Page 54 of Seeds of Love
Troy puffs out his chest like a peacock on steroids. “I’ve always been wise, young padawan. You’re just now noticing my Jedi-like qualities.”
I can’t help but laugh. “Right, because nothing says wise Jedi like the guy who thought twins actually had telepathic powers.”
“Hey!” Troy protests, his face flushing. “That was an honest mistake. I don’t know shit about babies, man.”
“Mmhmm.”
“Fuck you.” He flips me off as he struts away.
My thumb hovers over Alex’s name in my contacts. When did texting her become so difficult? I take a deep breath and type out a message:
Hey Alex, we should prob set up a time to meet about the project. Tomoz work for you?
I hit send before I can pussy out. Her reply comes so fast I know she was on her phone.
"Fine. Library. 3pm."
Three clipped words. About as warm as Alfie on a Monday morning before his first coffee, which is saying a lot.
“Damn,” Troy whistles, leaning over my shoulder, his breath faintly tinged with mint gum and zero regard for personal space—because that concept’s just a rumor in this house. “Ice queen much?”
I shrug, willing the tight, sour knot in my gut to ease up. “It’s fine. Professional. That’s what we need to be, right?”
Ethan stumbles in, hair askew, heading straight for the coffee maker. “Who’s professional?”
“Freddie’s project partner,” Troy explains, and he doesn’t even try to hide the sympathy bleeding onto his face. I bite back the urge to wipe it right off. “Still can’t believe you two got paired up, man.”
Neither can I.
“Alex?” Ethan’s face lights up faster than a dog hearing the crinkle of a treat bag. “Man, I miss having her around. Remember when the little dude tried to make us all go vegan?”
“Yeah,” Troy says, like he’s reminiscing about an old flame rather than the girl who once gave us lectures about recycling and air-dried us for leaving the lights on. “Or that clean-up day she organized? Place was spotless, even if it only lasted a week.”
I shift in my chair, the rim of my glass cool against my fingers as I tap it absentmindedly, torn between ordering another tequila shot or just leaving altogether. It’s been months since Alex was a regular fixture around here, but the way they talk about her… it makes it feel like she never left. And it fucking hurts.
Alfie materializes from whatever dark corner he’s been lurking in. “Speaking of missing people, anyone seen Tara lately?”
The temperature in the room drops a few degrees. Troy’s head snaps around, his gaze sharp, narrowing into a glare. “Why are you so concerned about my sister?”
The room falls into an uncomfortable silence, tension thick enough to cut through. Alfie’s eyes widen, instantly realizing what he’s just stepped into.
Before Troy can go full protective brother mode, Ethan jumps in, his voice loud and uncoordinated. “Hey, remember that pizza guy who always hooked us up with extra garlic sauce? Now that was a real one.”
The random-as-fuck comment actually works. Troy snorts, the dangerous edge fading from his eyes, while Alfie looks ready to kiss Ethan for his timely intervention.
I tune out their inevitable descent into pizza topping warfare, my gaze fixed on my phone. Three fucking words from Alex, and I’m right back where I started. The guys miss her, sure. But they don’t miss her like I do. They don’t lie awake at night, remembering how her whole face would light up whenever she got excited about saving the planet. They don’t catch themselves looking for her every time they pass CC’s.
Tomorrow’s gonna be a shit show. Three hours of carefully not talking about anything real, pretending we’re just two random students stuck together for a project. We can do that,right? Be professional. Not bring up all the fucked-up history between us. Not think about that night when?—
Nope. Not going there, Ford.
I need to focus. Get through this project without killing each other or doing something stupid like telling her I miss her laugh. Her passion. Her?—
Fuck.
This is going...
FREDDIE
