Page 37 of Betting on You

Really cute and really just so irritating.

“We’re just friends.”

“Thank God,” Scott muttered, and when we both looked at him, he said, “What? I just thought he seemed like a little smart-ass. Which is great for a friend, not so great for a boyfriend.”

“Wow,” my mom said, giving him a confused look with her eyebrows furrowed and her lips pursed.

“What?” Scott asked, his eyes moving from her to me and back again.

“Nothing,” she said, giving her head a shake. “I just did not expectyouto be the one in this apartment with hard-and-fast boyfriend rules.”

He set his hand on her knee, made a goofy face, and said, “I am an enigma, don’t you know that?”

“I guess I forgot,” she said, smiling and dragging a hand through her hair. “You know… that you’re anenigma.”

She made an obnoxious face at me, likeGet a load of this guy, but I couldn’t laugh or even smile because I was frozen. I was frozen as I watched them happily laugh together.

God, am I too late?

How was I supposed to jump in front of the Mom-Scott train when it was chugging along so well? I desperately wanted her to be grinning and happy, I really did, but I just didn’t want some guy to be the one responsible.

I didn’t wanthimto be responsible.

Not because I was like some third grader screamingYou’re not my dadto every man my mother dated; I was good with her havinga social life. She’s my favorite person in the universe and deserves every good thing.

But on the other hand, like, dammit if I wasn’t a twelfth grader who knew exactly how quickly things changed. My father introduced me to Alyssa—a girl he was “seeing”—via FaceTime on a Friday in September, and by the end of that month, he’d completely stopped calling and texting me.

Total radio silence, which, for silence, was overpowering in its utter nonexistence.

How hard was it to send a random text every once in a while, just to let your CHILD know you were thinking about them?

And that was the rub, honestly.

He obviously justwasn’t.Thinking about me.

I saw on Alyssa’s socials yesterday that he and Alyssa had just come back from Hawaii.

So sue me for wanting to slow things down.

“I’m going to bed,” I said, needing to get out of there. “G’night.”

I made a quick break for my room and tried not to dwell on what was happening, but I was unable to put it out of my head as I changed into shorts and a T-shirt and climbed into bed.

What if he moves in?

I knew it was way too early for that, but I couldn’t push the thought out of my head. What the hell would I do if Scott moved in? The thought of someone—anyone—moving into our life made my stomach hurt.

My phone buzzed just as I was flipping for something to watch on Netflix.

Charlie: Did they say anything about me?

I texted:Scott thinks you’re a little smart-ass and is very glad I only like you as a friend.

Charlie: Coworker

I groaned in the darkness and responded:Oh yes, that’s right. How dare I presume, right?

Charlie: I’ll forgive the presumption.

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