Page 88 of Piece Us Together
I open my mouth to stop him.
Travis beats us both. “Why don’t you come with me and Carter to our Thanksgiving?”
Have you ever seen someone win something, and they’re just so fucking smug you want to punch them right in their smirking mouth? No?Take a fucking look at Wells then.
“That’s really not necessary,” I say as firmly as I can.
“Come on, it’ll be great. Our friends all just went in on a big house together, so it’s more like Friendsgiving, but we’re all practically family anyway. Not that it matters. The point is, the house is plenty big enough and the food will be fucking amazing because one of our friends is a great cook and we’d love to have you.” He pauses though, something passing over his face before disappearing behind an easy smile. “I’ll, uh—I’ll have to ask, of course. Make sure everyone is okay with it. But I’m sure it’ll be fine. It’d be nice to introduce you to our friend group. All of you, of course, but since everyone else is apparently too cool to stay here for Thanksgiving, starting with you works just fine.”
“I really wouldn’t want to bother anyone…”
“If it makes you feel better, I can send a text out to the group chat right now.”
I jump on this option.Surely Maison or Nolan will think of some reason why it isn’t okay, right?“If you wouldn’t mind. And make sure it’s clear that there would be absolutely no hard feelings at all. I get that holidays can be hard for people, you know? And—and I’m a stranger. I’d understand, really.”
Travis waves me off as he pulls out his phone. He doesn’t seem concerned.
I shoot a glare at Wells, who is smirking at his cards like he’s some evil mastermind.
He stops smirking when I kick him in the shin.
Travis’s friends say I’m more than welcome to come to the house. I want badly to ask ifallof them said that. If Maison and Nolan said that, specifically. But I refrain.
I’m nervous when Maison and Nolan show up for our usual Saturday night rendezvous, my stomach twisted into knots like it hasn’t been since I defended my dissertation. I’ve spent the past few days reminding myself that it’s just a holiday dinner. Iknowthat. It’s not like I’m going as their date. In fact, no one has to even know that we’ve met at all—apart from Maison almost shooting me. But despite all of that logic, I still feel like I’ve crossed the line somehow. We’re supposed to be together on Saturday nights and Sunday mornings, unless it snows like last week. We aren’t supposed to have holiday dinners with each other. If they wanted that, they would have invited me themselves when the topic came up before.
I let them in with a shaky smile and a far too-busy head. I’m not even sure if I say hello to them or just think it.
I’m never going to be able to run a fucking scene like this.
“It wasn’t my idea!” I suddenly blurt.
Nolan just freezes, halfway through unzipping his jacket. Maison tilts his head like looking at me from a different angle might make me seem less crazy. “The…dinner at our house?” he asks carefully. He doesn’tsoundmad, at least.
“Yes. I tried to tell Travis—oh god,yourhouse? I thought it was just a couple of their friends living together. Now I feel even worse. I tried to tell him no. Why didn’tyoutell him no?”
Nolan ducks his head while Maison squares his shoulders and frowns at me. “What’s the problem? You don’t want to hang out with us on Thanksgiving?”
My stomach drops with the sudden realization that they may be nervous about the same kind of thing as me. I take a step back to reassess—Nolan looks like a kicked puppy and Maison looks ready to rip my head off, but I don’t think it’s because they don’t want me at Thanksgiving.
I think it’s because theydo.
“I wouldloveto spend Thanksgiving with the two of you,” I admit, deciding I should be the one to step out on a limb here. It was my best friend that got us into this mess, after all.I hope his shin is still bruised.
“Then what? You don’t want to see our friends?”
“No! I’d love to meet your friends. I just—it’s outside of the rules we agreed on and I thought—well, I just didn’t want the two of you to think I had manipulated my way into your lives or something. I didn’t want you guys to be uncomfortable. I know how excited you are for the holiday, Nolan. I didn’t want to ruin it.”
He blushes and shuffles his feet before mumbling, “I’d really like you to be there, sir. So I can show you all the food and—and so you can meet my friends.”
“As Travis and Carter’s friend,” Maison clarifies, now looking nervous instead of angry. “We can’t, you know, tell peopleabout…this. Especially Carter. He—I don’t want him to know, okay?”
I try not to let that hurt me. I already knew this, even if it was unspoken. It’s why I lied at the poker game. It’s why I’ve been avoiding Travis and Carter as much as possible, actually.
It still stings though.
I pretend it doesn’t.
“I understand.”