Cam glanced at Jeremy, his eyes at half-mast. “Uh, no. Don’t think we’ve met.”
Jeremy’s jaw hardened. He stared at Cam’s outstretched hand but didn’t shake it. Caitlin knew exactly what he was thinking: Cam had met Jeremy a zillion times. He was one of Josh’s good friends and was always at the Fridays’ house. He was implying that Jeremy wasn’t important enough to remember.
Then another voice boomed. “Caitlin!”
Caitlin looked across the room. Josh, dressed as David Beckham circa his Manchester United days, sat on a chair, his bad ankle propped up on an ottoman. By the look of his spinning eyes, Caitlin guessed that he’d had several beers already. She gave him a little wave, and he waved back. “Are you going to sign my cast?” he asked loudly, holding up a big Sharpie.
Caitlin balked. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Jeremy’s face growing redder and redder.
“C’mon!” Josh called out. “You said you would, remember!”
Caitlin’s heart sank. Just like that, Jeremy turned on his heel and stormed away. Caitlin gave Josh a half-apologetic, half-annoyed smile, then spun after Jeremy. She wanted to kick herself. She had said she’d sign Josh’s cast when he’d texted her about it earlier today.
Caitlin followed Jeremy into the hall, which was marginally quieter, save for the girl throwing up by the back door. “So, I guess your brother’s a little drunk,” she said, trying to sound lighthearted about it.
Jeremy cut a quick glance to her. “Do you even like me?”
Caitlin flinched, surprised by his intensity. “Why would you ask such a thing?”
Jeremy looked away. “It just seems like you’d rather have my brother back. Like maybe you’re having second thoughts.”
Caitlin sighed. Jeremy wasn’t stupid. On the one hand, she loved that about him—that he was so tuned in, so aware of her feelings. But on the other hand, it made it hard on both of them.
“No,” she said. “I don’t want Josh back.”
“When were you talking to him?”
She shrugged. “He texted me about his cast earlier. I agreed to sign it because I was trying to be nice.”
He scoffed. “Like he’s ever been nice to you.”
“That’s not fair,” Caitlin said. She took a deep breath. “Jeremy, you and I are going to have to deal with your brother going forward. I’m not going to be flat-out mean to him. You can’t get mad at me just for talking to him. We all share history. You have to try to meet me in the middle here—compromise a little. Which you haven’t seemed very willing to do lately.”
Jeremy’s eyebrows furrowed together. “What do you mean by that?”
“I mean . . .” Caitlin’s heart pounded. She so didn’t want to do this. But something had been bubbling inside her—everything had felt so off. She just had to say it.
“I mean I’m proud that I play soccer,” she blurted. “Yes, I’m still not sure it will be my life forever, but I enjoy it now, and it’s important to me. And you just . . . well, you seem pissed that I’m into it, honestly.”
Jeremy’s lips parted. “I was pissed because you broke our date—”
“Which I understand,” she cut him off. “But you made me feel so guilty. How was I supposed to know you were taking me to One Direction? It’s not like you told me beforehand.”
“Because it was supposed to be a surprise!”
Caitlin lowered her eyes. “I’m really sorry about that. But, I mean, I couldn’t just bail on my team. Initiation is once a year. It’s important that the captains are there.”
Jeremy shifted stiffly. Caitlin wondered if he was resisting rolling his eyes.
She sighed and kept going. “And these people here, some of them are my friends. I like going to parties, Jeremy. If you gave them a chance, maybe you’d like them, too.”
Jeremy made a face. “Doubt it.”
“Then maybe we’re too different,” Caitlin said quietly. She hated that she was saying it—she didn’t want to give Jeremy up. But she didn’t want him to be miserable with her, either, and he certainly looked that way right now.
Jeremy’s eyes widened. A hurt look crossed his face. But before he could say anything, Ava and Mac raced up, anxious looks on their faces.
“Have you seen Julie?” Ava said tightly.
Caitlin shook her head. Just hearing Julie’s name made her uneasy. She hadn’t been able to shake the feeling that something was seriously off with Julie last night. But she hadn’t told the others about it, hoping that Julie had just been in a mood.
“We need to find her—fast,” Ava said.
“Why?” Caitlin asked, her worry growing.
Ava and Mac looked at Jeremy. He backed up, his expression even more irritated than before. “I’ll see you later,” he snapped, heading for the door.
Caitlin caught his arm. “You’re leaving?”
“There’s nothing for me here,” he said, and turned to cut through the crowd.