“Of course,” she says, but there's something in her smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes.
“I can’t get the cake tomorrow because I have to prepare for my football game.” Tiff and Ella are also arriving, but the less Jenni knows about me, the better.
She shakes her head, laughing nervously. “Of course. Can’t believe I even suggested it. I’ll get Chris to help. His game isn’t until Monday.”
My jaw clenches and unfortunately, Jenni is watching me so closely, she catches it. “Something wrong with Chris?”
“Nothing,” I answer, still reeling over the fact he told my girlfriend he was in fucking love with her.
“Oh…” She trails off, biting her lip as if she’s debating whether to say whatever’s on her mind. “Have you noticed too?”
“Noticed what?”
“It's probably nothing, but… have you noticed Honey's been different lately? A little more distant?”
Every muscle in my body tenses, wondering if Honey told her about the last couple of nights. After all, she was the first person Honey told about her dad.
“I haven’t noticed.” I call her bluff, knowing the things she said to me last night were too vulnerable for her to admit.
“So, she’s not acting distracted with you? I don’t know, it’s just sometimes when she talks, it feels like her mind is somewhere else.” Jenni’s voice drops. “She talks about Chris a lot. Like, a lot. Actually, she’s over there tonight.”
My stomach drops because Jenni clearly expected this to be news to me. She wanted me to react, to get angry or jealous or both.
“I know,” I say flatly. “She told me.”
Jenni's eyebrows shoot up, genuine surprise crossing her face. “She told you? And you're… okay with that?”
“Why wouldn't I be? Honey and I don't keep secrets from each other.” I lean forward, my voice low and steady. “What I don't understand is why you're trying to make it seem like something it's not.”
A flash of something—frustration? anger?—crosses Jenni's face before she composes herself. “I'm not trying to do anything. I just thought you should know.”
“No,” I say, shaking my head. “You wanted me to find out from you, not from Honey. You wanted me to think she was hiding something.”
Jenni's expression shifts, softening unexpectedly. She leans forward, her hand sliding across the table to rest on mine.
“Maybe I just wanted to spend some time with you,” she says, her voice dropping to a near whisper. “Is that so wrong?”
I pull my hand away, uncomfortable with the sudden change in her demeanor. “Jenni—”
“Look,” she interrupts, standing up and moving around the table to the seat beside me. “We both know there's something here. I've felt it since we first met.”
“There's nothing here,” I say firmly, shifting away from her. “I'm with Honey. I love Honey.”
She sighs, her eyes searching mine. “You don't have to pretend with me, Zach. I see the way you look at me sometimes.”
“I think you're confusing suspicion with interest.”
“Am I?” she asks, then stands, rounding the table, stumbling slightly before she catches herself with a hand on my shoulder, her face suddenly inches from mine.
Her lips brush against my cheek, dangerously close to the corner of my mouth—not quite a kiss, but not quite an accident either.
“Oops,” she says, not sounding sorry at all as she pulls back slightly. “Clumsy me.”
I stand abruptly, putting distance between us. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Come on, Zach,” she says, looking up at me through her lashes. “Honey's busy with Chris. She doesn't have to know.”
“This is exactly what I'm talking about,” I say, anger rising in my chest. “You've been trying to sabotage us from the beginning.”