"No, you love yourself. That's why you said that's not the only thing I'm thinking of." He practically sang the last part, grinning. I glared. "You're the worst person I could've told."

"Disagree," he smirked. "I'm the best person because I know you. And I know you don't just text like that for fun. You like her."

I rolled my eyes. "It's not that deep."

Caleb scoffed. "Bullshit. Y/n, you don't let anyone in. And now you're telling me you just had a filthy late-night convo with Madelyn and it's not that deep? "

I exhaled. "Look, it was—it was fun, okay? But she's in LA right now, and I'm here, and—"

Caleb held up a finger. "And you're using that as an excuse to avoid how you actually feel."

I stayed silent. Caleb smirked. "Yeah. That's what I thought." I leaned back, rubbing my face. "It's not that simple." Caleb watched me for a second before leaning forward, arms on the table. "Y/n. Just answer this one thing. When you saw her texts, when you saw her flirting back... what did it feel like?"

I opened my mouth. Closed it. My chest tightened. Because I knew the answer. I just didn't want to say it. Caleb nodded slowly, like he already knew. "You liked it." I exhaled, shaking my head. "It's not—"

"You liked it," Caleb repeated. "And you want her." I clenched my jaw. "Doesn't matter."

Caleb blinked. "Doesn't matter? " I ran a hand through my hair. "Even if I did—which I'm not saying I do—what am I supposed to do about it? She's—she's Madelyn. She's got this whole life that's totally different from mine."

Caleb scoffed. "And? She clearly likes you, dumbass. She literally let you talk her into a full-on thirst trap text session." I sighed, drumming my fingers on the table. Caleb smirked. "Let me guess. You're thinking about her right now, aren't you?"

I hesitated. He grinned wider. "Damn. You are."

"Caleb—"

"Oh my God, you're down bad."

I groaned. "I hate you." Caleb cackled, grabbing his fork and digging into his pasta. "No, you don't. You just hate that I'm right." I sighed, running a hand down my face.

Caleb smirked at me between bites. "So... you gonna text her back?" I looked at my phone, debating. Because truthfully? I really wanted to. I glanced back at Caleb. "Go to hell."

He grinned. "Love you too, buddy."