Chapter 27 - Fletcher
twenty-seven
Fletcher
There she is!” I hop down the two steps that lead to the front door of this house. Becca shakes her head as she meets me at the bottom.
“I can’t believe you talked me into this.”
“What can I say? I’m awfully persuasive.”
I’ve been texting Becca for about an hour, trying to convince her to come to this party. Which has been hard because I know her ex, whatever he was, is a football player and will definitely be here. I mean, it’s a party to celebrate their big win a few nights ago.
“You’ve got me for an hour. And if I see Isaiah, I’m—”
“Running for the hills?”
“I was going to say that I’ll probably end up punching him in the face.”
I throw an arm around her shoulder, walking with her back to the front door. “Now that, I’d like to see.”
I think Becca would really fit in with our group of friends, not that she needs to meet new people; she already knows a ton of people. But it'd just be nice to know that Becca could get along with my best friends, so I’d know what things I could invite her to in the future.
When we reach the couch that was previously full of my friends, only a handful of people remain.
“Where’d everyone go?”
“Alex came and picked up Brin, Ember, and Declan like five minutes ago. They were heading to Greystone to see Maia and get some alcohol-absorbing food. Cam snuck out after about thirty minutes, and Tate disappeared nearly an hour ago. The girls were texting her but got no response, so they headed out, and I said I’d stick around and wait for her. ”
“That doesn’t seem like Tate.”
Tate would never disappear, especially not without telling the girls where she’s going.
Jere just shrugs. “I don’t know what to tell you, man.”
“Becca!” Marcus yells as he jumps over the back of the couch with another beer. “I never thought I’d see you at a football party.”
“What can I say, Marcus? I just love seeing your face.” She winks, and he laughs.
“I knew there was a reason I liked you. Sit.” He moves over just enough to create space for her on the couch. “Want a drink?”
“Sure do.” She fills in the empty space on the couch, grabs the beer out of Marcus’s hand, and takes a drink. “Thanks.”
“I like her.” Jaxon grins, shifting over to create space for me on the couch.
“Yeah, Becca is pretty cool,” I reply. “Becca, this is Jax and Jeremy. We play hockey together and have known each other—”
“Too long.” Jeremy jokes, leaning forward and extending his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Becca. We’ve heard a lot about you.”
She shakes his hand. “All good things, I hope?”
“Of course.”
“When did Zeke leave?” Marcus looks around the party. “He was here when I went to grab a beer, and now he’s gone.”
“I don’t know; he’s been a phantom lately. One second, he’s here, and the next, he’s gone.” Jax pats Jeremy on the back. “I need another drink. Anyone else want anything?”
There’s a unanimous shake of heads before Jax disappears into the kitchen.
“Wanna take a walk?” I suggest, and Becca jumps up.
“Yes, please.”
“It was nice to meet you, Becca.” Jeremy waves.
“See you later, Becks.” Marcus winks.
“Your friends seem fun.”
“I don’t know if I like the way you said that.” I tease. “It seemed—”
“It’s genuine.” She raises her arms in defense. “I don’t know if they like me, though.”
“Why would you think that?”
“The Tate thing,” she whispers. “I assume they probably know all about that.”
“I think they were more upset with my actions that night than they were with the fact that it was with you.”
“That’s fair. I still can’t believe you abandoned your best friend,” she leans closer to me, “and the girl you’re totally in love with, to chat with a complete stranger.”
“Hey, I did it for Marcus.”
“Yeah, he was wrong for tha—”
Her eyes widen, and she comes to a complete stop.
“Becca?”
I follow her gaze and land on two people hanging outside in the backyard. It takes a minute to realize that one of the people is Tate, and she seems awfully cozy with whomever she’s talking to.
I feel the same heat in my stomach that I did the night I saw her talking to the MSU player at the bar, and I can’t help but wonder if it’s jealousy. I’ve never been jealous of Tate talking to other people, not in the way I was that night and not in the way I feel now.
I assumed I was angry that the guy was taking advantage of a very intoxicated Tate, but I have no excuse for this feeling now.
And I have no right to feel this way. I’m hanging out with someone, Tate has every right to hang out with any guy she wants at any time, but—
“Another girl for Isaiah’s list.”
“Huh?” I turn toward Becca, who seems just as annoyed with what’s going on outside as I am.
“That’s Isaiah Walker.”
Once she says his name, it’s as if I’m seeing his face for the first time. I’ve heard of him in passing a few times. I mean, he’s one of our football players; of course, I know who he is. But this is the first time I’ve seen him since Becca shared very little about their relationship.
All I know is he broke her heart, and now he’s standing outside with Tate.
My Tate.
Telling her who knows what.
“That’s Tate.” That is all I can say, and I feel Becca’s eyes on me.
“Your Tate?”
I nod.
“You should go break that up. The last thing you want is Tate getting close to Isaiah. Trust me.”
I sigh.
“I can’t.”
“What do you mean you can’t?”
“Becca, if I go out there right now and tell Tate he’s a bad guy, it will damage an already fractured relationship.”
“I thought she was your best friend?”
“She is, but between me ditching her at that party, Casey, and the MSU player, our relationship hasn’t been what it used to be.”
“She’ll appreciate it in the long run, trust me.”
“Becca, if I go out there right now, she’ll tell me I’m jealous and that I have no right to be because of Casey and—”
“But aren’t you?”
“I just don’t want to see her get hurt.”
I scratch the back of my head and then stand up straighter.
“Come on, we should head back that way.” I point over to where we were just moments ago. “The last thing we need is for them to catch us staring.”
Becca steps around me, but my eyes don’t leave Tate. They study her for another minute until she throws her head back in laughter, reaching out an arm to touch Isaiah’s forearm, and that’s when I realize I’ve overstayed my welcome.
If I deserve to be happy, so does she.