Page 148 of The Perfect Spiral
I felt my cheeks heat up. Two compliments in one day. “Thanks, Wes, but-”
“No buts, sweetheart. You looked amazing.”
“Is that why you called me outside?”
“Um, no. Well, I wanted to tell you that, but I also wanted-”
“Baby doll, it’s all set up. We’re leaving next Wednesday night - Wes?”
“Hey, where are you guys going?” Wes asked, his eyes never leaving Knox. The tension between them was palpable.
“Oh, Knox has this event in New York, and the Science Conference wants me to talk about girls in STEM, so I agreed to it. Don’t ask me why! I still don’t know why I said yes.”
“You’ll be fine, sweetheart! You’ve got this,” he said, patting my thigh.
“Thanks. You wanted to ask me something? Or say something?”
“Uh, yeah. I was wondering if... I - I could take you out sometime?... Like, on a date?”
I stared at him, my mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. A date? A real date? Was he serious? I glanced behind me to see if there was someone else there, but there was no one.
“What?” Knox asked, drawing my attention back to him. He was glaring at Wes, who was meeting his gaze head-on. Please don’t let them fight again.
“I like you. I always have, Alex... So, can I, uh, take you out?” “No!” Knox interjected, and I shot him a hard look. He didn’t get a say in this.
“Knox! That’s not your decision!... Um - sure, I’d like that. But just so you know, I’m not ready to get back into something serious. My mind is still a mess right now, and I don’t want to lead you down that road if that’s what you’re looking for.”
“That’s cool. We can keep it casual. Get to know each other a little better, more than friends?”
Knox grunted to my left, but I kept my gaze on my feet. He better not tell Kyle about this.
“Knox, not a word to Kyle, do you hear me!” I warned. Kyle might kill Wes.
“Baby doll, I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Knox said.
“Shut up, Knox! Nobody asked for your opinion!” Wes snapped, gritting his teeth.
“Sweet cheeks! Sam wants you inside,” Ben called out, leaning against the door, oblivious to the tension between us.
I maneuvered around them and headed inside, leaving them to whatever was said next. I had no idea what it was, but I couldonly imagine.
“Did I interrupt something? A threesome?” Ben asked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively, trying to coax me into spilling the beans.
“Wes asked me out,” I said nonchalantly, though it was anything but. Wes Avery had asked me out on a real date. I never thought he saw me like that.
“Ahhhh, so that’s why Carter is in his face,” Ben said. Before I could ask what he meant, Sam pulled me over to the side with the other bridesmaids, along with Hannah and Andy.
“I need to talk to you two at the house alone,” I whispered to them. They gave me a skeptical look, but I pleaded with them not to say anything to the guys or anyone else.
As soon as we got back to the house, I parked and mouthed ‘My room’ to Hannah and Andy. They got the message and climbed out of the car, heading into the house.
The entire way home, I could feel both Knox’s and Wes’s eyes on me, and on each other. I refused to look at either of them. Was I making the right decision?
All three of us ran up to my room, and I told Sam to meet us up there when nobody was looking. We sat on my bed, waiting for Sam to join us.
Andy saunters in, securing the door behind her and filling the room with music from my speakers. We’ve learned the hard way that the boys have a knack for eavesdropping, so we’ve developed a system to keep our girly chats private. Andy shoots me a puzzled look, and I usher them into my bathroom.
“The boys have a habit of eavesdropping on our conversations, so we play music to keep them at bay,” Sam explains to Andy.
