“I’m not sure, Lucus. You know,” I say, trying to manufacture a believable excuse, “Brayden is really busy with school and football. He doesn’t get much time off.”
“I know,” he takes a lick of his cone, “but he promised he would visit soon.”
My guess is that Lucus is talking about the last time we all had ice cream together. “That was a while ago,” I point out.
He shakes his head as a stubborn light enters his eyes. “No, it was the other day.”
Every muscle goes whipcord tight as my head snaps up. “What do you mean?”
“Brayden gave me his number.” Lucus continues to lick his cone before adding like it’s no big deal, “Sometimes we text.” His brows pinch together. “He’s my friend, too.”
“Of course he is,” I soothe.
“I told him that he could meet us for ice cream.”
Icy cold tendrils of panic tangle around my heart and squeeze until it feels like I can’t suck in a full breath. “You invited Brayden to have ice cream with us?” There’s a pause before I add, “Tonight?”
“Yeah. I wanted to see him.” Lucus frowns, unaware of the chocolate smeared around the corners of his mouth.
I fumble with my phone before glancing at it. We’ve been here for at least fifteen minutes. It usually takes half an hour for Lucus to finish up before I drop him back off at the house. Normally, I love spending time with my brother.
Now, however?
I’m an anxious mess.
I swivel around and glance at the entrance. No one has come in or out the entire time we’ve been here. If my luck holds, it’ll stay that way. Plus, it’s doubtful Brayden was actually planning on making an appearance. This place is totally out of his way. And it’s not like we left on the best of terms the other day. I inhale a deep breath in an effort to keep my emotions under control and not hyperventilate.
My brother points to my cone. “Your ice cream is dripping.”
I grimace, no longer wanting the melty mess in my hand. Any craving I’d had for a frozen treat has vanished. All I can focus on is getting out of here before—
“Hey, Lucus. Sorry I’m late. I got held up at practice.” Brayden smiles as he slides into the booth next to me. His dark gaze flits to mine. It’s just as friendly as when he was talking to my brother. “Hi.”
It takes effort to paste the smile on my face as I carefully inch away from his body. The more physical distance I can place between us, the better off I’ll be. I need to keep my wits about me, and that’s difficult to do when the scent of his aftershave assaults my senses.
“We’re almost done with our ice cream,” Lucus says by way of greeting.
“Yeah, I can see that.” His lips quirk at the corners. “You seem to be enjoying yours.”
“Are you going to order a cone?”
“Nah.” Brayden shakes his head. “Maybe next time.”
Next time?
I swallow down the nerves steadily rising in my throat. Any moment, I’m going to vomit them all over the table. There is no way in hell this can become a weekly occurrence. It’s already difficult enough to steel myself against him on campus. I can’t take much more. I’m precariously close to breaking. Only now do I realize that I’ll have to explain to Lucus that Brayden and I are no longer together and that we’re not really friends. He can’t just invite him to tag along on our outings.
My heart plummets. The smile now curving Lucus’ lips already tells me that the news won’t go over well.
“What kind of ice cream did you get?” Brayden asks. “It looks pretty good.”
“Triple chocolate fudge brownie.” A bit of happiness dims in his eyes as he adds, “It was my brother’s favorite.”
Everything in me freezes as the air gets clogged in my chest. I need to put an end to this disastrous conversation before it can careen any further out of control. Brayden’s expression softens as he nods in understanding. Without further explanation, he realizes that Lucus isn’t talking about Court or Ryan. He’s referring to Peter.
My lungs burn as I force the words from my mouth in a rush. “You should probably finish up so we can get moving, Lucus. I need to drop you off at home. I’ve got a lot of work to finish up for tomorrow.”
My brother frowns and rears back just a bit. One thing we never do on ice cream night is rush. We take our sweet damn time and enjoy our dessert while catching up. “You never want to talk about Peter.”
His comment catches me by surprise and makes me feel like I’ve been sucker punched in the gut. It’s a challenge not to double over with the pain that ricochets through my body.