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“Love you, babe,” Jessie stated, giving me a look I’d never seen on Jessie when it was aimed at me. She was openly disappointed. “But that isn’t cool.”
My heart sinking, I started to say something, but I didn’t get a word out before Raye added, “We’re adults and we use our words, Harlow. It’s never okay to leave someone hanging, especially someone who means something to you and your whole posse.”
Ouch.
It felt like I’d been slapped.
I mean, I wasn’t five, for goodness sakes.
Luna was watching me closely, and I could see the empathy in her eyes.
It was then her situation with Knox was confirmed.
She liked him, he liked her, but he was Cap’s best bud, and she was Raye’s. Knox had helped Cap install all the organization goodies I’d designed so Cap and Raye could scrunch all their stuff into her one-bedroom apartment when they moved in together. She’d joined in to be an Angel when Raye was out solving crimes before any of us had, because those two were sisters from different sisters.
Luna wanted to go there with Knox, but she couldn’t.
And she couldn’t because of just this.
Even if not much time had passed where our posse was our posse, we were tight. There were already unbreakable connections.
But not everyone could meet a hot guy they were attracted to, and within a couple weeks, know he was “the 1,” then have that actually pan out because he truly was “the 1.”
The rest of us had to worry. Worry if stuff wasn’t going to work out, and all the rest of the people we cared about were dragged into our mess, maybe needing to take sides, screwing up a good thing.
“Give her some space,” Luna ordered.
“Yeah, maybe the woman has a reason,” Shanti put in.
“For standing someone up?” Jessie asked. “That someone being Javi, who we all know is the shit and is totally into her? I mean, we should have known it’d start to get ugly the longer it lasted. So now, for God’s sake,”—she turned to me—“seriously, Harlow, these games have to end.”
There it was.
My bestest bestie had been getting everyone to lay off about Javi, but now, since she thought I’d done Javi wrong, she was laying into me.
“Javi is great,” I said in a small voice, and everyone focused on me.
I knew I wasn’t hiding the hurt when Raye’s eyes rounded, and Jessie, who clearly got out of her snit and clicked into my vibe, actually recoiled.
“But he said some things last night that were not at all nice,” I went on, watching all their faces morph into shock, another indication why this was so hard.
Because, except to me, Javi was that guy. That awesome, cool, with-it, solid, nice guy.
I kept at it.
“It’s not your business. It’s between Javi and me. But I didn’t agree to go to dinner with him. I can’t stand up someone who I didn’t agree to actually see. Though, bottom line, you know me, and even if you don’t agree with whatever course of action I take, I’m a grown woman, and you should respect it, not get in my face about it.” I shifted my attention to Raye. “And definitely don’t treat me like I’m a child.”
“Lolo,” Raye whispered, looking ashamed.
But I was done, because what just happened hurt…bad. What happened with Javi last night hurt badly too.
And I couldn’t take any more.
Therefore, I turned, yanked open the door and raced out (so…yeah, I could flounce, fume, bounce, and additionally, I was prone to throwing a drama).
Javi was, indeed, standing in the parking lot, or more aptly, leaning against the side of the bed of his truck, arms crossed on his mile-wide chest, frowning impatiently up at the walkway.
He came out of the lean the instant he saw me racing down to the stairs.