Chapter 42
forty-two
Tate
Zeke walking in on us totally killed the mood. I don’t know how anyone could carry on with something like that after another person walks in on them.
By the time we got decent and made our way downstairs, Fletcher’s living room had filled up. I had hoped to have this conversation with Zeke alone rather than the entire viewing committee, but here we are.
“Oh, yay, everyone decided to make an appearance,” I sigh.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but we have a door to go shop for, so.” Brinley crosses her arms, lying back on the couch.
“Yeah, right, let’s go do that.” I jump at the opportunity to get out of this.
“Nope.” Zeke stands up, waving his hand in our direction. “You guys aren’t leaving until we talk about this.”
“Talk about what?” Jere glances at us and then at Zeke. “I’m supposed to meet Coach in a couple of hours. Is this going to take long?”
“Depends on if they try to deny it.”
“Can we just get to whatever you called us here for?” Declan’s eyes narrow at Zeke.
“Depends on if who tries to deny what?” Jaxon doesn’t even look up; he just taps on the kitchen island.
“Them.” Zeke points at Fletcher and me.
“Fletcher and Tate?” Brooks groans. “Seriously, Zeke? I was in the middle of something really important when you texted me. You said it was a life-or-death situation.”
“Seriously, Zeke?” Avalon shakes her head.
“Why is everyone ganging up on me?!” His hands fall to his side, slapping against his thighs as if he’s a child.
“Zeke!” The living room erupts.
“They’re sleeping together!” Zeke screams in hopes of getting everyone off his back.
Eyes dart from him to us and then back to him.
“We’re actually dating, not that the distinction is that important.” Fletcher’s voice is soft.
Nobody reacts.
“Is nobody listening to me?” Zeke stomps toward us. “They’re dating! They’re together and didn’t tell any of us.”
You can hear crickets.
“Am I missing something here?” Zeke’s forehead wrinkles.
“I’ve known for months.” Jere raises his hands. “Can I leave now?”
“Months? You’ve known and didn’t—”
“We’ve known for a while.” Ember shrugs.
Fletcher turns toward me.
“Who’s we?” Zeke places his hands on his hips, and his eyes instantly land on Avalon.
Avalon glances around as if she’s wondering who he’s looking at, but she knows she just doesn’t want to hear about it later.
I stifle a laugh.
“Tate told us, like last month while we were hanging out at my place,” Brinley clarifies. “Maia knows, too.”
“Wait, you told the girls?”
“It kind of just came out,” I whisper.
“I didn’t know for sure, but I thought something was going on there.” Declan pushes off the couch. “I always felt like Casey was just a distraction, and once that wasn’t going on anymore, I just assumed something finally happened.”
“And you didn’t grill them on it?” Zeke rushes toward Declan.
“Bro, you hid a relationship for a lot longer than they did.” Brooks gets up. “So, I guess it’s karma.”
“He’s kind of got a point.” Avalon stands up and wraps an arm around Zeke, kissing his shoulder. “Your friends were nothing but supportive when they found out about us, so why does this bother you so much?”
“It doesn’t bother me; I just feel like I was the only person unaware of their relationship.”
“Does it really surprise you?” Jax asks. “We’ve all been anticipating this for years.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Zeke’s face falls, but then his expression changes, and he’s back to his old self. “You know what actually surprised me? That Fletcher actually gets laid. I mean, I thought he was just lying this whole time, but—”
“Wait, you walked in on them having sex?” Jeremy’s eyes widen.
“Yeah, it was really disturbing.”
“Now you know how we feel.” Jax cringes.
“Yeah, I’m sorry for ever putting you guys through that.”
“I don’t even want to know.” Avalon shakes her head.
“Alright, on that note.” Fletcher rubs his hands together. “Are we done?”
“Yes.” Brin jumps off the couch. “We have a door to go buy.”
“Yes, we do.” I don’t let anybody else stop us from heading to the door. I don’t even turn around because out of all the conversations I’ve had with my friends, this was most definitely the weirdest.
I wave Ember, Avalon, and Brin through the door, pulling it closed behind us, but not before I hear—
“Hope you don’t think you’re getting off that easy.” Jaxon’s voice travels all the way to the door. “When the fuck did all of this start?”
Have you ever tried a lavender latte?” I glance over at Fletcher as we stare at the menu. “I didn’t realize coffee places put lavender in coffee. That sounds—”
“Disgusting?”
“Interesting.” I clarify. “I would never drink that, but—”
“Don’t knock it till you try it.” The delicate voice comes from behind us, and I turn around to see Becca.
We’ve never officially met, but I still remember her from the party. It’s hard to forget the face of a girl who made you question everything.
“Hey.” Fletcher smiles. “I didn’t expect you to be here today.”
“Well, we only have a couple of weeks left before the school year ends, and I don’t know how I’m going to survive the summer without coming here for coffee every day.”
“Why? Because your coffee shop back home has regular flavors and no lavender bullshit?” Fletcher teases, and she punches him in the arm.
“I don’t know how you put up with this one. He’s lucky I haven’t punched him in the face yet.”
“Oh, trust me, I’ve gotten quite close multiple times.” I nudge Fletcher, knocking him off his feet just a bit.
“I’m Becca.” She reaches her hand out, and I shake it. “And I’m sorry your first introduction to me was Fletcher ditching you at a party. If it helps, I never would’ve talked to him that long if I knew he just left you hanging.”
“Don’t apologize. It’s Fletcher’s fault for being an idiot.”
“I didn’t come here for you guys to bully me.”
“Maybe, but after seeing you with Isaiah at that party a while back, I realized how much that must’ve sucked seeing Fletcher talk to me. And I don’t even like the asshole, there’s just—”
“History.” I interrupt, and she nods.
“Exactly.”
“And I hope you know I had no idea you guys were a thing or used to be one. It wasn’t some sick ploy to get you back for talking to Fletcher, honestly. He just came up to me and—”
“Don’t even apologize; I never thought for a second that you were chasing after Isaiah because I talked to Fletcher. Isaiah just knows how to—”
“Be found?”
“Yeah. He just shows up, and suddenly you’re hooked.”
“Should I just leave?” Fletcher points his thumb over his shoulder toward the door. “Seems like you guys are really hitting it off here, so I don’t want to interrupt or anything.”
“Actually, we are.” Becca smiles. “I don’t know why you didn’t introduce us sooner. Worried we might like hanging out with each other more than we like hanging out with you?”
“A little bit, yeah.” Fletcher rubs the back of his neck.
“Do you want to join us?” I point to a table in the far corner, where there are some comfortable chairs.
“I’d love that.”
Becca and I head over to the corner table as Fletcher orders our coffees.
“I was happy to hear you guys finally ripped the band-aid off.” Becca sits, dropping her bag to the side of her chair. “I knew the first night we met that Fletcher was head over heels for you. I was starting to worry it wouldn’t work out.”
“Yeah, we’ve been running around the idea for ages.” I pick at the fraying pieces in the holes of my jeans. “Honestly, there was only one other direction our relationship was heading, so I’m happy it went the other way.”
“I don’t think your friendship would’ve ended.” She shakes her head. “From what Fletcher’s told me, your foundation is too strong. I think no matter what happens, he’ll always be your person, even if it’s not in a romantic way.”
“Do you know something I don’t?” I lift an eyebrow, and she reaches a hand out, gently touching my arm.
“No, oh my goodness, ha-ha, I just mean, you guys, I don’t know. You’re connected in a way I’ve never seen before. You’re really good together.”
“Thank you. And I just want you to know, I think you’ve been really good for him.” I curl my bottom lip into my mouth. “I don’t think we’d be together right now if he had never met you, so I guess Marcus grabbing him to be a wingman really worked out in our favor.”
“You’re welcome.”
“You ladies having fun?” Fletcher hands me my coffee and then Becca hers before sitting down next to me.
“Oh yeah. Tate is just telling me about all the embarrassing stories from your childhood.” Becca takes a sip of her drink.
“There aren’t any.” Fletcher leans back in the chair.
“What about your emo phase in eighth grade?”
“Okay, that never happened.” He puts his coffee on the table in front of us and turns toward me.
“Just because it only lasted six weeks doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.”
“You had an emo phase?” Becca howls. “Oh, my goodness, I need to see pictures.”
“There aren’t an—”
“I think I still have pictures on my cloud.” I lift up my hand to stop Fletcher from talking. “And I promise you, whatever you’re imagining, the reality is so much better.”
Fletcher slouches in his seat, “And now I realize why I’ve avoided introducing you to each other.”
Becca and I flip him the bird, and then she scoots her chair closer as we search for the embarrassing photos together.