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The night air is warm, the heat of the day lingering even after dark.
I close my eyes and tip my head up to the sky, taking three huge breaths in and slowly blowing them back out. A rogue tear escapes, and I scramble to wipe the evidence away.
“It’s Vinny, isn’t it?”
I whip around and see Shane.
He leans against the door, hands in his pockets.
“What?” I muster a ridiculous smile to conceal my pain.
“It’s Vinny.” He pushes off the door and slowly walks toward me. “That’s who you were watching the YouTube video for.” I glance around, making sure no one else is here. “The first day we met in Starbucks.”
My head shakes. “No—”
“I’ve wondered about who you were madly in love with that you were desperately trying to get over, but I always figured you’d tell me when you were ready.” A sad smile crosses his lips. “Now I can see why you didn’t say anything. It’s because you’re in love with your best friend's fiancé.”
“Shane,” I try again, but nothing comes out.
“Does he know?”
My shoulders sink in defeat.
“No.” I think about it more and change my answer. “Maybe.” There’s a shrug. “I don’t know.”
He nods a few times, eyes searching mine. “I really like you.”
I step forward and grab his hand. “I really like you too.”
“But I don’t want to be the consolation prize next to the man you really want.”
It’s odd how quickly my eyes fill up with tears, as if they were just waiting in the wings for any tragedy that might happen tonight.
“I’m so sorry.” It’s all I can offer him.
“It is what it is.” Shane’s kind smile makes this a thousand times worse. He points behind him. “I think I’m going to go, though. Staying feels…wrong.”
I don’t blame him.
“Will you be okay getting home?” he asks.
“Yeah. Carly can drop me off.”
He gives me a quick hug then turns to leave but only makes it a few feet before stopping to say, “For what it’s worth, I think you should tell Vinny you love him.”
“That won’t change anything.”
“It might change how you feel inside. I’ve only known you a few weeks, but even I can see how much it’s killing you carrying this secret around.” He shrugs. “Just my unsolicited advice.”
I watch Shane disappear around the corner toward the parking lot, and it hurts. Not in the way Vinny hurts. But enough.
I don’t go back inside immediately, thinking instead about what Shane said.
Tell Vinny you love him.
I sniff out a laugh because telling him sounds so simple yet destroys so much.
So I stare blankly into the night sky until I feel ready to go back inside and play
