AJ hesitated, running one long finger over the label of his Guinness bottle. “Gage also mentioned that Darcy was the one who got the dealer’s number.”
Every muscle in Reed’s body tensed. “Yeah, she stopped by the club to…” God help him, but he couldn’t stop the lie from flying out. “To talk to you, I guess.”
Surprise washed over AJ’s face. “Huh. Did she say what she wanted?”
“Naah, she didn’t say anything.”
Shit, he was going straight to hell. Probably ought to pack up his sunglasses and SPF 30 in preparation, because there was no avoiding his fate.
Just tell him. Man up already.
He opened his mouth, only to get interrupted by AJ’s quiet curse. “Okay, enough. We don’t have to tip-toe around it, all right?”
Reed froze, an uncharacteristic vise of panic squeezing his chest. “What do you mean?”
“Darcy and I broke up. It’s really not a big deal, so please, stop treating me like I’m a cancer patient or something.” AJ grumbled in displeasure and dragged a hand through his dark blond hair. “I know you think she dumped me, but I promise you, that’s not how it went down.”
Reed knew he’d kick himself later, but he still had to ask. “What happened then?”
“Chemistry happened. Or rather, lack thereof.” AJ picked up his beer and drank nearly half of it in one long swig. “We got along so well––we had the friendship part down—but there was no spark. No excitement.” He shrugged again. “We made a go of it, it didn’t work out, and now it’s over. Time to move on.”
Reed might’ve bought the speech—if AJ’s tone had contained even an iota of conviction. But his friend sounded so glum that he suspected AJ was just reciting a rehearsed line. As if he were trying to persuade himself that the breakup had been mutual.
“Anyway, I have a favor to ask.” Another sip, and AJ had drained his beer. He slammed the bottle down and fixed Reed with a somber look. “I need you to help me out with Darcy.”
The panic returned, winding around his spine and making his skin go cold. Damn it. He couldn’t let this continue. Three more seconds, and he might be forced into agreeing to play Cupid on a quest to bring AJ and Darcy back together.
And even though he was still racked with guilt over what he’d done, Reed felt sick to his stomach at the thought of Darcy and AJ rekindling the spark AJ claimed had been absent.
“Listen, man,” he said roughly. “Before you say anything else, there’s something I need to—”
“I know it’s a lot to ask,” AJ cut in, “but I feel like a total shit letting her down. I mean, I agreed to this months ago. But I think it would be too awkward to follow through.”
Reed blinked. “Follow through on what?”
“I told Darcy I’d help her with this self-defense thing at her school.” AJ’s expression darkened. “You heard about that kid who was attacked in Dorchester at the beginning of the summer, right? The ten-year-old who was jumped by a group of teenagers for his allowance money?”
Reed nodded. He’d seen it on the news, and he’d been overcome with anger when he’d found out what those older boys had done to the poor kid.
“Well, that boy went to Darcy’s school,” AJ said grimly. “I don’t think he was in any of her classes, but she knew who he was, and she was so damn upset when she heard what happened. I was over at her place a few days later and we came up with this idea to run a self-defense workshop for her eighth-graders. The school barely has enough money to keep the extracurricular activities going, so I offered to come in for free and go over some of the basics with the kids.” AJ let out a breath. “I feel like a jackass for backing out, but I figured maybe you could take my place. The workshop is scheduled for the first week of school. Next Wednesday, I think.”
Reluctance rose inside him, not because he didn’t want to help out, but because agreeing to do so meant putting himself in close proximity to Darcy again. “Oh. I’m not sure if, uh…”
AJ frowned at him. “It’s only a few hours of your time, man. One hour after school for three days. And the club doesn’t open until seven, so it won’t interfere with work.”
One hour a day for three days? That was three hours. Three hours in Darcy’s company, three hours of looking at her gorgeous face, three hours of fighting the urge to taste those sweet lips again.
God. He’d never survive it.
But what kind of heartless jerk said no to teaching a bunch of kids how to stay safe? Darcy taught at a public school in a low income, high crime area, where most of the students walked to and from school, crossing through some of the city’s most dangerous neighborhoods. Knowing self-defense was imperative for those kids, and the fact that AJ and Darcy had come up with a plan to make that happen only confirmed what Reed had already known: the two of them were goddamn saints.
He stifled a sigh. Clearly this was a damned-if-he-did, damned-if-he-didn’t situation.