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They raise their hands in shock and disappointment but I take the best chance I’ve gotten all night, and blow the joint. I’ll be better equipped to field their interest once I get to grips with my growing feelings for Cara. Right now, I need to make sense of that first before I offer our relationship up to them.
21
Cara
“Edward again, huh?” Zoey flops down on my bed while I’m getting ready. “That’s the second time this week.”
I don’t turn from my closet as I reply with, “Zo, I don’t want to get into it now, please.”
“Then when, Cara?” The irritation is clear in her voice. “You can’t avoid me forever. Are we friends or not?”
One of my pillows smacks me in the back of my head and I whirl around. “What was that for?”
“Answer me.” Zoey purses her lips, arms folded tightly across her chest.
I sigh heavily and go to sit beside her. “What do you want me to say?”
“Whatever’s the truth,” she responds in earnest. “That’s all I ever want you to say. I just feel like you’ve been shutting me out lately, and it sucks.”
I nod my understanding. I know I’ve been freezing her and Alex out of my life the closer I’ve been getting to Edward. But it’s only so I could protect us and our little bubble for longer. The thrill of having him all to myself under everyone’s noses has been so exhilarating, I’ve been trying to make it last.
“You’re right,” I finally say. “I’m sorry, Zoey. I should’ve been honest with you from the start.”
She sighs and reaches out to take my hand. “I don’t care, as long as we can get back to normal now?”
“I don’t even know what the truth really is, to be honest. Edward and I are kind of seeing each other? We’re not dating, because there haven’t exactly been any dates…” My words tumble out of me as I try to make sense of the life I’ve been living the past few months.
“So it’s just sex?” Zoey doesn’t fuck around and gets right to the point.
“Uh… it definitely started out that way, yeah,” I reply. “But I don’t know if it’s still just sex anymore.”
“Oh, no,” she groans, her shoulders slumping. “Cara, men like Edward Spencer are bad news.”
“I know they are. But-”
“They don’t care about anything other than using women,” she interjects. “Do you think he’s sitting in his bedroom right now all twisted up about feelings?”
I shake my head slowly. I can’t imagine Edward going through this kind of emotional turmoil, but at the same time, I know that he feels something for me. It becomes clearer the more time we spend together. The way he looks at me, the way he breathes my name when he’s inside me…
“I know you’re worried about me, Zo, but I can take care of myself,” I make sure she’s looking at me when I say it. It would be amazing if I could have my best friend with me in this. “Edward Spencer isn’t what you think. Trust me.”
“And what if it’s you?” she asks. “What if you’re just caught up in the fairytale aspect of it all and can’t see what’s really going on? I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“People get hurt,” I shrug. “And they also get put back together again. I’m willing to trust my instincts on this one, and I’ll really love it if you could trust me too.”
Zoey gets quiet, dropping her gaze to the swirling paisley pattern on my bed sheet. I so badly want to push her for some kind of response but I know better, so I don’t. She fidgets with my fingers and I wait for her to make up her mind.
Just then, Alex comes into my room, pausing at the strange scene I’m sure Zoey and I are making on my bed.
“Oh, no, what did I miss?” She scrambles onto my bed and grasps both our hands with her own, looking from me to Zoey and back again. “What happened to which one of you? I’m sorry I wasn’t here, I just popped out for some nectarines because I got a real bad craving. But I’m here now and I swear I won’t-”
“Alex… take a breath, for the love of God.” Zoey wriggles out of her grip and chuckles lightly. It’s a tired kind of laugh but it’s enough to cut through some of the tension.
It helps me to draw a breath and relax too. “It’s me,” I reply to Alex. “And nothing’s happened. I was just telling Zoey about Edward and me.”
Alex gasps loudly, smacking her palms to my cheeks and smushes my face. “He’s proposed? Oh my God, Cara, are you engaged to a gazillionaire?”
It takes some effort, but I manage to pry myself free from her grip, replacing her hands neatly in her own lap.
