He stared straight ahead as she left. She was sure that he hadn’t thought the conversation would go like that. What had he expected? Even if I want to be with him and all would be right with the world, how could I when the thought of him touching someone else made me gag? She had hated the idea when she had thought he was gay! The reaction was so much more visceral now.

She was pissed off all over again, and she still had to deal with cheer practice tonight. When she got in her car, she turned her phone back on and noticed that she had another missed call and a text message from Trihn that basically screamed at Bryna to answer her. It was complete with all caps and a million exclamation points.

With a resigned sigh, she decided to put Trihn out of her misery.

What’s up?

Trihn’s response was immediate.

I haven’t heard from you in three days, and all you can say is, “What’s up?” What the fuck, Bri?

I missed you, too.

Come to my apartment right now! Otherwise, I will be forced to disown you—but not really. Just get over here!

Bryna shook her head. This was why she was friends with Trihn.

Okay. On my way.

Bryna drove the short distance to Trihn’s apartment and was greeted with a scowl.

“Where the hell have you been?”

“Atlantic City,” she answered truthfully.

She walked into Trihn’s apartment and lay back on the couch. She had prepared herself for this interrogation. God, my life has been reduced to one big interrogation.

“What? Why?”

“Hugh flew me out.”

Trihn shook her head. “That’s absurd.”

“Yeah. After school ends, he’s flying us to Barcelona for the summer.”

Trihn’s eyes were wide as saucers. “Damn. You have him wrapped around your finger. Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“Does it matter?”

“Of course!”

“Can we get on to why you have really been obsessively calling me?” Bryna asked.

Seeing Eric had exhausted her. This conversation would surely only make it worse.

“Geez, you’re in uber bitch mode. I just wanted you to talk to Stacia.”

“No.”

“Ugh! I knew you’d be difficult.”

“She’s the one who went behind my back to date Pace, and I’m being difficult?” Bryna ground out.

“Look, she likes him. Give it a chance. You never know. It could be over by the end of the summer.”

“Then, I’ll wait it out.”

Trihn rolled her eyes. “She was really upset after you left. What the hell happened?”

“Nothing. I couldn’t be there any longer.”

“And you left for Atlantic City, unplanned, and didn’t respond to anyone’s messages? Don’t tell me that was all Stacia. Even you aren’t that melodramatic.”

Bryna shrugged.

“Seriously, what the fuck? I’m your friend. Stacia is your friend. And you’re about as closed off as a brick wall.” She raised her hands and took a step back. “I don’t know how to be here for you.”

Bryna sighed. Maybe Trihn was right. Maybe Bryna should tell her friend. It would be nice to actually talk to someone about it.

“Okay. So, remember how I told you Eric was gay?”

“Yeah?” Trihn asked uncertainly.

“Well, he’s not.”

Trihn’s mouth dropped open. “I knew it!”

“Yeah, yeah. You knew,” Bryna said with a sigh.

“Oh my God, he loves you, and you’re going to get married and have babies.” Trihn looked ecstatic at the possibility of Bryna being with Eric like that.

It turned Bryna’s stomach. Marriage and babies were not in her near future.

“Ew. No. He was sleeping with his ex, Audrey, when I made a surprise visit to his place.”

“What?” Trihn shrieked.

“Yeah. I thought that he was gay, and he thought that I knew he was sleeping with his ex-girlfriend. We got into a huge argument afterward, and I left.”

“Has he tried to contact you?”

Bryna nodded.

“What did he say?”

Her heart constricted as she remembered his face. “I saw him on campus. He came to try to convince me that he and Audrey were over, but I couldn’t get the image of him fucking her out of my head.”

Trihn shook her head. “So, let me get this straight. Even though you’ve been seeing Hugh this whole time, you’re angry at Eric for being with someone else?”

“Yes.”

“Why?” she cried. “It doesn’t make sense.”

“He knew about Hugh. I thought Eric was off-limits. If he was interested in me, he could have said something!”

“It sounds like he thought you were off-limits, too. I mean, if he thought you were dating someone, he wasn’t going to be like, ‘Hey, forget this guy.’ That’s definitely not the Eric I know.”

“Whatever.”

“Look,” Trihn said, trying to find reason. “Your anger is so misguided. You’re angry because you like him. You’re hurt. That’s okay. Let yourself hurt, and then talk to him about it. You can’t push him away forever.”

Bryna closed her eyes. She didn’t want to hear this from Trihn. She had made up her mind already. “I don’t think I can do that. The person I was when I was with him wasn’t real. It was all a facade between two people who thought they knew secrets in the other one’s life.”

“It’s only a facade if you want it to be.”

“No. I chose Hugh. I’m going to Barcelona with him this summer. That’s it.” She tried to sound so definite, but she knew she hadn’t. Her strength was hidden beneath layers of bitchy behavior and high levels of self-confidence. All of which had been rattled this week.

“Oh, B,” Trihn whispered.

“Don’t pity me! It’s what I want.”

“Okay,” Trihn said softly. She let the subject drop even though it was clear in her eyes that she wanted to say more. “But will you talk to Stacia?”

“It’s going to take a while to get over Pace.”

“She didn’t want to upset you, and she can’t help that she likes him,” Trihn tried to reason.

“Psh. Yes, she can. She just doesn’t see it yet.”

“Fine. I can’t be the middleman anymore though. You two need to make up.”

“Then, have her call me when they break up,” Bryna said, standing.

“You’re a stubborn bitch.”

“Yep,” she agreed.

She felt even more like one when she left Trihn’s place and saw another missed call from Eric along with a text message.

I’ll stop bothering you after this. You want space to figure things out. I don’t get it because every part of me is screaming to be near you. I know you feel the same. Call me an idiot for what happened over the past couple of months. Whatever you want. But, Bri, I’ll never be that idiot again. I can’t imagine my life without you. I’m still the same person. I’m still your cowboy. Come back to me soon.

Bryna bit down on her lip, hard. Then, she deleted the text and promised not to look back.

TRUE TO HIS PROMISE, Bryna hadn’t heard from Eric since that last text message. Several long weeks had gone by, school had released for the summer, and she hadn’t heard one word from him. Just like she had wanted. At least that was what she told herself when her Sunday afternoons were full of finals prep rather than margaritas and on Wednesdays when she ate lunch alone instead of at his place, grilling burgers.

But none of that mattered now. She could adjust to anything. And it was for the better. She was ready to leave for Barcelona for the summer. She met Hugh in New York City with a ridiculous amount of Louis Vuitton luggage and her overused passport.

Their flight to Barcelona was smooth sailing, and they landed in the beautiful afternoon weather. A limo picked them up from the airport and transported them to the completed resort. It wouldn’t officially open for nearly another month, so they were staying there exclusively until then.