The Odds of Happily Ever After (The Reyes Siblings #2)

Chapter 31

chapter thirty-one

luna

Gabe

I’m sorry. I made a mistake. Can we talk tomorrow?

Luna.

“Oh my God!”

Chloe’s outburst interrupted the thousandth replay of my last conversation with Gabe. I looked up from my sandwich and found her scowling at me. “What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Can you just spill whatever it is that’s bothering you so you can quit it with all the sighing?”

“I’m not—” A glance at Kriz had me clamping my lips together.

Kriz gave me a wry smile. “You have been kinda out of it the past few minutes.”

“Few minutes? Try the entire dinner.” Chloe scoffed. “So what is it? Please don’t tell me you’re this worked up over school.”

“No, it’s . . .” I racked my brain for an excuse and ended up sighing. Again, apparently. “There’s this guy.”

Chloe’s eyes widened. “ Finally .” Planting her elbows on her glass-topped dining table, she leaned toward me. “Did Kai grow a pair and make a move?”

“No. I already told you, there’s nothing between us.”

“Then you should tell him that cause I promise you that guy does not share the sentiment,” Chloe declared while Kriz nodded along beside her, chomping on a potato chip.

I frowned at them. “He’s never said anything about liking me.” Had he? I tried to figure out if he’d given me any hints but came up blank. Did him insisting on paying for dinner count?

“Maybe because you friend-zoned him right away. Ugh, I knew there was someone else.” Shaking her head, Chloe whacked the back of her hand on Kriz’s arm. “Didn’t I tell you?”

“You did.” Kriz bobbed her eyebrows at me, and I could almost hear her asking if I was talking about Gabe.

I dipped my chin slightly as I took a drink, torn between obsessing over Gabe and worrying that I’d unintentionally led Kai on. I’d always thought we were on the same page, but if both Chloe and Kriz were convinced otherwise, I must have missed something.

“So who is this guy and how long have you been dating him?” Chloe asked, staring at me without blinking.

I fidgeted in my chair. “I’m not dating anyone. I like him, but he doesn’t see me that way.” Talk about an understatement. Gabe was the only guy I could think of, and he couldn’t even acknowledge me as a real friend. Now he had the nerve to ask for another chance to talk, as if I hadn’t given him plenty of chances already.

“You’re giving crazy eyes right now, Lulu,” Kriz told me.

“Just spit it out, Luna. Do we know this guy or not?” Chloe demanded.

I opened my mouth and hesitated, my gaze darting to Kriz. She started to say something, but I blurted out before she could, “I can’t tell you.”

I expected Chloe to bug me about it, but she simply narrowed her eyes before rolling them. “Whatever. So the issue is that he went and gave you the Kai treatment?”

“Not exactly . . .”

“You’ve got the hots for him and you’re not sure if he feels the same way. Am I right?”

“Something like that, yeah.”

“Did you ever ask him point blank?” Before I could answer, she said, “Of course not. Cause if you did, you wouldn’t be all messed up like you are now. The solution? Get real with him.”

“It’s not that easy.”

“Isn’t it? The way I see it, I’d rather take a bullet now and know for sure than stress over what some guy might think of me.” Chloe shrugged. “It’s a waste of time and a damn good way to get premature wrinkles.”

“She has a point,” Kriz told me. “It’s better to clear things up so you can move on—with or without him.” Her eyes seemed to add, You’ve already wasted more than enough time with all these unanswered questions about Gabe.

And honestly? That was so true. If Chloe knew this had been going on for years, she’d freak.

“I’ll think about it,” I said to them. “Thanks for the advice.”

Chloe flicked a chip at me. “Less thinking, more doing. Also, if you and mystery man end up fucking, I’m taking the credit. You’re welcome.”

Muffled laughter poured out of Kriz. As much as I wanted to play the innocent and claim I wasn’t after the physical stuff, I’d be lying. I longed for the emotional connection most of all, but I’d also pictured being with Gabe more times than I could count, and in ways I’d only experienced in my imagination.

As anxiety-inducing as Chloe’s suggestion sounded, it also made perfect sense. Either way, things between me and Gabe had already changed after last night. If this was how we ended, it might as well go out with a bang.

So I texted Gabe:

Luna

Ok. Let’s talk later.

It was past eleven when Kriz drove me home. Our dinner had extended to drinks and more girl talk, and we’d ended up forgetting the assignments we were supposed to work on together. But how many more nights like this would I get to spend with my friends? Finals season was barreling toward us, and soon we’d be knee-deep in senior year schoolwork and job applications. As much as I needed good grades, I needed happy memories too.

As we neared my building, I spotted Gabe’s car parked a few feet away. What was he doing here? When I agreed to talk, I didn’t mean in person. The thought of confronting him was terrifying enough without having to look him in the eye and see his reaction.

“You okay?”

My gaze snapped to Kriz, who brought the car to a stop and looked at me with concern. “Yeah, I’m good. Just tired from the day,” I answered distractedly because my wine-infused brain was still trying to process Gabe being here.

“Sorry I didn’t bail you out earlier. Chloe got kind of intense back then.”

I forced myself to focus on her. “No, it’s alright. I actually appreciate the straight talk. It’s been a long time coming, and I’m honestly just relieved she didn’t bug me about his name.”

“Chloe’s a hard-ass. But once you’re in with her, she’ll ride or die for you.” Kriz chuckled. “Not that she’d admit it, or give you the easiest time.”

I decided that was better than sugarcoating everything or pretending to be something you weren’t. “She’s right, though—I need that tough love.”

“I mean, same. Do you know what you’ll do with Gabe?”

“I’ll try to talk to him. How much I’ll say is still up in the air.”

Kriz wished me luck, and I thanked her for the ride. After glancing at Gabe’s empty car, I entered my building and psyched myself up for the looming conversation.

My pulse thundered in my ears as the elevator crept up. I gripped the strap of my bag, all the words I wanted to say clashing and tangling in my head. I had the upper hand here since Gabe was the one trying to apologize. I shouldn’t be nervous.

But God, was I nervous.

When the elevator opened at my floor, I pulled my shoulders back and marched out into the hallway.

Then my feet halted, rooting me in place as Gabe straightened from the wall beside my door. His white shirt was unbuttoned at the collar, the sleeves shoved up to his elbows. His dark curly hair stood in different directions, like he’d dug his fingers through it one too many times. And his face—it was shadowed, his eyebrows pulled together over solemn eyes.

“You can’t do phone calls now?” I asked as I continued walking toward him.

“I thought it would be better to have this conversation in person.” His gaze traveled over me in a slow but steady sweep, and I felt the heat of it tingling across my skin. “You drank.”

“A plus for you.” A giggle escaped me, turning into a hiccup at the last minute.

“Were you with Kai?”

I reared back. “Kai?”

“Are you dating him?”

My mouth dropped at the sheer improbability of Gabe pulling out the same topic my friends had just dissected. “Are you kidding me? You too?” I shook my head.

He stepped close to me. “Are you?”

“Whether I am or not, it’s none of your business. You wanted boundaries, right? Here you go.” Maybe it was childish, but there was something satisfying about throwing his words back at him.

Shoving his hands in his pockets, he said, “I came to apologize about last night. But if you need to rest, I can come back tomorrow.”

Way to evade the topic he’d brought up. I fumbled for my key and jammed it into the door lock. “I’m good, Gabe.” If we were doing this, it might as well be when my friends’ advice was fresh in my head. I pushed the door open and slipped my bag off my shoulder.

Gabe lingered outside the doorway. “Can I come in?” He could have easily followed me inside, but he’d asked because that was just his way.

“Yeah.” I toed my shoes off and switched to slippers. “You can use the blue slippers.”

“Thanks,” he said as he walked in and locked the door behind him.

I busied myself with pouring water into two glasses even though I could have used more wine. Handing one glass to him, I chugged mine on the way to the sofa.

He put his glass on the coffee table and sat beside me. “Luna, I . . .” Running his palms up his thighs, he took a deep breath. “I’ve never done well with conversations like this. I have a difficult time talking about my feelings, especially when I’m in the thick of them. But by staying quiet, I led you to believe that I don’t value our friendship. And I do.” Hesitantly, he put his hand on mine. “You’re important to me, Luna. I’m sorry my actions said otherwise. I know you’ve already given me many chances, but I promise to do better if you let me try.”

Truth rang in every word he said, and with his hand on mine, I felt the tremor in his fingers. I wanted to clasp them and tell him I forgave him. That things would be okay, and we were good.

But I couldn’t let him off the hook that easily—not when he hadn’t addressed the issue that had sparked this argument in the first place.

gabe

“What about the next time we see each other in school?” Luna asked.

There was the million-dollar question. I’d spent the hours between our phone call and this conversation puzzling together how I could prove my sincerity. No amount of apologies would make a difference unless I could back them up with my actions.

“I won’t ignore you.” The promise felt lacking. It was the bare minimum, yet for now, it was the most that I could offer her. “I swear I’m working on a better solution. I just need time to sort things out.”

Her lips pressed together in a smile that was empty of her usual joy, but she didn’t shake off my hand. I took that as a hopeful sign. “Time, huh?” she murmured.

“I know it’s a lot to ask, but I’ll make it worth your while.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

“I’ll do it if I ruin myself trying.” I gently squeezed her hand, trying to communicate that I truly meant it. “I don’t want to lose you, Luna.”

Like she had before, she turned her hand over and made space for my fingers between hers.“I told you I’m not going anywhere.”

“Good.”

“Careful, Professor.” She spoke in that light tone she used when teasing me, and I had never been more thankful to hear it again. “I’m starting to think you like me.”

You have no idea. “I do.”

“It’s—Oh.” She stared at me as though she wasn’t sure she’d heard correctly.

My words stunned me too. I scrambled for what to say next, and when she opened her mouth, I braced myself for her questions.

But then she bit her lip. “Hmm. So does that mean if I invited you to my birthday party, you’d say yes?”

My stomach clenched. “When you say party . . .”

“The girls are planning a whole club thing. Kriz is going to try to get them to let me in the night before my actual birthday so we can do the countdown there.”

The way it sounded, it wouldn’t only be Kriz and Chloe there. They’d likely invite Kai and a number of other students, some of whom I would probably know from class.

Luna sighed. “I understand if you can’t go. It was a hypothetical question, anyway.”

“I’ll look into it.” It should have been an instant yes, no questions asked. I hated that I couldn’t give it to her right now.

“I mean, I didn’t exactly invite you.”

But she wanted to. I wanted her to. It was a major birthday, and I couldn’t imagine not being there with her to celebrate.

I just had to find a way to make it work.