When Stars Collide (Light in the Dark #2) (18 page)

“Yeah.” She shrugs. “She said she wouldn’t tell Cade.” I nod, waiting for her to say more. “We need to tell him. Soon.”

I wet my lips, shocked that she’s said this. I expected the whole summer to pass with her still not wanting to tell him. This change is shocking, but I’m okay with it. 

“Okay, we’ll tell him.”

“Maybe we should take him out to dinner. You know, butter him up with a steak and dessert. If we get him full enough he might not chase us if we have to run away.”

I snort. “Your brother’s in great shape. He could chase us with a gorilla on his back.”

She sighs. “True. As much as I don’t want him to know, we have to tell him. I can’t keep doing this to us. It’s not right for us to be a secret.” She smiles sadly and closes the distance between us, wrapping her arms around my torso. I hug her back, laying my head on top of hers. “Oh—” She pulls away suddenly. “Rae insists on us having a girls’ day and you guys getting together for the day.”

I raise a brow. “Sounds delightful.”

She laughs and steps out of my arms, heading for the bathroom. “I’m used to being the one that has to drag Rae out. I think this is the first time she’s insisted on us hanging out. I think hell might have frozen over.” She pauses in the bathroom doorway and I take a moment to look at her. To look at her hair tumbled over her shoulders, and the loose gray t-shirt that falls off her shoulders, to the black shorts that hug the curve of her ass. She’s beautiful, inside and out, and she’s
mine
. I never thought I’d be able to say that. She smiles at me, knowing I’m looking at her, and braces her hand on the doorway. “Shower?”

I don’t hesitate.

“Fuck yes.”

The shower was fucking pointless, but I guess it wasn’t really about the shower, so
win
for me. 

Cade wants to go to the gym, so Jace is meeting us there. Jace has been our friend since high school, and I’ve been so busy with work, football, and Thea, that I haven’t seen him in a month. 

Jace is waiting outside the building when we get there. “Fucking slowpokes,” he says as we approach, and tosses his cigarette on the ground.

Cade shakes his head. “What an oxymoron. Smoking in front of the gym.”

Jace’s lips tip up in what someone might call a smile. “I dare to be different, unlike you fuckers.”

We head into the building and straight to the free weights. 

I don’t say much, but none of us really do so no one can comment on my silence.

We stay at the gym for a few hours before showering and heading to a burger joint for lunch. Jace tells us about his music, and some gig he has coming up, so we make a plan to go and support our friend, and, of course, drag the girls along. My chest swells with happiness, because by then Thea and I should be out in the open, and I’ll be able to touch and kiss her without worrying about Cade or anyone else. 

I take a swig of my beer while Jace and Cade talk. Eventually, their conversation fades and Cade turns to me. 

“What’s up with you? You’re too quiet.”

I shrug. “Tired.” It’s not really a lie. Practice is kicking my ass. 

He narrows his eyes. “You’ve been acting so fucking weird lately—leaving the house way early …” He pauses. “Are you dating someone?”

I choke on my beer and Jace laughs. “No,” I say vehemently. “Not dating anyone.” 

You know, since technically being married to your sister doesn’t count as dating.

“Then what are you doing?”

“Just going to the gym.” I shrug, picking at the label on my beer bottle. “If you get there early enough there’s no one around. It’s nice.”

He grunts. “You need to wake my lazy ass up to go with you then. This morning was the first time I’ve been all week.”

“Mhm,” I hum. “Sure.”
Not happening
. 

“What’s up with you?” I ask Jace—hoping to turn the conversation away from myself.

He leans back in his chair and crosses his hands behind his head. “Just working at the bar, same old-same old. Glad to be done with school, though. What a waste of fucking time.” He takes a swig of his beer and slams the bottle down on the table. The waitress quickly brings another one over and Jace gives her an appreciative once over. “Hey,” he says, giving her a brooding look that I’m sure is meant to be sexy but it looks like he’s constipated to me. It must work, though, because she smiles shyly back at him and says hey too. Going places with Jace usually results in him going home with at least three new phone numbers. 

The waitress gets called over to another table and the eye-fucking stops. “Have you and Nova been hanging out?” I ask him—referring to Rae and Thea’s friend. She and Jace hang out a lot, or at least they did before graduation, but who knows now.

Jace nods and reaches into his pocket for his pack of cigarettes, tapping one out. “Yeah, she’s a cool chick.”

“Have you ever hooked up?” Cade asks.

Jace shakes his head. “Fuck, no. She’s my friend.”

Cade snorts. “I didn’t know you were capable having a friend that’s a girl.”

Jace shrugs. “Nova’s different. Drop it.”

Cade and I exchange surprised glances. Jace isn’t normally so testy.

Our food is brought out and I dig into my cheeseburger. 

“I wonder what the girls are up to?” Cade muses.

“I don’t know,” I respond.

But I really fucking hope everything’s okay.

I pick out a shimmery orange color for my toes and hand it to the nail technician.

Morticia One and Two—aka Rae and Nova—each pick out dark colors. Rae opts for a maroon red color and Nova chooses a purple so dark it’s nearly black. She must really love purple because for the longest time her hair was a violet color. Now it’s more of a magenta. It looks cool on her and I give her props for being brave enough to do something different. I’d be too scared to dye my hair a crazy color. 

We take our seats side by side and I end up in the middle. This already feels more like an interrogation than a nice day with my friends. Lovely.

“You know,” I say, dipping my toes in the hot water, “those aren’t very summery colors.”

Nova snorts. “Well, I’m not a very summery person,” she counters. “I have to choose a polish that’s as dark as my soul to please the beast.”

I laugh. “Should’ve gone with black then.” She sticks her tongue out at me. “And what about
you
?” I swing my gaze to Rae. 

She shrugs. “I don’t really like light colors.”

I sigh. “You both suck. I am a unicorn amidst trolls.”

I turn on the massage button of the chair and close my eyes. Maybe if I act like I’m asleep they’ll leave me alone.

“So, Thea married Xander.”

My eyes shoot open and I glare at Rae.

Nova gasps and leans forward in her chair so she can see Rae around me. “Wait, what did you say?”

“Exactly what you think I said.” Rae nods and presses her lips together. 

“When?” Nova looks at me and even though she’s glaring at me I can still see the hurt in her eyes. 

“Vegas,” I reply. “And
this one
—” I nod at Rae “—only found out this morning by accident, so don’t be butt hurt that I didn’t tell you.”

Nova whistles. “Whoa, this is … This is crazy.”

“I know,” I agree. “How do you think I feel? I’m living it.”

“I just … Whoa.” She shakes her head back and forth, like she can’t seem to wrap her mind around it. It is pretty insane, though. I’d be acting the same way if this situation was reversed. 

“Cade doesn’t know,” I tell her. “So you can’t tell Jace.”

“I won’t,” she promises. “The last thing I want to do is get in the middle of
that
.” She raises her hands innocently. 

I sigh. “He’s going to be so pissed.”

“It’ll be fine,” Rae assures me. “Don’t worry too much or you’ll chicken out.”

“So now I understand the need for this emergency girls’ day.” Nova laughs, wiggling her toes above the bubbles in the water. 

Rae nods. “It was of the utmost importance.”

“Xander and you are together now, then?” Nova asks. 

I fill her in on the details that Rae already knows from when she dragged me into the laundry room. “I really like him, guys,” I tell them, biting my lip nervously. “I’ve loved him forever, and being with him like this … It’s everything I always thought it would be, but I’m scared. We’re so young and there are a million obstacles in our way.”

Rae shakes her head roughly. “No, don’t think like that or you’ll psyche yourself out. I know being married right now isn’t ideal, but maybe that’s just the path you guys are meant to take. Let things play out the way they need to and don’t overthink it or push it one way or another.”

I inhale a lungful of air. I know she’s right, but it’s scary.

But I guess life would be awfully dull if we weren’t afraid. 

I don’t get the chance to speak to Thea when she gets home, and it’s nearing one in the morning now. I slip into her bedroom through the connecting bathroom, careful that the doors don’t make noise. 

She lies in bed and Prue pads in behind me, going to the corner where there’s a bed for her. Thea smiles when she sees me and pats the space beside her. It’s become our routine—me showing up, and her welcoming me. 

I slip into bed beside her and an infomercial plays on the TV across from her bed. Without me saying anything, she switches it to Netflix and puts
Charmed
on; we’re up to season three now.