Page 31 of When Ben Loved Jace

He sees my blank expression, his becoming guarded. “You know how life can be,” Greg says casually. “You get hurt sometimes. When it happens to him, I fucking hate it. So I’m glad you managed to resist my hot bod.”

“I don’t know how anyone can,” I say teasingly. “It’s not a fair test. Speaking of which, when are you and Michelle finally going to get together?”

“Michelle?” Greg splutters. “Michelle who?”

I tilt my head. “Oh please…”

He winces. “You can’t tell Jace! I’m not really asking you to keep something from him because there’s nothing to talk about. Michelle and I have never even kissed. I don’t think she’s interested.”

“Are you blind? Shetotallyis!”

He perks up. “You really think so?”

“I guarantee it! So what’s the problem?”

“Like I said, I don’t want to hurt him. He’ll think it’s weird.”

“No he won’t.”

“I’ve dropped a few hints, making jokes about how I could marry into the family, and trust me, Jace doesn’t like the idea. Do you have a sister?”

“Yes.”

“How would you feel if your best friend started dating her?”

Shocked, because Allison is just as boy-crazy as me. But if she wasn’t and started dating Karen—I have to admit that it would be weird.

“See?” he says while studying me. “And just think what a mess it would make if we had a bad breakup. My parents live right next door to his and are friends with them. They get together on holidays sometimes. It would be so awkward. But uh… Isyoursister hot?”

I laugh humorlessly. “She’d eat you alive.”

We continue talking as I finish eating. Greg is a good guy. I really like him. That he cares so deeply about Jace is endearing. But no amount of playful banter will make me forget what he accidentally let slip. There’s more to Victor’s story than I’ve been told.

Chapter Seven

The moment I leave class, I pull the phone from my pocket. I promised myself not to check until then, since I’ve been doing so obsessively. Ever since this morning, when I got a text from Jace and sent an exceedingly sappy message in response. But hey, it’s Valentine’s Day!

Still no reply. That’s okay. I practically float across campus to my car, because he’s coming to stay with me. In fact, Jace might be in town already. The only thing that worries me is his silence. Yes, I’m aware that he’s busy keeping hundreds of passengers safe while flying around the country, but surely he could get the pilot to radio air traffic control so they can relay a message to me. That’s not asking too much!

I make it home, park, and check my phone again. Nada. Just when I tuck it back into my pocket, I feel it begin to vibrate. It’s him! I bet Allison let Jace in already. He’s probably watching me from the apartment window or something romantic like that. I’m grinning from ear to ear when I answer.

“Hey, boyfriend!”

“Hey,” he says, not sounding near as jubilant.

In the background, I hear an announcement about unattended luggage.

The smile slides off my face. “Where are you?”

“Not where I want to be. I’m really sorry. I don’t think I can make it tonight.”

“But you promised!” If I sound like a petulant child, it’s because… “We’ve had this planned for weeks!”

“I know. The flight I was supposed to be on was delayed. I switched with a coworker to a different route that would have gotten me home again, albeit late, but that got canceled. I’m stuck here for now.”

I try to set aside my disappointment. “That’s fine. We’ll still have the weekend.”

Silence follows this statement.