Page 181 of 10 Rings I Hate About You
The backyard barely resembled what it had been two weeks ago. The firepit area, the seating, the lights crisscrossing overhead, and the tables that Delaney had styled to look like we were hosting an event far more official than an “impromptu cookout.” It should’ve stressed me out, but it didn’t. Because she’d taken the reins, laid it out for me in a logical way, and, even more importantly, because she was here. She made those circling thoughts quiet down.
I caught a blur of movement in my peripheral vision.
“Absolutely not,” I muttered, setting down the tongs as Chaos strutted towards me, his bow tie slightly crooked, and something green hanging out of his mouth. I stepped in front of him, automatically scanning. Eyes clear. Gait steady. No visible distress.
“You’re doing it again,” Delaney called, appearing at my side as though she’d been summoned or had felt my stress from across the yard.
“He has a history,” I said, not looking away from the goat.
Chaos bleated, entirely unrepentant.
“He’s fine,” she said, running up the steps to the deck and bumping her hip lightly with mine. She bent to scratch between Chaos’s ears. “You’re just traumatized.”
“I am not traumatized.”
She tipped her head to the side, giving me that smile that said she knew better. “You created a monitoring schedule.”
“That was a one-time situation.” Last week, we’d thought our baby goat had gotten into something he shouldn’t have, and I panicked.
“Uh-huh.” Chaos tried to nibble on the hem of her shorts. She laughed, the sound easy, and for a second I forgot what I was about to say. Chaos took off, and Delaney was right behind him, trying to make sure he didn’t get into any trouble.
Then I felt the weight in my back pocket.
The key.
People filtered in and out of the house in waves. My parents moved through the yard, stopping to chat with our family and friends. Mom had already pulled Delaney into a hug and a side conversation before she went into the house after stopping to hug me. Each time I saw them together, it made me smile. Delaney seemed to thrive with the attention that came from having my family in her life.
My father ambled up the stairs, clapping me on the back, as he stopped and followed my gaze. “You did good,” he murmured.
“Yeah, I think so too.”
After a few minutes of chatting, Dad went into the house, and Josh took his spot, grabbing a beer from the nearby cooler.
“You look disgustingly happy,” he said, a grin tilting the corners of his mouth, taking the sting out of his words.
“I am.”
He huffed out a laugh and took a pull from the bottle, but his attention had already drifted to the house, to the sliding glass door where Grace’s laughter spilled out into the yard.
I followed his line of sight, then looked back at him.
“So, I think it’s best if we just address this head-on,” I said.
He blinked. “Address what?”
“Grace.” I didn’t want it to be his loyalty to our friendship that stopped him from asking her out.
His shoulders went tight. “There’s no?—”
“There is,” I cut in. “The careful attention. The longing. The way your whole body shifts just by hearing her voice or having her walk into a room.”
“I do not?—”
“You do,” I said, firmly. “Seriously, you’re my best friend. And while you can be a total dick sometimes, you’re a good guy.”
He scrubbed a hand over his face and exhaled. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Why not?”
