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I stare daggers at her. It's a stupid question, and it doesn't merit an answer
"Please don't make me choose between you," I say. "I'm not going to choose you."
"Choose what? Luke, you're my best friend and I'm happy you're happy."
"Then why all the trips down memory lane? Were you trying to make her jealous?"
"No!" she pushes back. "I only wanted to revisit a few nice memories. I want to be friends with her. I want you to be with her. I want you to be happy."
She swallows hard. She's not selling it well.
"Alyssa asked for space," I say.
My eyes are glued to Samantha. If she has any feelings about this, I'm going to catch them. She's not going to bullshit me again.
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." She takes a careful sip from her glass, her eyes on the floor. "What happened?"
"It's kind of complicated," I say. "But mostly, I think... she's not really comfortable with our friendship."
"What's there to be
uncomfortable about?"
I take a deep breath. I don't want to push Samantha this hard, but I have to know where things stand. "She thinks you have feelings for me."
"I, uh, I..." She presses her fingers into the glass. "I told you to go back to Los Angeles to be with her."
We make eye contact for a moment. There's something she wants to say, but she's keeping it locked inside.
"You needed help," I say. "I couldn't have left you in that hospital alone."
She turns her attention to her wine glass. "Well, I'm sure it hurts. But maybe it's for the best."
I grit my teeth. I'm tempted to pour my wine on Samantha's head and kick her out of the house. This could be the last time Samantha comes between me and Alyssa.
"For the best how?" I ask.
"Well, she was with Ryan. Aren't you the rebound guy?" She looks away. "I mean, she seems nice and smart and she's very pretty. But maybe you two aren't meant for forever. Maybe you're meant as a fling."
I swallow all the anger that bubbles up from my gut.
Samantha looks away. "Forget I said anything. It doesn't matter what I think. It only matters how you feel." She brings her gaze to mine. I search for intention in her eyes, but I still come up empty. "Do you really see a future with her? It's not like you can't find another pretty girl."
"Fuck you," I say.
"Sorry." She clears her throat. "I didn't mean it like that. But you have to admit how it looks."
It's always about how it looks with her, isn't it? It must be why she can't bring herself to hate Edward the way I do. Because even though she loved him, she understood that he couldn't be with her. Because it just wouldn't look right.
"I love her," I say. "And I want to be with her forever if she'll allow it."
"That's great," she says. She tries to maintain her poker face, but it's fading fast. She looks at her cell phone.
"Does that bother you?"
"Of course not. I've told you a million times. I want you to be happy. I want you to move on." She shakes her head, pushes her lips together. "Excuse me for a minute."
She moves into the bathroom. Her gait is calm. It's almost like she's normal. Like she only needs to fetch something in the other room.
