Page 133 of Rise Above

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“TJ and I kissed,” I said, keeping the other

extracurriculars out of it. “Not sure what we are labeling it, but now it’s out in the open.”

Nat licked her lips. “Davis and I have been having

sex.”

None of us were surprised by that. Those two were

clearly in a will they/won’t they relationship.

“Zeke and I are mutually crushing but just chilling

about it.” Dre drug a piece of pancake through syrup. “So, are you and Talon dating now?”

“Dre, must you always push.” Nat sighed as she

took a sip of her water. “Let them figure it out.”

“I’m just curious.” Dre put some pancake in her

mouth. “You guys all want to know too.”

Talon shook his head. A small smile played on his

face as he took in our friends. Yes, our friends could be a lot, but they clearly loved each other and us. Dre should have been a journalist instead of a nurse. She was far too nosy for her own good. It was an infuriating yet endearing quality. We all had those; Dre’s just came out more often in group situations.

“I’d like to be exclusive with Aife. I was planning

on taking her on a date and asking her. Someone had other ideas though,” Talon said, jokingly glaring at Dre.

My brain took a minute to process his words. Talon

wanted to date me? Like he wanted to be my boyfriend? Was I ready for a relationship? I felt ready if it was with him.

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“Um… honey, you alright?” Dre asked, breaking

into my thoughts.

“Yeah.” My answer came out high and squeaky. Clearly, I was nervous. This felt like an extremely

private conversation, and yet, we were having it in front of our friends. I loved them, but this felt like a moment just meant for the two of us.

“Knock it off everyone. Let TJ and Aife figure it

out on their own.” Davis finally spoke up. “Just don’t fuck it up, either of you.”

Only Talon remained after breakfast. We were

relatively silent as we put my living room back together. It wasn’t completely awkward, but it felt like we had a cloud hanging over our heads. Was he going to speak up? Did I need to? Obviously, we needed to talk this out. It really just seemed to be a matter of starting this conversation.