Fighting Solitude (On The Ropes #3)(53)

Eliza and Ash peered at me expectantly.

While I hadn’t even been properly caffeinated yet, I guessed there would be no use in trying to delay.

I took a sip of the bitter coffee, not even bothering with the condiments, and then swayed back to check down the hall to make sure Till wasn’t anywhere nearby. When the coast was clear, I sucked in a deep breath and then announced, “I slept with Quarry.”

I expected gasps of surprise, but I was nowhere near ready for the chaos that exploded around me.

“When?!” they shrieked in unison.

My back went straight as they both snatched their cell phones off the table, their fingers frantically tapping the screens.

“Uhh…who are texting? Don’t tell the guys! I don’t think anything is going—”

“When?” Ash snapped.

“Keep it down!” I whisper-yelled, checking for Till again.

“When?” she repeated, only half of a decibel lower.

“Jeez. Last night.”

“Damn,” Eliza groaned. “Not one of my days.”

“Mine either,” Ash replied. “Shit…looks like Sarah won.”

I cocked my head in question. “My mom?”

“Yep,” Ash confirmed, dropping her phone back to the island. “The pot has to be at least a grand by now. I’ll have to ask Flint to check the books. Not too shabby though.”

“What pot? What the hell are you talking about?” I glanced from Ash, who looked proud, to Eliza, who appeared slightly ashamed.

“Well…” Eliza started. “About a year ago, we started a small betting pool for when you and Quarry would finally hook up.”

My jaw fell open in horror. “You were betting on when we would have sex?”

Eliza knotted her hands uncomfortably. “It was just for fun. Nothing crazy or anything.”

“The pot was a grand and my mother won. How exactly is that not crazy?”

Ash chimed in. “Your mom is actually very competitive. She’s going to be pumped to find out she won.”

I slapped my hand on the countertop and spat, “You are not allowed to tell my mother I had sex with Quarry. Ever. Never. Ever. Ever.”

Ash laughed, throwing her hands up in surrender.

Eliza smiled tightly. “If it makes you feel any better, your dad refused to buy in. Slate too—but only because Erica bought so many days there wasn’t any left.”

Folding forward, I rested my face on the cool granite. “Oh my God. This is not happening.”

Her hand soothingly landed on my back. “Quit freaking. One thing at a time. Okay, so you slept with Quarry. That’s good, right?”

“You guys were supposed to be surprised,” I told the table.

“The only surprise is that it took this long,” Ash said, hopping up on the counter and propping her neon Converse in the chair beside me.

I rolled my eyes and then sat up. “This is officially the worst day of my life.”

“The sex was that bad, huh?” Ash asked before looking toward Eliza, who was shooting her a death glare. “What? It’s a valid question.”

I groaned. “No. The sex was…incredible. I just don’t think I can give him what he wants.”

Ash nodded in understanding. “Ah…he’s kinky? I can see that.”

“Don’t answer that!” Eliza yelled and plugged her ears. “For God’s sake, Ash.”

I pulled Eliza’s hands away from her ears. “He’s not kinky.”

“Shame,” Ash mumbled.

I ignored her. “I’m scared,” I whispered.

Eliza settled on the stool beside me. “Of what? That things will change between you two? Because when Till and I—”

I interrupted her. “I’m scared that I’ll never be her.”

They both sighed, and a pair of arms folded around me in a tight hug.

They weren’t Eliza’s.

It was Ash.

“Don’t say that. When Flint and I—”

But that wasn’t even the half of it.

“Mia loved him so much. I can’t stop feeling like we’re having some sort of torrid affair behind her back.”

Ash squeezed tighter.

I kept going. “And then there’s the fact that I’m a terrible excuse for a friend. Because I’ve been in love with him for a really long time.” I lifted my gaze to Eliza’s, ready for the disgust I deserved when I confessed, “Even when Mia was alive.”

Her lips thinned in a sympathetic smile.

Ash squeezed me again.

Tears filled my eyes as I swallowed hard. “And the absolute, most horrifying part of all of it is that there are so many reasons why we shouldn’t be together. But I still can’t seem to stop hoping that maybe we can.” I sniffed back the tears I refused to shed.

“Okay. It’s nine a.m. Wine is out. But I’ll get the Baileys for your coffee,” Eliza announced.

“I’ll call Flint to pick up the boys.”

“No. It’s fine. Don’t do that,” I insisted.

“Too late. Let me get Blakely and Till moved to her room, and we’ll reconvene in Chick Central in ten minutes.”

“Eliza, stop! You have enough to deal with with Blakely right now. You don’t need me moping and crying all day too. Besides, I have a class at the community center this afternoon and a million things to do for Quarry. I can’t be drunk.”