Page 80 of The Odds of Happily Ever After
Lonzo snorted but Ate just said, “I’ll call him later.”
“Don’t tell him I told you anything.” He already thought I was a child. Having my older sister call him because I was sad would only make it worse. Pathetic, even. “Promise you won’t talk to him about this. Please, Ate.”
“Of course I won’t if you don’t want me to.”
“I don’t,” I said in a rush. “But you should check in with him. It sounds like he’s going through something.”
“Yeah, like a midlife crisis,” Lonzo chimed in angrily. “What the fuck is he doing messing around with a younger girl?”
“I’m older than you, Lonz,” I snapped.
“By a year. He’s, what, a decade older?” He glared at Ate. “I still can’t believe you’re okay with this. Don’t you care about her?”
She glared right back at him. “Of course I do. Luna’s my sister, and I will always choose her.” Her arm tightened around me, and her words triggered the waterworks again. “But I’m not going to judge Gabe without having the whole picture because I know he’s a good guy.”
Lonzo shook his head. “Whatever. Don’t say I didn’t warn you two.”
And then he strode back to the mall, leaving us staring after him.
I murmured, “I didn’t expect him to get so upset.”
Sighing, Ate pulled me in for a hug. As her arms settled around me, I marveled at how much she had changed. She’d rarely been the one to initiate shows of affection before; now, here she was squeezing the life out of me in the middle of a park.
“He’s just worried because you live so far away,” she said, patting my back.
I blew out a breath. “I get that, but I can take care of myself.”
“I know you can.”
“Also, he shouldn’t fixate on Gabe because we reallyarejust friends.”
She raised an eyebrow at me. “Just friends, huh? That sounds familiar.”
“It should. I can’t count how many times you said that about you and Jason.”
“Look how that turned out.” Her smile was soft with a hint of wonder.
“I love that for you two, but this isn’t the same thing. Besides, I’m taking a break from dating. I have to keep my grades up, and then it’s senior year. I need to focus.”
“You’re doing amazing, Luna. Have I told you how proud I am of you?”
“Never,” I joked. “You should tell me now.”
She laughed. “I’m so proud of you, Lu.”
“Thanks, Ate. I learned from the best.” I linked my arm with hers. “C’mon, we should find Papa and Mama before Lonzo gets me in trouble.”
As we headed back inside the mall, her reassurance rang in my head. I might feel like I wasn’t good enough and that my family underestimated what I could do, but I knew they loved me. I always had someone to call when I needed help.
Meanwhile, Gabe didn’t have any siblings, and he felt abandoned by his parents. He didn’t have many friends and Ate made it clear she’d always side with me. So who did he have to back him up?
That I had no answer had me pushing the pain of his words aside. His boundaries sucked, but they existed for a reason. Besides, I only got hurt because I expected things from him that he never promised. Me having feelings for him didn’t mean he would feel the same for me. If easy friendship was all he needed from me, then I’d give him that.
And if I got hurt in the process? That was on me.
chapter twenty-five
gabe
