Page 70 of Wild Card

“Yeah. I know Coach Westfield’s reputation, but not much about him and Tobias. He’s mentioned they don’t get along but not much beyond that.”

“I don’t know a ton. He and Xander keep each other’s confidence pretty tight. They’re like brothers that way.”

“Except when it comes to whether we had sex.” I raise an eyebrow.

“Minus when I badger him into telling me, yes.” Harper has the decency to look guilty. “Don’t fault Tobias for telling him. It was when Xander was trying to get him to have you come on. He was resisting it. Saying it wasn’t a good idea to have you in the house. And when Xander wanted to know why…”

“Ah. Yeah. He was probably afraid I’d be more trouble than I was worth.”

“I didn’t get that impression. I think it was more… he knew he was being a giant asshole and didn’t want to subject you to it. Xander said you’d be perfect for the job and not to make your decisions for you.”

“Ha. Well… I guess it’s worked out pretty well.”

“I like the idea of you two together. For the record, I mean.” She smiles.

“You would say that.”

“I mean that. Even if it didn’t mean we could double date all the time and take trips together and all the other amazing things. Oh my god. You could be up in the box with me and Joss and Violet. How amazing would that be?”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. It’s not that serious.”

“No?”

“No. He was even fine with me still dating other people. Said he doesn’t mind competition. He told me flat out he couldn’t be the kind of guy I want… but he still wants what he can havefor now. Wants to see what will happen if we try.”

“Oh. But that’s kind of romantic honestly. It’s more than what Xander was willing to do the first round and look how that turned out.”

“I don’t want to marry someone else for years though.”

“But you want to marry Tobias?” A devious grin spreads across her face.

“Again. Way, and I do mean way, ahead of ourselves. I just mean… if things are going to happen. I don’t want to have to wait for some distant moment in the future after we’ve gone our separate ways. I want a chance for things to work now.”

“So you like-like him?” she teases.

“Yes, I like-like him.” I roll my eyes and shake my head at her before I smile. “A lot. I had no idea how much. But the last few weeks being with him… I have all the butterflies and heart twists. All the stuff you could possibly want, you know?”

“Uh huh. Tell me more.”

“I just… He does seem like he’s grown a lot, and I believe him when he says he wants to know where things will go. I just also keep trying to remind myself it’s Tobias.”

“Well. I don’t want you to get hurt, and the guy has been through it lately. So much to take on and I know he’s struggled hard with all of it. Things seem to be on the upswing for him though. I think you should listen to him. Be cautiously optimistic if he tells you to be.”

“I’m not crazy for doing that?”

“No. I mean keep your options open. Joss and I have put hard work into it, and if he says he’s okay with you dating other people—do it. Don’t preemptively commit to something he hasn’t committed to. I didn’t commit to Xander the first time and as much as I wish it would have turned out differently, if we had tried then I don’t think we’d ever have had what we have now. You know? Let Tobias continue to work through his shit while he figures out what he wants to do.”

“Right… Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For not judging me. Or being mad I didn’t tell you right away.”

“That’s what best friends are for, silly.”

“Well, I’m glad I have you.”

“I’m glad I have you. And I can’t wait until we can go on double dates together.” She grins.