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“Ugh, I need another beer,” Bryce says. “This takes me back to childhood when Mommy and Daddy would fight.”
“Grow up, Bryce,” I say. “I had no choice.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. You always have a choice. And I don’t blame you. If I were you and Miles were Coop, I would’ve pulled this shit a long time ago. At some point in the very near future, one of you is going to have to admit your feelings to the other before you keep bringing innocent people who will only get hurt into the mix.”
“I’m not pulling any shit.” I stand. “I have to go to the bathroom.”
“Want me to come?” Adeline asks.
“No,” I say sharply, then feeling bad, I turn around. “Thank you though.”
I hear Adeline talking to Bryce about calming down, and Bryce tells her she’s been dealing with this crap for almost ten years.
I don’t know, maybe Bryce is right.
When I reach the bathroom, I pretend to go and wash my hands, then I move to an empty station without a sink to check my makeup.
At this point, our friendship isn’t going to hold up. It’s inevitable we’ll meet other people who mean something to us someday, and we’re doing a terrible job of navigating that change. Things are going to come between us. Just like this stupid jersey. I stare at Bradley’s number and feel sick to my stomach.
And if that’s the case, what was the point of us not crossing the line so we wouldn’t ruin our friendship?
Chapter 10
Cooper
I’m thankful for an away game this week so that I don’t have to look up in the stands and see Ellery in his jersey. I don’t have to see Ellery and Bradley get into the same car after the game. I don’t have to be the seventh wheel with all my friends.
“Wait, they asked Ellery to model?” Damon holds up his hand on the plane.
Damon just got around to asking me how things went with my latest endorsement deal, so I’m filling him in. Thankfully, Bradley is all the way in the back.
“Yeah, we were in our underwear. Most of the time she was under the sheet, but we have a few shots where she wasn’t.” I’ve been on the fence about coming clean to my friends about what the whole experience was like. It’s not like it changes anything. I’ve dealt with these feelings for Elle on and off through the years.
They’ll disappear soon.
Once she and Bradley don’t work out.
“Was that the first time?” Miles asks.
“The first time I’ve seen her in her underwear? No, I’ve seen her naked. By accident, when we were getting massages once,” I rush to add.
Her body hasn’t changed since then. She might not work out, but the steps she walks in the emergency room are enough to keep her fit. I had to hurry and put on my robe after we were done to hide my erection from everyone else.
“Why do I miss all the fun times?” Damon asks.
Miles doesn’t say anything. I haven’t known him as long as I have Damon, but he’s definitely the one of the three of us who is most invested in his friends’ happiness. I’ve thought about talking to him only, but Damon would feel betrayed, and in reality, Damon’s outlook on life has changed since he got with Adeline and became a father.
“I know I’ve only known you a few years, but you and Ellery, why haven’t you ever…” Miles asks.
I glance behind me. Since we’re flying during the day, no one is sleeping, so it’s loud and hard to listen in on conversations.
“Because they’re blind,” Damon says. “And stubborn as hell.”
I sip my drink and straighten in my seat. “It’s more about the fact that I can’t lose her. And let’s face it, relationships come and go. Sure, we can say that if it didn’t work out, we could go back to being friends. But we’ve been through so much together, I can’t imagine what it would be like one day if that was over.”
“I can see that. But let me play devil’s advocate with you,” Miles says.
I nod.
