Page 64 of Already Falling

“Just maybe, don’t do anything drastic yet. Feel it out for a little bit. It might just be a crush.”

I nod in agreement, even though I’ve thought about this for a while. Honestly, ever since he brought me the dirty chai a few months ago, I knew this was a sign to try again. The third time's a charm, I suppose.

My weather prayers were answered, and so far, August is cooler than July. I can’t wait for the fall in Oregon. Tyler said the view from his house when September hits is picture-perfect. I can already imagine all the landscape photo shoots I’ll take once the oak tree leaves turn amber and mix with the dark emerald redwoods.

I’ve been taking Chloe’s advice and not making a move on Reid. Instead, I’ve spent the last few weeks texting him about books and stealing glances. I admit it’s not that creative of me to have a crush on the same guy three times in my life, with two of those times not working out. The first time wasn't my fault, however. If he hadn’t moved away, we could have gone to the dance together in middle school, married, and lived happily ever after. But no, now we have gone through a different kind of dance where we twirl around, brushing shoulders or missing each other completely. Reid is my closest friend besides Chloe and Tyler. Tyler is nice and great, but no one makes me feel as equally relaxed and overwhelmed as Reid does.

A part of me is definitely saying not to make a move. Our life is so lovely now. I can’t help but notice the emptiness I feel when I look to my future without trying again. Even if he still rejects me, I’ll know I at least tried one more time.

Chloe has been eyeing me since I told her. I feel like my every move and glance is being cataloged and criticized. Chloe doesn’t want me to do anything about my crush, which hurts because I know I won’t be able to hold it in for much longer. So, I’m ultimately going to betray her, but for the first time in what feels like my entire life, I am finally doing something for myself.

The four of us are sitting in a corner booth at the Human Bean, sipping on our iced drinks, enjoying the mild weather and bright sun. Iced hazelnut latte for Tyler, iced matcha for Chloe, iced green tea with honey for me, and iced black coffee with whipped cream for Reid. He never strays. It’s a Sunday afternoon, and it never feels old that I don’t dread going to work tomorrow. I have two client meetings tomorrow and a bunch of photos to develop. I can’t wait.

“Yo, no way, Chloe, bringing soup to the theater is weird as fuck,” Tyler says to Chloe.

“Sometimes I just want something hot and comforting while I watch. I put it in a thermos and sip. Plus, they always crank the air conditioning in the theaters, so I get chilly.”

“You’re telling me you drink chili because you’re chilly?” Reid doubles back, laughing at his own dumb joke.

“Oh, and please tell me what book you are reading, Reid!” Chloe retorts, making Tyler snort laugh. Reid can’t help but laugh at her joke himself.

I snap out of my thought cloud and try to pick up the pieces of their conversation.

“She’s brought soup to the movies at least three times in the past year. She’s obsessed with soup,” I interject.

Reid chuckles and shakes his head. It hurts to look at him as each day goes by, knowing I shouldn’t do anything about it. I want to lean into him, feel his body heat against mine. To run my fingers through his hair and pull him into me, running my lips along his neck. I peel my eyes off him and realize Chloe sees me staring. I give her a little smile and focus on my green tea instead.

“Hey, Anni.” Reid bumps my wrist, and I look up at him again. Sigh, I could get lost in those green eyes for the rest of my life. “Whose car do you want to take to the concert?”

“Well, considering your truck only has one bench seat, we should probably take my hatchback so the four of us can fit. Unless Tyler wants to drive,” I reply, and I hear Chloe clear her throat.

“Yeah, about that, I can’t go to the concert.” This is news. She would have mentioned to me earlier that she couldn’t go. “Tyler can’t either.”

“What? Since when? We already got our outfits picked out.”

She gives me a weird look and bugs her eyes a bit. I look at Tyler, who also seems confused but hasn’t said anything.

“I got roped in at the last minute to oversee an event at work. The other manager is going to be out of town, and they need a manager there, so that leaves me. Plus, Tyler said he’d volunteer to help.”

I squint my eyes at her, then to Tyler, who is slowly nodding. That is total bullshit. First of all, Chloe is the only manager at her location. Second of all, what kind of event is it, and why is she just mentioning it now? We’d all be down to go to the event to keep her company. She’s up to something. I go to open my mouth to protest, but she waves it off.

“You guys go without us, please.”

We look over at Tyler. “I totally spaced that I said I’d help out. You know me, I can’t go back on my good word. It would ruin my glowing reputation,” he says. Reid is also squinting his eyes at his friend.

Reid looks over to me and lifts a shoulder. “Do you mind if we take my truck then? No offense, but your driving scares me.”

My mouth falls agape. “What? I’m a great driver.” Now they are all wincing.

“No offense, Anni, but I’m always holding on for dear life when you are driving. You act like you are a race car driver just because your car is red,” Chloe says.

“Ever wonder why I take my SUV and drive separately when you volunteer to drive?” Tyler asks with big eyes, looking away and taking a sip of his drink.

I give them both a dramatic eye roll. “Fine, we can take your truck. But I want to leave early so we can check out the merch booth ahead of time. Plus, it’s an hour away.”

Reid reaches up to give me a fist bump, and I return it to him with a smirk.

It doesn’t take me thirty seconds before we are past our front door to turn to Chloe and say, “What the hell are you up to?”