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“Iknow,”Iinterrupt, hoping he’ll drop it. “Don’tmention it.”
“Ifeel likeIoughta after saying shit in front of everyoneFridaynight.”
Iwipe a dampening palm over my bedspread. “Okay.”
“Being‘just friends’ isn’t workin’ out so well.”
Snorting,Ismart, “Youdon’t say.”
Hehuffs. “Ijust wanted to get that out there before,Idunno, shit stirs up between you andZakorAdrian.”
Thatstatement hangs out in the open, searing the air like a white-hot razor.
“Idon’t wanna push you into somethin’ you’re not ready for,” he goes on, “butIfeel like we should give things a shot.Wecan figure somethin’ out.”
Ifrown. “Ty, that’s really sweet—”
“Don’tyou dare hit me with a ‘but’ and corner me in the friend zone.”
“Ha, wasn’t gonna.”
“Thenwhat?”
Ichew on my lip. “You’rea good guy,Ty.Don’tsettle for someone who’s just gonna break your heart in the end.”
“Don’ttell meZakalready took you back.”
Iswallow hard, trying to push away thoughts of him latched onto my neck. “Notexactly.”
“Adrian?”
Iscoff softly.MaybeIshouldn’t have toldTythe real story.
WhenIdon’t respond immediately,Tyexclaims, “Areyou kidding me?”
“Ididn’t say anything!”
“Youdidn’t have to.”
“Shit’scomplicated, okay?”
“Don’tyou pull that bullshit on me.”
“I…”
Thepast few days flashes before my eyes: the showFridaynight; the oneSaturdaynight;Krisattacking me; getting caught up in the whirlwind of theRamostwins once again;dying…
Myhead shakes violently to get myself out of that dark night.
“You’remakin’ a huge fuckin’ mistake,Steph,”Tywarns.
Iscoff. “Youdon’t know anything.I’lltalk to you later.”
Hesays somethingIdon’t catch asIpull the phone away and end the call.
Theregrets keep piling up.
Growingup, both sets of parents joked about us being boyfriend and girlfriend; the reality was that we practically grew up together during our trips toAtlantaso we could visitDad’sside of the family and hisBFFfromCatholicschool, and, especially since we’re the same age,Tywas a built-in friend.ButthenImoved toAtlanta, and he started getting flirty, andIflirted back, and, beforeIknew it, we had a friends-with-benefits arrangement that sated both our needs for a friend and a fuck.
