Same sort of dry skin. I finally found a doctor who will see me, but the waitlist is eight months long.”

“Wait, so you have to wait that long to even see a doctor? That’s fucking ridiculous,” she exclaims.

“I know. I’m still using the mediocre insurance, but I’ll be eligible for the Jags plan in January. Maybe I’ll be able to find someone then?”

What I don’t tell her is that I’m also dealing with significant joint pain. Maybe it’s stress or maybe it’s related to whatever’s going on with my skin? I don’t know. Every time I Google it, I think I’m dying so I try to leave it be. It has to be something to do with stress—life has been wild. This isn’t the first time I’ve had pain like this; it seems to pop up whenever I forget to sleep, or eat, or fall into a routine where I’m doing too much.

“I didn’t mean to call it out,” Shelbie apologizes. “That wasn’t cool of me.”

How does she know these things? I’ve been agonizing over these small spots in the mirror. A lot of the dry spots are on my back, but occasionally, one shows up where it’s harder to hide. I’m not one to typically be self-conscious about my body, but whatever this is makes me uncomfortable. I think it’s mostly because I don’t know what it is. I certainly don’t want people thinking I’ve got some sort of contagious skin disease or something.

“It’s alright,” I assure her. “No worries.”

I close the book on this conversation with a little white lie.

We’re in the VIP suite as the concert is about to start. People keep coming in and it’s weird because I know them, but I don’t know them. Like, I don’t live under a rock, so when Tripp Owens comes in, I do my best not to fan girl. Basketball is my favorite sport, but I still fit in football when I have the time. I know he’s a Super Bowl Champion and MVP who plays for the Upstate Cosmos alongside Zack—Brooks’ brother. Tripp is also dating Willow, and while I’m not one to be in the know about athletes’love lives or gossip, the way all of that played out was too good to not devour every scrap of information.

Zack Andersen, who I’ve not met yet, skips into the suite and darts for us. He swallows Brooks in a hug, even though Zack is slightly shorter.

“Where’s your better half?” Brooks asks once Zack finally lets him go.

His smile is contagious and bright. “She’s backstage with Willow,” he explains. “They have some new openers tonight so she’s making sure everything is all good.” His attention turns to me and he sticks out his hand. “I’m Zack, and I think you’re the reason I now have a quarterly donation arranged for one of the local animal shelters. What a great idea!”

I give him my hand and he shakes it. “Lia. Nice to meet you,” I reply. “And thanks. I’m glad it got a little bit of traction.”

“Well, dogs like Rocky are hard to pass up helping them out, right?” He claps Brooks on the back.

“Right.”

“Hey, I’m Tripp. Thanks for coming out tonight.” Tripp waves as he stands next to Zack.

“Lia. And thank you for having me. I’m kind of trying not to freak out, in all honesty.”

Tripp shrugs and replies, “It’s been years of me being with Willow and I still lose my shit every once in a while. I get it.” The way he talks about her makes me so fucking happy. He’s always seemed like her biggest fan, and now it’s like I feel it.

A couple walks in, people I don’t know, and find Tripp.

“Let me introduce you to Ivy and Holland,” Tripp says. “They run this amazing lodge out in Washington area. We met through a charity event but kind of hit it off.”

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