Chapter 5 #2
As soon as we walk into the house, our phones begin to ring.
“Jesus Christ, it’s like they have a fucking tracker on us,” I grumble as I pull out my phone.
Quickly I answer the call and watch as everyone’s chats pop up on the screen, including Kellan’s.
“I’m right next to you. Do you really have to join?”
“Uh, yeah, otherwise I wouldn’t be a part of the conversation,” he says, making me roll my eyes.
“Well, well, well, look who we have here,” Beckett teases, making me roll my eyes.
“Mr. Secret Keeper himself. You know, Wyatt, I thought we were friends,” Brett quips.
Clay sighs. “I was just telling Grace that I missed you guys, and now I take it back.”
“Please, you fucking love us,” Brett tells him.
“We all know you don’t miss Beckett, though, since you see him every day,” Kellan adds.
“I see him at practice. It’s not like we live together,” Clay says.
“I’m his favorite. He just doesn’t want to say it out loud.” Beckett shrugs.
“Have you started yet?” I hear Peyton, Beckett’s wife, ask in the background.
“We were about to,” he tells her.
I watch as his camera jostles and her hair comes into view.
Great, now she’s tuned in.
I love Peyton, but she’s like a bloodhound when she wants to be.
“Did I hear Peyton?” Grace asks.
“Yeah, she’s sitting next to Beckett,” Clay tells his girl.
Grace comes up behind him, and he angles the camera to show her.
“Hey, guys.” She smiles sweetly.
“Hey Grace,” we say in unison.
“I have to run, but before I do, I just wanted to say, Wyatt, I’m happy for you, and I can’t wait to meet her,” she says in that sweet tone of hers.
She really changed our group when she came into the picture.
I was still trying to get my bearings with the guys, but she became our common goal.
Protect this girl at all costs. We wouldn’t be the same without her.
I don’t think I would have become as close to the guys if she hadn’t come along either.
“Thanks, Grace,” I say genuinely.
She shoots me a smile before she kisses Clay’s cheek and walks away.
“Okay, now what the hell did we miss? We got notifications the other night that Wyatt was trending and that he had a girlfriend,” Clay asks.
“It’s true. I watched it happen,” Kellan confirms.
I shoot my roommate a glare before I look back at my phone.
“Who the hell is she? I didn’t know you were into anyone,” Beckett asks.
“Is she a freshman or something?” Brett asks, making me sigh.
“Her name is Lyla, she’s a senior. I’ve known her for a while.”
“What’s a while?” Beckett pushes.
“Since freshman year,” I tell them.
Brett’s eyes narrow, but I ignore him. Surely he won’t remember her. It was only a brief interaction, and it wasn’t even technically with him.
“Okay, so how did this come about?” Clay asks.
Kellan jumps in and tells them how I came in from the backyard with my belt undone and looking “freshly fucked” with Lyla, pronounced that she was mine, and headed upstairs, where we didn’t come out until the next morning. I roll my eyes as he dramatically tells the whole story.
“Is she hot? Is she in it for the right reasons, or is she looking for a golden goose? I have a guy, he can run a background check on her if you want,” Peyton offers.
As fucked up as her offer is, I’m touched. Peyton doesn’t go out of her way for just anybody.
“She’s beautiful, and you don’t need to have your guy look into her. Trust me, she’s good people,” I reassure her.
I should know, I’ve been watching her for years.
“Trust me, wait until you see them side by side. Next to Cora and me, they are the hottest couple on campus,” Kellan tells them.
Clay winces. “I don’t want to hear about how hot you and my sister are.”
“Are you guys even considered the hottest couple on campus when she’s no longer a student?” Beckett asks.
Kellan gives him the middle finger.
“What are you thinking, Brett?” Clay asks.
My gaze drops to my friend in the bottom right of my screen.
“I say we trust Wyatt. If he says she’s good people, then we believe him, but I would like to meet her,” he says after a minute.
“Do you think you guys will last, or is it too new to tell?” Peyton asks.
I grunt because it’s the safest answer I have. If they knew the truth, then they would start lecturing me, and that’s the last thing I want to sit through.
“Great, we’ve exhausted him of words and he’s back to grunting,” Beckett groans.
“It was only a matter of time,” Kellan says.
The guys catch up for another thirty minutes while I listen, chiming in only when I have to, and by the time the call is done, I’m fucking exhausted.
All I want to do is eat and then face-plant into my bed.
As I head into the kitchen to find something, my phone pings.
Brett
It’s her, right? The girl from the hallway incident.
I should have known. Brett is that kind of friend. Memory of an elephant when it matters. I thought he viewed it as a simple interaction. He has never heard me talk about her since, so why would he think it was her?
Because he is a true friend. He pays attention. I’m blessed to have him in my life. That’s why I don’t lie to him.
Me
Yes.
Brett
I thought so. It’s about time you made your move. I hope it works out.
I don’t bother to respond and shove my phone into my pocket.
It will work out. I know it will. Because Lyla Wayne has been my endgame since the very first moment I saw her.