Page 44 of The Virgin
Greta snorted, then groaned. “Don’t make me laugh, okay. Everything hurts. You want him to be your man, though. It’s obvious. So go tell him that.”
“If he wanted me, he’s had me. I’m right here. I’ve been right here the whole time and now he’s going on a date with some uncle-of-the-year guy with concert tickets.”
“You’re pouting.”
“I am not.” Spencer took a deep breath. “I’m pouting a little, okay. But I’m fine. This is what we agreed to.”
“For the record, I’d like to say that I think you’re being an idiot, but I won’t stand in the way of you making your own bad decisions.”
“I’m not the one who fell off a ladder while cleaning cobwebs and adjusting lights.”
“Hey, no fair picking on the injured.”
“Plenty fair, Greta. How about you call someone next time you want to scale the walls like a spider monkey?”
“Where’s the fun in that?” Greta’s apologetic expression softened Spencer’s heart.
“I’m glad you’re okay. But you should’ve called me. I’ll always come help you.”
“I know,” Greta groaned. She closed her eyes and draped an arm across them. “I didn’t think it was a big deal. I’m used to doing stuff on my own.”
Spencer stood and closed the curtains. “Is that better?”
Greta uncovered her face. “A bit, yeah. Have you ever had a concussion?”
Spencer shook his head.
“I don’t recommend them.”
Greta let the subject drop, but every once in a while, she’d give him a look and he could tell she wanted to press the issue. Thankfully, she left it alone. Spencer was heartsick enough without talking it to death.
By the time Monday morning rolled around, one of Greta’s other friends came to sit with her so Spencer could go to work.For the first time ever, Spencer dreaded going to their school and seeing Jonah. He didn’t know how to reconcile his feelings for Jonah with the new reality of wanting and not having him. Jonah’s date put an end to anything that was going on between them. Instead of sharing secret kisses and exploring each other’s bodies, they’d be friends.
Just friends.
Like before. And Spencer should be okay with that. Hewasokay with that. But a part of him already missed Jonah more than he had any business doing. Part of Spencer knew Greta was right. He should go to Jonah and tell him how he felt. But if Jonah didn’t return his affection, he worried their friendship wouldn’t survive it.
The only thing left to do was grin and bear it. Spencer had been through worse. He could stand to go back to being just friends. It was better than the alternative.
CHAPTER 23
JONAH
Spencer was avoiding him.Which Jonah had expected. It left Jonah feeling lonelier than ever, though, because he couldn’t talk to anyone about it. No one knew about him and Spencer. And to tell anyone why they’d been hooking up—Jonah grimaced at that expression—he’d have to tell them how it started.
It wasn’t like Spencer never got caught up in his projects, which was the excuse he’d given Jonah all week. But Jonah knew Spencer wasn’t happy, although he’d been the one to tell Jonah to go on the not-date. It wasn’t a big deal. He’d reassured him again Monday morning when Jonah ran into him at school.
And since then, Spencer had done his best to dodge Jonah. He spent his lunch hour in the shop helping students with their projects, and he hurried home to work on his bear sculpture.
The worst part was that this wasn’t all that out of the norm for Spencer. He often lost himself in his love of creating, and usually it didn’t bother Jonah. But the not-date had bricked up a wall between them, and Jonah wasn’t sure what to do about it.
He couldn’t cancel because Grant was bringing his nephew along and, despite not wanting to go with Grant, Jonah didn’t want to disappoint the kid. He’d lost so much already, and Jonah knew how hard it was to lose one parent. He couldn’t imagine losing both.
So, Jonah would go, and in the future, he’d do a better job saying no to begin with. It’s what he should’ve said in the first place. The more Jonah thought about it, because that’s all he’d done since Grant asked, the more Jonah knew he should have owned up to seeing someone.
The quartet was playing a selection of rock music, which was one of Jonah’s favorite things, so a small part of him was excited to go, even though sadness sat heavy in his heart. This was the kind of thing he wanted to do with Spencer. Spending so much time behind closed doors with him had been wonderful. Life-changing. Magical. But Jonah wanted to take him out and enjoy things with him. Like a concert. Or family breakfast at the diner. He wanted to be able to hold his hand at the bonfire while his dad played guitar, Colby put too much wood on the fire, and Taylor roasted an entire bag of marshmallows.
Jonah dressed in nice pants and a plain black button-down. He didn’t bother with cologne because it wasn’t a date, but he did make sure his hair was neat and presentable.
