Page 37 of Anchored To You

"Beck here. Being jealous of how in love Niko and I are. He wishes he were dating someone and in love like we are," King makes a kissy face at me, and I roll my eyes knowing he's only joking around with me.

"Oh, really?" Wyatt says, staring at me. He glances over at Hannah, a wordless conversation flowing between them. He pouts his lips, closing his eyes. "I think we should say something."

"Wyatt," Hannah hisses, pushing at his chest. "It's not our place to say anything."

I look over at King, who shrugs his shoulders, not knowing what they're talking about either.

"What are you talking about?" I ask, as they glance at each other once again.

"Fuck," Wyatt groans, shoving his hands through his hair. He gives a helpless look to Hannah, who shakes her head roughly. "I heard you've been hooking up with Talon."

"Wyatt," Hannah groans, tossing her head back. "It's not our place to say anything."

"I know, I know, but if we can help our friends, then we should do it." Hannah rolls her eyes, but doesn't speak up, Wyatt turning to look at me again. "So?"

"Yes," I reply slowly, not knowing where he's going with this. "I have been. I thought no one knew, but apparently Talon told you." Which is shocking as hell. Talon doesn't seem like the type of guy to tell our secrets. Especially when it has to do with me. I thought for sure he would take this secret to the grave with him.

"What do you think of him?"

I stare at Wyatt blankly, not sure what he's asking me. "He's a great guy."

"He's the best, but that's not what I'm asking, and you know it," he replies, glaring at me.

I blow out a breath, getting irritated with this entire conversation. "Then what are you talking about? Just spit it out."

"I just know you two have been hooking up since the beginning of the school year. But I was more so wondering what you thought of him. Like, do you ever think of him as more than a hookup?"

I glance around, seeing Wyatt, Hannah, King, and Niko all staring at me intently. "Of course, I do," I whisper, a lump forming in my throat. "But he doesn't see me that way."

"What if he did?" Hannah asks, walking over and taking the seat next to me. She places her hand on my knee, squeezing lightly. "What if you found out that he felt the same way as you? What would you do?"

"Ask him on a date," I tell her honestly. I've thought about it so many times. Not only asking him on a date, but planning the whole thing. I've been thinking about taking him to the arcade, or to the movies, or even to a nice fancy restaurant where we both have to dress up. If I'm being honest, I thought about it way too much.

"Then why haven't you done it?" King cuts in before Hannah can respond. Hannah whips her head around to look at him, and King laughs, putting his hands up in surrender. "We were all thinking it."

She turns around to look at me, nodding her head. "Actually, he's right. We were all thinking it. Why haven't you asked him out on a date yet?"

"I, uh, I," I stammer out, sweat appearing on the back of my neck. "Because he'll say no," I tell them all, dropping my head. There's no way he would say yes to a date with me. Hell, half the time I think he can only barely tolerate me.

Wyatt puts his hands in his pockets, rocking on the heels of his feet. "I don't think he will. I think he'll say yes, and this is me being your friend and his friend. Take a chance, Beck."

"Fuck," I drag my hands through my hair, yanking on the strands.

"I think you should tell him," Hannah says, pulling my hands off my face. "He's my best friend, and I know him better than anyone else. I might not have agreed with Wyatt spilling Tal's business everywhere, but he wasn't wrong. I hate seeing my friend upset and down."

"Upset?" I ask, cutting her off. "Why was he upset?"

"He was trying to lie and say he didn't have feelings for someone. Like someone else we know," she jokes, bumping her shoulder into my arm.

"I didn't lie and say I don't have feelings for him. I was just saying I don't think he has feelings for me. At all." A bloom of hope forms in my stomach as I think of Talon and Hannah having a conversation about whether he feels something for me.

Hannah blows out a breath, giving me a soft smile. "Why don't you go ask him yourself?"

"I'm scared," I admit, the hope in my stomach turning to butterflies. "What if I lay it all out there and he turns me down?"

Fuck, I can't imagine what would happen if he turned me down. I would still have to live with him for the rest of the school year. There's no way I would want to come back to our room every night after being rejected. Damn, would I have to find a new place to live? And shit, we work for the same owner. Does that mean I would have to look for a new place to work at too?

"Get out of your head," King says from next to me. "Go talk to Talon. And if it doesn't turn out the way you want, you have a group of people sitting right here who will be here for you."