Page 54 of The Catch

She's still on the phone. She rubs her eyebrows, and the gesture broadcasts her anger.

"You had a great game." Logan stands next to Evie, holding her hand. "But your face looks more like mine at the moment."

I stare at him. It takes me a second to first notice I frown, and to belatedly smooth my brow.

"I'm fine," I say.

Bear and Pen join us. I check on Ames. Yep, still angry.

"Clearly," Pen smirks. "You're okay."

"How are you enjoying your living situation?" Evie studies me closely. "It's a big change, getting a roommate so suddenly."

"It's great."

"Are you ready to go back to the club?" Bear asks.

I know what he's implying. Dating has been my way of life for a long time, and I stopped all at once. It's got to be confusing for them.

To me it hasn't been a problem in the least. Any sexual frustration I feel has to do with having Ames on the other side of a wall every night, and not being able to do anything about it. I haven't spared a thought for other women.

Maybe there's a world where I can please every one of my friends, and get to enjoy myself, too.

"I'll see if Ames wants to go to the club," I say. "We'll join you tomorrow."

"She might," Pen says. "We were talking about the club earlier. When it was clear you guys would win the game, we told her we should go celebrate."

"Let's do it, then."

"So back to normal… but not really." Bear grins. The scar on his top lip goes white and stark against his dark beard.

"Things are normal," I argue.

Ames finishes her call. I perk up and watch her come to us.

"Absolutely the same," Evie teases.

I pretend like I didn't hear it.

"Everything okay?" Pen asks.

"I'm getting Aidan off my list before I forget again." She taps on her phone several times. "So annoying. Someone from the late night show recognized me on TV during the game and told him I was here. I didn't even know we'd end up on the screen!"

"Sorry," Evie says. "They started doing that last year when they realized we're fun to watch. Our reactions, the gossip, et cetera."

"It's all the show around the game," Logan explains.

"Well, it pissed Aidan off." Ames puts her phone in her pocket and crosses her arms. "Good. All I wanted to know was why he cheated, which he never explained last time, remember?"

Bear, Logan, and I nod.

She continues with her justified rant. "He couldn't answer a single question this time either. I still didn't get an explanation why he did it. All he did was tell me I should forgive him. As if."

"Do you want to go to the club with us?" I ask. "It would piss him off more."

"We have to go." She smirks. "I told him I was going with you guys. Pen mentioned you all like going, often on a Monday since Tuesdays are your day off. Please don't let me look bad. I made a hundred assumptions."

"Of course we'll go tomorrow," Bear says. "It'll be fun. Like old times."