Chapter 48 #2
“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 could only 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.
Just like old times, Sam perches on the sink, I settle on the toilet seat—lid down, of course—and Hannah nestles into the tub. Andy joins Hannah, and I close the door behind us.
“Alright, spill it! What’s the big news?” Hannah initiates the interrogation.
“Okay, so... oh god, how do I put this—”
“Alex!” Sam interjects, her tone a warning.
“Wes asked me out... like on an actual date! And Knox was right there when he did it....”
“WHAT?!? You lucky bitch!” Hannah shrieks, her jaw dropping and her hands flying to her blonde hair. I cover my face with my hands, groaning.
“What did you say? Did you say yes?” Andy chimes in, her face a picture of surprise. I imagine I wore a similar expression when Wes asked me.
“Well, I said yes to the date....”
“And what did Knox say?” Sam asks, leaning back against the counter with a knowing smirk. I meet her gaze, debating whether to answer or deflect.
She flicks her hair over her shoulder, crossing one leg over the other.
“He said no, didn’t he? That’s why he’s been walking around like someone shoved a pole up his ass. I know him too well. I knew he was pissed about something, I just thought it was about that phone call he took,” Sam muses, her gaze drifting to the ceiling.
“Well, yeah, he said no. Kyle would’ve said the same. He was on a business call, and trust me, the only person annoyed about that is me, not him.”
“What? Why are you annoyed? Are you two dating too? Is he going away and you want to go with him—”
“No! We’re not dating, Sam, don’t be ridiculous! I have to go to New York with him. I’m giving a talk at the Science Conference about girls in STEM, and we’re attending the People’s magazine event. He’s receiving his award for sexiest man... thing.”
“We?” Andy’s lips curl into a smug smile.
“Yes, ‘we’. I’m only going because I’ll already be there for the talk. So don’t give me that look!” I point at her as she taps her fingers against the side of the tub.
“Has Knox asked you out yet?” Hannah asks innocently.
“What? No! He will never ask me out, he doesn’t see me like that. I’m practically his little sister—”
“A little sister that he kisses? Well, in that case, your brother is my brother... Oh God, that sounds weird.”
Andy grimaces as the last few words leave her mouth.
“Yeah, don’t ever say that again! Please! That’s our brother!” Sam holds her hands up in front of her, looking between me and Andy.
“Look, if you like Wes, then go out with him. It might be fun. But don’t tell the guys! They’ll flip. We’ll cover for you if you really want to go out with him. But damn! Wes Avery, how did you land that?” Sam asks, eyeing me up from her perch on the sink.
“It was the dress today, wasn’t it? I swear the boys in that room couldn’t take their eyes off you!” Sam reminisces about the moment I walked out in the dress.
“And we all heard what Knox said when he finished my sentence,” Andy adds, pointing around the room at my sister and best friend.
“He came to the room when I was changing and said it again,” I confess, smiling down at the floor as I recall the moment he called me beautiful.
“Oh my god!—” Hannah screeches, causing us all to snap our heads in her direction. What? Is there a spider?
“You like him! You like Knox Carter!” The three of them scream in unison, their excitement palpable. I cover my ears and glare at them to keep it down. The boys might hear us.
“Shhhh! Stop! I don’t like him! The boys will hear you!” I hiss at the cackling trio beside me. I don’t like him, do I?
“Deny all you want, girl! Your face says otherwise. You like him and he likes you back,” Andy retorts, while the others nod in agreement.
“This is not why I called you guys up here! I wanted your opinion on whether I should go out with Wes. And—”
“I think you should. It might give a certain someone a push to ask you out too....” Hannah smirks. I lean back against the cold toilet, running my hand through my hair. This is not why I’m going out with Wes.
“I think you should. Wes is a great guy. But... I do have my money on someone else...” Sam trails off, biting her finger to suppress a grin.
I stand up and walk over to the counter to confront her. “You guys are betting on me?” I grit out, anger seeping into my voice. She grins back at me, as if she’s done nothing wrong.
“What? It’s just me, Max, Cole, Ty, Mom, and Eric. And maybe Delilah and Ace....” she rattles off, especially rushing through the last part.
“Ugh! I don’t want to know, Sam! Fucking hell! You all have a gambling problem! You bet on anything!” I groan, throwing my hands up in frustration.
“Ugh, I need a drink,” I declare, striding out of the bathroom with my friends trailing behind me.