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Bellamy

Willa texted me.

Guess that answers the question of whether she’s up.

Why does it bother me that Willa and Bellamy are texting buddies? It really shouldn’t.

But it does.

Especially when I remember the blaze of her blue eyes just before she stormed off a few minutes ago. My gut twists, and as the phone screen darkens, I catch sight of my scowl in the reflection. I text Bellamy again.

Archer

You and Willa are texting now?

Bellamy

Your jealousy is showing. Usually it’s just about cookies.

Bellamy

USUALLY.

That makes me feel only slightly better. Not that I suspected there would be anything romantic between them. I mean, it’s notoutrageous for men Bellamy’s age to date women as young as Willa. My father certainly did.

But Bellamy has never expressed romantic interest in anyoneever. Back when I was just a boy and Bellamy had taken over what was my father’s job in essentially raising me, my father told me Bellamy had reasons for being alone—and that it would be rude to ask.

Slowly, I stopped being curious. And I never broached the subject with him, even years later.

I find, suddenly, that I want to know why he doesn’t date. Why he’s never dated, why he seems so content and self-sufficient as he is.

Why someone so warm and so drawn to people would remain alone.

A pang of guilt shoots through me, that after so many years of being an adult and Bellamy being as much of a close friend as I’ve ever had, I never thought to ask him why.

Even so, I don’t like the thought of him being buddy-buddy with Willa. Especially when I basically ruined any chances formeto be close with her.

Bellamy

Kidding about the jealousy. Unless, that is, you ARE jealous.

Bellamy

Are you?

Archer

I’m not.

Archer

But I don’t like the idea of you and Willa having conversations about me.

I wonder if she told him what I said. The fact that Bellamy didn’t start there seems to indicate that she didn’t.

For some reason, this only makes me feel worse about my careless words, uttered while my nerves were still screaming after the opossum incident.

Bellamy