Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 55738 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 279(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 186(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55738 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 279(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 186(@300wpm)
“How could I forget?”
“That wasn’t fair of me,” she said. “It was, well, sort of petty on my part. See, James and I dated a while back.”
“You did?”
She nods. “Just for a couple of months. It was before college and before we met, but lately, we’ve been flirting in the gym. Both of us are so stubborn. Neither of us wanted to make the first move. I could tell he liked me, and he could tell I liked him.”
“Wait.” I feel like I’m blinking about a million times in a second. Okay, I’m exaggerating, but this is slamming into me like a freight train. “You like James?”
She nods, flashing a guilty look at me. “He doesn’t normally act as douchey as he was on the date. Honestly, I think he did that because I set you up. I think he was trying to prove a point by being cruel to you. It’s my fault. I never should’ve done it.”
“Then why did you?” I ask, confused.
“We were talking at the gym one day,” she replies. “We do this thing where we sort of flirt, but we’re also kind of mean to each other. Do you and Fletcher do that?”
“Not really,” I say quietly, “but I know different people have different dynamics in their relationships.”
I never thought I’d use the word relationship in reference to myself, yet it feels so right. A relationship is exactly what Fletcher and I have, as unlikely and impossible as it would’ve seemed when all this started.
“We were doing our usual routine. I got angry and told him that if he didn’t care about me, I’d happily set him up with one of my friends. He called my bluff, and that’s where the setup came in. I used you like a checkerboard piece. I’m a terrible friend.”
I sit back, trying to process what she’s just told me. “So it wasn’t about you wanting me to get out into the dating world? You just didn’t want to lose face in front of James?”
She sighs and nods. She won’t look at me. She stares down at her coffee as if wishing to disappear into it. After a pause, she looks up with a visible effort. “Yeah. That’s it. I’ve wanted to tell you so many times, but things started getting complicated with… No, that’s crap. I could have told you. I should have.”
“So all that stuff he’s saying… about loving and wanting me…”
“I don’t understand any of that,” Lexi says.
“Really?” I snap. “Surely, you can see. He’s doing it to get back at you. He wanted you to find out he’d sent me flowers. You were there when he sent that barbershop quartet. He wanted you to see. God, how petty. How pathetic!”
I’m grinning like a madwoman.
“Uh, aren’t you mad?” Lexi asks.
“Yes,” I say, with that same grin on my face. “But don’t you get it, Lexi? This means he doesn’t want me. He’s never wanted me. It’s all been about you.”
She bites down. “I don’t know, though. He’s taken it so far. Me and James, we have our back-and-forths. We play our games, but this is way further than he’s ever taken it.”
“So you think he really did fall for me, a love-at-first-sight deal?” I ask doubtfully.
“I don’t know,” she replies. “I mean, probably not?” She turns it into a question. “But I can’t imagine him taking it this far just to get at me.”
I reach into my pocket, willing my cell phone to start vibrating. I need to know what James has said to his dad, my man, the future father of my children. Anger and relief clash inside of me, a curious and uncomfortable mixture.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” I tell Lexi.
“I know,” she says quietly. “I’ll understand if you don’t want to be my friend anymore.”
“Our friendship means that little, does it?”
“No,” she says fiercely, “but what I did was shitty. It was beyond shitty. So I’d get it, but I’d hate it. If you give me a second chance, I swear, Sam, I’ll never do anything like that again. I’ll be the best friend you deserve. I promise. It’s just James messes with my head sometimes. Honestly, I think we’re a bit of a toxic pair. I don’t think we’d work. I’m so sorry you got caught in the crossfire.”
I think back to that date, how rude he was, how completely uninterested in me. It makes much more sense knowing he was thinking of Lexi the entire time, wishing she were there instead of me.
“You shouldn’t have done it,” I sigh, “but I understand why you didn’t want to lose face. I get that part initially, but lying to me and keeping it to yourself, especially after the barbershop quartet. You saw how embarrassed I was.”
“I know,” Lexi groans, putting her face in her hands. “I wanted to tell you. I knew I should have. I knew it was the right thing to do, but it was like there was this block inside of me. This… this wall, sort of, stopping me from doing the right thing. Do you know what I mean?”