Page 80 of Mr. Wrong Number

“Will you fucking relax?” I hollered the words as I tried keeping him down, but he had a good fifty pounds on me. His knee connected with my gut, and I groaned and rolled over onto my back, giving him the total perfect angle to beat the shit out of me.

He glared down at me and pulled back his fist, and I just waited for him to hit me. Maybe the physical pain would relieve some of the guilt that’d been eating away at me since the night I’d kissed her. I braced myself, but instead of feeling his knuckles on my eye, Jack lowered his arm and panted, “What the hell, Beck?”

I shook my head. “I know, man.”

“You really aren’t going to fight back?” Jack looked both disappointed and disgusted as he waited for my answer, like he’d been looking forward to a fight. “You’re seriously going to let me hit you?”

I just shook my head again and said, “Youshouldhit me.”

He swallowed and sat back on his heels. “So you and Olivia...?”

I nodded, hating myself.

Jack touched the front of his tousled hair. “Dammit, Beck, I think you fucked up my hair.”

“I think your barber fucked up your hair.”

He smiled for a second but it didn’t last.

“So, what? Are you going to dump her?” He sounded jaded, because he knew me well enough to know relationships were not my thing. He’d been there for every single fling I’d ever had. “I mean, of course you are. Did you already?”

“No.” That made a bitter laugh rise in my throat as I remembered her telling me to leave. “Your sister beat me to it.”

He looked a little less angry. “No shit?”

I nodded again. “She dumped me the morning after.”

“Fuck,” he muttered under his breath. He ran a hand over his chin and climbed to his feet. He held out a hand for me and said, “Is that why you’ve been an asshole for the past week?”

I grabbed it and stood. “Have I?”

“You pulled out the entire kitchen faucet because of a drip.” He coughed out a laugh and added, “Like a total psychopath.”

I cleared my throat. “I like the new one, though.”

“Same.” Jack scratched his forehead and said, “So, like... what? You’re pissed because she was the one to end things instead of you?”

I sighed, looked at my best friend, and decided to stop lying. “I’m pissed because I kind of, I don’t know, I actually really like her. Maybe.”

He shook his head. “But... it’sLivvie.”

“I know.” We’d been a team as long as I’d known him, a team in agreement of the fact that Olivia was a little pain-in-the-ass nutjob. “I can’t believe it myself.”

“Good God.” He rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Well,you better pick up the phone and read her goddamned messages, then. She’s really sorry about something and wants you to go talk to her.”

I leaned down and grabbed the phone with the freshly cracked screen, my eyes staying on Jack. “What are you saying—you’re cool with this?”

“Gross. Fuck. I don’t know.” He made a face like something smelled bad and said, “I know you’re a good guy, so if you really like her and don’t plan on screwing her over, I’m not going to end our friendship over this.”

I was honestly shocked to hear that.

“But I’m gonna need a brain scrub after what I read. Like, the sight of you two together is probably going to make me projectile vomit. Take this as a warning.”

That made me laugh, which made him laugh, too.

“Noted,” I said, feeling so damned relieved that I kind of wanted to hug Jack.

“Vomit fucking everywhere.” He walked out to the living room but kept talking. “A bloodbath, only it’s puke instead of blood.”

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