Mason started twirling the Frisbee again. “But you’re my best friend, still. And I don’t know, you’re the only one I want to talk to about stuff like this.”
Gael retrieved his Frisbee from the basket and walked to the next hole, Mason in tow. He was at a crossroads, he knew. He could throw a fit, explain to Mason that it was totally unacceptable for him to ask advice from him about his girlfriend after stealing said girlfriend.
Or . . .
Or Gael could recognize that what he and Anika had was maybe a lot more fantasy than reality. He could give credence to the fact that the sheer speed with which he was able to rebound showed she certainly wasn’t the love of his life.
He could let himself see that Mason was, hands down, no holds barred, falling in love with Anika.
“Dude,” he said, and he stopped walking. “Maybe you just like her a lot?”
Mason stopped, too. “Yeah, but what do I do about it? What if she freaks out and bails?”
Gael shrugged. “Maybe she will.”
He could tell from the look on Mason’s face that that’s not what he wanted to hear. “And I’m supposed to just be okay with that?”
“Well, what else are you gonna do? Dump her so she doesn’t dump you first?”
Mason laughed. “Sometimes it’s tempting, honestly . . .”
(Defensive dumping is a staple of the Drifter playbook, I’ll have you know.)
They reached the next hole, and Gael tossed the Frisbee toward it. It went way too far.
“I’m sorry,” Mason said suddenly. “I’m sorry for being the worst friend ever.”
“You’re not the worst friend ever,” Gael replied.
Mason shrugged. “I kind of am, though.”
“Fine,” Gael said. “You kind of are. But you’re my worst friend. So I guess I’ll just have to deal with it.”
Mason freaking beamed at that.
Gael felt a weight lift, one he hadn’t even realized was there until it was gone. It felt good.
“Well, since we’re friends again . . .” Gael hesitated, taking a deep breath. “I guess I can go ahead and tell you I found out yesterday that my mom was the one who wanted the divorce. Apparently, she just got tired of my dad or something. I’d thought for a while that maybe my dad had cheated, but that wasn’t it at all.”
Mason dropped the Frisbee. “Dude. You let me go on about Anika freaking out about Halloween, and you were holding on to this. That sucks, man. I’m so sorry.”
Gael shrugged. “I don’t know whether to be furious with my mom or just completely disillusioned with love in all forms.”
Mason picked up his Frisbee and tossed it badly.
“It’s better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all, dude.” He paused. “I saw that on Reddit.”
Gael laughed out loud. “Is it, though?” he asked finally. “I thought it was. But now I’m not really sure.”
Gael thought about Sammy, about how horrible it would be to lose her as a friend.
Mason nodded. “I think it is.”
And for once in his life, Mason tossed the Frisbee straight into the hole.
“Hole in one!” Gael screamed. “Holy shit. Look at you, hustler!”
And as he jumped up and down and high-fived his friend, he had another kind of thought.
Maybe he didn’t hesitate last night because Cara wasn’t perfect.
Maybe he hesitated because Cara wasn’t Sammy.
What if, this whole time, he’d been going after the wrong freshman from UNC?
baltimore bound
When Gael got back to his house that afternoon, he was feeling more like himself than he had in a long, long time. The relief of finally forgiving Mason was enormous. He even told his friend that maybe he and Anika could join them at lunch again soon—not just yet, of course, but eventually.
And, okay, add to the happy feelings a sense of resolve. Gael couldn’t deny it any longer. He had feelings for Sammy, and he had to know if she did, too, before he could think seriously about dating Cara. It was only fair.
He wasn’t sure exactly what he would say to her, but as he walked down the hallway and into the dining room, he was feeling especially light on his feet.
Sammy and Piper were at the table as usual. Piper was copying out French definitions, so absorbed that she barely even gave him a nod.
Sammy, on the other hand, looked up immediately and smiled. She adjusted her glasses. Gael had a sudden urge to take them off and kiss her like they did in the movies. He forced himself to focus.
“So, do I get all the juicy details?” she asked.
“Huh?”
“Your date,” she said.
That got Piper looking up. “Date?” she asked.
He’d been so focused on what was on his mind that, for a second, he had no idea what Sammy was talking about. He stared blankly at both of them.
“With Cara?” she offered. “Halloween?”
“Oh,” he stammered. “Err, it wasn’t really a date.”
Sammy shrugged, made air quotes. “Your ‘hangout’ with your soon-to-be girlfriend, then.”
Piper looked from Gael to Sammy and then back again. “Wait, I thought you guys liked each other.”
Sammy’s face turned beet red, and she looked less composed than he’d ever seen her. Gael felt his own face heating up.