HARPER: Oh, shit. I’m sorry. I should have sent Cain.
SUNNY: That man would never leave your side.
SUNNY: Did he jump on you like a live grenade once he learned about the lockdown?
HARPER: HAHA. You laugh, but he overreacted so badly, nearly carrying me out of the club to get me home like he thought SWAT was going to burst through the windows.
SUNNY: He’s a sweet boy.
HARPER: He’s insane.
HARPER: Is it okay with Seb? Have you guys talked?
SUNNY: As little as possible. It’s just awkward. I hate it.
HARPER: I can stay on the phone until you get home. I’ll be your buffer.
SUNNY: What about all your lockdown sex?
HARPER: I’ll tie Cain to the bed. He can wait.
HARPER: Shit. The monster looked over my shoulder and saw what I wrote. GTG. Keep your chin up, Sunny! Seb is only one man. You deserve the world. Love you!
Sunny didn’t bother with a reply. Her friend was likely already naked.
She felt a pinch of envy. To be loved the way Cain loved Harper must be the best feeling in the world.
Hardly anyone her age has settled down yet. And not in the co-dependent, intense relationship she yearned to have.
But when she fell in love at a young age, twenty-one felt ancient when she was still without her person.
As usual, when he was near, her eyes found Sebastian, watching as he slept silently on the other bed, his chest moving soundlessly with every breath.
Harper’s words went around her mind.
She deserved to be loved in the way she needed; she wasn’t a bad person. And there were some good men in the world.
Her focus was solely on him, making her oblivious to others. It was impossible because her heart was made solely for one pair of hands to hold.
But those hands rejected her heart, and now it gaped open and raw.
With a shuddering breath, she dragged her eyes away from Seb’s sleeping form. Maybe it was time to look elsewhere.
FOUR
Sunshine
After the carbs crash, Sunny was tempted to take a power nap, but having the twin beds only inches apart felt too intimate.
So, like a woman who should know better but couldn’t help herself, she watched Seb sleeping. The sweep of his dark hair over his forehead called to her fingertips to brush it back.
So many things were off-limits now with her best friend. She’d dreamed of a forever love with him, but had been shoved into the forever friend zone instead.
She certainly couldn’t rush him for a body hug like she’d done millions of times before. Sebastian was present for every significant event in her life, yet Sunny struggled to accept that their relationship needed altering to maintain any connection with him.
It was the most challenging thing she had ever faced.
In her younger, naïve mind, she’d been waiting for the day to be age appropriate, and so sure Sebastian would claim her as his old lady.
