Total pages in book: 46
Estimated words: 45966 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45966 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
I wasn’t a fan of being the center of attention. I was the kind of guy who stood in the back and observed the crowd, and once I felt comfortable, I’d loosen up. Maybe it was the Leo in me, always in control. Dan was also aware of my inherited holiday and how I felt about it. He was a good friend, and I never thought I’d be seeking his advice in this town of all places.
At that point, I had to talk to someone, and I figured he’d be the one who would understand me the best—being a neutral party and all.
“Look at you,” I greeted. “You’re all dressed up in your doctor clothes.”
“They’re my scrubs, you dick.” He didn’t beat around the bush. “How did it go with the best friend?”
“Not good.”
“That memorable, huh?”
“You could say that.”
“You going to see her again?”
“Yeah,” I replied, quickly adding, “she’s the town baker.”
“Oh, shit…” His eyes widened. “Huh, how did I not put two and two together until now? Damn. She makes the best chocolate chip cookies. Did you know that? Have you eaten her cookies?”
“Trust me, I wish I could tell you I’ve eaten that cookie.”
“Damn.”
“Let me rephrase; as a teenager, it wasn’t like that with us. I mean, of course, I always found her attractive and we got along great, but that doesn’t make for a relationship, you know?”
“Actually,” he exclaimed. “I don’t know because to me, that’s exactly what starts a relationship.”
“No, that’s a friendship.”
“I think you are wrong, but you were saying…”
“As a man, our friendship and connection are still there, but what’s changed is my desire to eat her cookies.”
“I see…”
“I’ve never felt such a physical reaction to a woman before. It’s surreal, and I honestly don’t know how the hell to deal with it, let alone where we go from here.”
“Now I know you’re messing with me. You never had sex?”
I shook my head.
“What?”
“What part of that did you not understand?”
“The whole thing.” He stood there with a stunned expression. “What do you mean you never had sex?”
“We never had sex,” I repeated.
“Why not?”
“I just told you it wasn’t like that.”
“For you?”
“For both of us.”
“Because of you?”
“What are you getting at?”
He leaned against the exam table, folding his arms over his chest. “You have commitment issues.”
I jerked back, never expecting his response. “That’s not true.”
“How do you figure it’s not? Why else would you run away from paradise? This town is amazing. You were set up to thrive without even having to prove yourself.”
“Maybe to have my own life,” I reasoned, needing someone to understand why I had to leave. “Maybe so that I wouldn’t live in a place where buildings are named after my entire family, and everyone kisses my ass for it.”
“Yeah,” he snapped. “Look at what good that did you? Now you own it.”
“No shit, and the only thing I got for it this morning was a knee to my balls.”
“Wait, what?”
“Noelle.”
“She kneed you in the balls?”
“Yeah.”
“What did you do?”
“I pulled her toward me.”
“Wow.” He smiled. “She’s violent. I like it.”
“No.” I chuckled. “It was an accident.”
He wiggled his eyebrows. “So she says…”
“Let’s just say it didn’t go according to plan or how I imagined it would.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Here I thought you’d be the one who would understand.”
“Me? Why me?”
“I don’t know. You’re married and have a kid.”
“And that makes me mature enough to understand women? Especially your relationship with your ex-best friend who you’re still obviously madly in love with?”
I didn’t just jerk back, I stumbled. “I’m not in love with her. I mean, I do love her, like her, I’m just…”
He beamed. “In love with her.”
“Fuck you, man. I like her.”
“You like a lot of things.”
“No, I mean—I really like her. I like her so much that I can’t imagine my life without her again.”
“Hell has officially frozen over!” He put his hand up to his ear. “Excuse me? I’m sorry. What was that? Can you say that one more time? I don’t think I heard you the first time.”
“You heard me, dickwad.”
“Oh, come on, this is a monumental moment. A universal standstill. The Grinch is flying all around us. Now admit that you’re in love with her and secretly love Santa, and we’ll call it a day.”
“I came here for advice, and this is what I get from you?”
“You’re right. We should take you to the ER instead. You need a radiologist to x-ray your head on the fact that you’re pussy-whipped, and you haven’t even seen hers yet.”
“Fuck you again.”
“You like her? Like, you want to date her and see where it goes, or you like her and want to be besties again?”
“Besties?”
“That’s what all the cool kids are saying these days.”
“Because it’s important to sound like them?”
“Bet.”
My eyebrows pinched together. “Bet what?”
“Your balls because Noelle already has them.”