Page 36 of Rematch
Me:I wasn’t going to bring him, stupid!
Max:Oh, alright.
Max:Thought I had to fuck you up for a second.
“What are you in here smiling about?” Gianna’s voice broke my stare from my phone as I waited for Max to reply.
Coincidentally, he’d texted me right after I hid in the on-call room for a break. We’ve been shooting messages back and forth for the past five minutes. I hadn’t even noticed the smile on my face until Gianna pointed it out.
“Nothing,” I said, locking my phone screen. It immediately lit back up as Max texted me again.
Peeking over my hand, Gianna caught his name at the top of the message bubble. “Oh, you’re in here texting your old boo. What’s he saying that’s got you cheesing like that?”
“Nothing. He just invited me to an MMA event he’s fighting in on Saturday night. Do you want to go?”
“Sure! But just because I’m going doesn’t excuse him asking you out on a date.”
“What? It’s not a date!”
“Okay, we’re just going to pretend like the two of you aren’t gonna go out for drinks and spend quality time together afterwards?”
“Still not a date.”
She pursed her lips in disbelief. “Now, I could be a shitty friend and let you keep lying to yourself about your feelings. But, I’m gonna be a real one and tell you that it’s okay to feel butterflies for him again. The more you fight them, the stronger they’ll get.”
I averted my gaze. “Yeah…”
Plopping down beside me, she asked, “What’s the problem?”
“There isn’t one.”
She tilted her head. “Are you worried about Carter and his feelings?”
“No,” I answered more bluntly than I meant.
Honestly, I could care less about Carter right now.
Ever since the carnival, he’s been a little sour towards me. When he walked me back to my father’s booth, he kept asking me over and over about Max. What were we doing? Why was I hanging out with him? Why does he keep coming around?
I tried to be understanding at first. From the outside looking in, I knew how we looked when he saw us. Seeing your potential partner with their ex, laughing and too close for comfort, would ring anyone’s alarms. But, there was truly nothing going on. If anything, my time with Max solidified what he’s been saying: we’re still friends. Our platonic chemistry hasn’t changed. But, romantically…? I still wasn’t sure. Nor was I trying to explore it.
But, Carter didn’t seem like he believed me - and that hurt. What point was there in dating if he didn’t trust me?
If he was going to keep acting like this, then I wasn’t going to bother wasting my time.
“Are you worried about your own?” Gianna asked.
I averted my gaze, unwilling to answer that.
Gianna set her hand on mine. “You know, it’s okay to be afraid. He was your first love. Your fear of losing him again is perfectly valid. But, you can’t let that stand in your way. You won’t know if you’ll rebuild stronger if you don’t try.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I know.”
She nudged me. “If you know, then stop stalling and text him back.”
“Okay,mom,” I teased, giggling a little. I unlocked my phone and read Max’s last text.
Max:Two tickets secured.
