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“I told you I did,” I mutter. “Way to keep up.”
“No, I mean, you really care for her,” he opines. “Like on a deep level.”
“Yeah, I wouldn't go that far.”
“I would.”
“Yeah? And what gives you this amazing insight?” I press.
“I can see it in your face whenever you talk about her,” he counters. “Especially around the eyes. In fact, you don't even have to be speaking about her in that moment for me to know you're thinking about her.”
“That's bullshit.”
He shakes his head and chuckles. “You'd be shit at cards. Maybe you can hide it from other people, but I'm not like other people, Aaron,” he observes. “I read people for a living, and you know that. Which means, you know everything I'm saying is the truth.”
“No, that's called an opinion.”
His chuckle turns into a laugh. “This is me you're talking to, Aaron,” he informs me. “You don't have to hide your feelings.”
That gets a laugh out of me. Pete is pretty much as close to me as any of the other Amigos. Given the lack of contact between me and the other guys, Pete has stepped into that void. He’s been a great friend for years now. I trust him with my life and secrets every bit as much as I would with say, Nick. And I usually don't hold anything back from him.
I sigh and run my hand through my hair. “Fine. I don't actually know what I feel for her. There's something there,” I tell him. “But I don't know if it's just residual from what I felt for her back in school or if it's real.”
“It was real enough back then,” he comments. “And I hope it’s real now, if you’re going to keep pursuing this.”
“Yeah, but a lot of time has passed.”
“Some things don't change.”
“And some things do,” I note.
“Judging by that look in your eye, I can tell you that your feelings for that woman haven't. Know what I think the biggest thing holding you back is?”
I roll my eyes. “This should be outstanding.”
“It's you.”
“Think so?”
“I know so,” Pete chuckles. “You always have that big brain of yours working. It never stops. You can overthink yourself out of anything.”
“Clearly not.”
He tugs the cuffs of his shirt down. “It's not necessarily a bad thing, Aaron. You keep yourself under such tight control all the time, that you miss a lot of good things in life.
“And you think this – sleeping with Emily – is a good thing?”
He shrugs. “It could be. I mean obviously, my worries about her using it as the basis to file a very pricey lawsuit aside,” he says as a rueful smile touches his lips. “But if this thing between the two of you is real, it could be a very good thing. Honestly, it’s basically the only hope you have at this point to prevent this from blowing up in your face.”
“How do you figure?” I ask, wondering if I should pour myself another drink.
“You need somebody in your life, Aaron. You're a good man with a lot to give,” he explains. “All you do is work – and think. You sit inside that head of yours all day, every day. You need somebody to balance that out. I think if this thing is real, Emily could be that. And if it’s real, and really as reciprocal as you keep saying, the chance of that lawsuit is negligible. If I'm being honest, and not just the paranoid lawyer type, I've seen a difference in you since she started here.”
“A difference?”
He nods. “You've been a little more relaxed. You've been a little bit less – in your head,” he says. “I honestly don't think I've seen you smile and heard you laugh as often as you have since she started – not in all the years I've known you.”
“That's bullshit.”
