Page 50 of Spring Tide

“Seriously?” He shakes his head, the question dry. “After he ditched you like that on Friday night?”

I pick at a frayed thread on my jeans, swirling the words around on my tongue. “Actually,Iditched him.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I ditched Nate for you, remember?”

“Yeah, but that was—”

“Fake? Well, not from Nate’s perspective,” I say, unsure of why I’m even defending him now. “He saw the two of us in some picture together and wasn’t too happy about it.”

“So what, he kissed someone else to get back at you?”

“I don’t really know what was going through his mind, but maybe?”

“Okay?” He bundles up the weighted cord, tossing it onto the mattress beside us. “So youdowant to be with him now?”

“No, I don’t think I do.”

“You don’tthinkso?”

“He wasn’t too nice when he confronted me. And honestly, I didn’t like how he acted about the whole thing. But, I don’t know, he just thought I was a two-timer or something. He actually said that maybe we could try things later on. You know, if you and I don’t work out in the end.”

He leans back on his hands, lips pursed for a beat too long. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Yeah, Harper.” He leans forward, rubbing a hand across his forehead. “You already know what I think of the guy. But if he’s who you want, then I guess that’s all I can say.”

“Oh no, that’s not—I-I don’t really think I want that anymore.”

He snorts. “That?”

“Nate,” I clarify, nudging him with my thigh.

He nudges back, a flicker of a smile finally passing his lips. “Okay.”

We finish up the rest of our cooldown stretches in relative silence. Luca’s oddly quiet, or at least quieter than usual, for the rest of the hour. Normally, I’d attempt to fill the silence with silly chitchat and small talk, but tonight, it feels more comfortable this way.

It’s probably because I already put my foot in my mouth one too many times.

Once we’re finished, I follow Luca to the front door. He lingers there, longer than usual, one hand curved around the doorknob.

“Everything okay?” I ask.

“Yeah.” He turns to face me, hand dropping back to his side. “You know my sister, Taylor?”

“Of course.”

“She was wondering if you’d want to come back for dinner soon. I wasn’t gonna ask you because, well ...” He shakes his head, a quick bobble back and forth. “It doesn’t really matter. Taylor said she wanted to make you some risotto, our mom’s recipe.”

The idea of having dinner with Luca’s family, even if it’s only a singular member, has me feeling all sorts of giddy inside. After that disaster of a night with his friends, it’ll be nice to spend some time with a person who loves him right.

“I’d love that.”

“You’d have to pretend again,” he says, expression drawn tight. “That we’re together.”

“That’s fine. It wasn’t so hard last weekend.”

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