“We’re not a couple,” I called after her, averting my eyes. Shane stepped closer to me—too close to me. I looked up at him. His face was expressionless for a second, but his eyes were filled with warmth. We continued walking, looking into cubicle after cubicle.
“A-ha!” he exclaimed excitedly. “This one. The middle one. It’s not as yellow or loud, but I think both of them will like this.”
“Okay,” I stammered, still overwhelmed by the close proximity. Allison was chatting with Olga, who looked increasingly annoyed. Allison was so passionate about her art that she sometimes didn’t realize that not everyone wanted to have her ear talked off about it.
“This reminds me of my old house, the one I had before I moved next door to you and Eddy,” Shane began, leaning against one of the chairs.
“Oh?”
“Yeah. I loved that house. But everything happens for a reason. I mean, I wouldn’t have met you guys if we had stayed there.”
“It’s a very big city,” I agreed.
“Anyway, I think this is the décor they would like. What do you think?”
“I’d have to agree.” Shane pulled out his credit card and waved at Olga, who was grateful to step away from a crestfallen Allison. I shook my head, waving my hands. “You don’t have to pay for this. Really.”
“It’s part of my anniversary gift to your parents. I have it covered,” Shane countered. “Trust me, I won’t miss the money.”
“That was a quick decision,” Olga commented.
“We make a great team,” Shane replied.
“I guess so.”
“Since you’ve decided, follow me. We will make the arrangements and set the date,” Olga said.
Minutes felt like hours when I was next to Shane. I felt so much intense sexual tension and desire around him that a part of me was relieved when he finally dropped Allison and me off.
As soon as he rode away, she turned to me and said, “Wow. You guys have intense chemistry.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, frowning conspicuously. I’d never been good at playing dumb.
“He is totally into you. It’s so obvious.”
“You think so?” I gushed, clasping my hands in front of me.
“I know so. When are you going to ask him out?”
“It’s complicated. I don’t know if I can.”
“Why not?”
“My brother, for one. He’s always been protective. Shane is his best friend.”
“I say go for it. Your brother will just have to deal with it.”
I sighed with exasperation. “Not everything is so easy, Allison.”
“It’s simple. If two people like each other, they should be able to go out.”
“What if I go teach in China? That is a distinct possibility, you know,” I reminded her.
“Come on. You can find a teaching job anytime, but true love? That’s hard to find. I mean, you grew up with him. You would know if it wasn’t serious.” Allison watched me, her eyes telling me she knew she spoke the truth.
I sighed again, a little desperately. “Listen, Allison, if something is supposed to be, it’s going to be. It most likely isn’t written in the stars, but we’ll see.”
“One thing is for sure, you’d better keep me updated when I go back to Philly tomorrow,” she ordered, pointing a finger at me.
SHANE
“Dude. I thought you’d never get here. I’m fuckin’ starved,” Eddy said.
I sat opposite him at our favorite pizza joint. I recalled long summers standing in front of the restaurant, smoking joints and gorging ourselves on pepperoni. “You didn’t have to wait for me, bro. You know how bad I am with time.”
“How did it go with my sister?”
“We agreed on the decorations, for one thing,” I said nervously.
“I ordered us a pepperoni special. But I got us both water. Hope that’s okay.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t get a salad, Mr. Health-freak,” I smirked.
“Not at this place. This place is too good to get a salad,” Eddy reminded me.
“Ah. Remember the good old days?”
“You mean when we used to get wasted and walk here? Yes.”
“Drinking wasn’t the only thing we did,” I said.
A cute blonde waitress walked over and set a stand down near us, smiling. Honestly, though, I couldn’t look at other women the same since I had acknowledged my feelings for Sasha. They just didn’t compare. She set our pizza in front of us with a basket of garlic knots next to it.
“Thank you.” I handed a plate to Eddy.
“Do you boys need anything else right now?” she asked with a flirty wink.
“Uh… No, we’re good, I think,” Eddy replied with a smile. “She’s cute, right?” he commented when she was out of earshot.
“Yeah… She’s cute.”
“There’s this girl at work who’s even cuter. Her name is Tiffany. I’m not really sure if she is feelin’ it, though. You interested in anyone?”
I nearly spat out my pizza. “Uh… Well. There might be someone.”
Eddy raised an eyebrow. “Really, who?”
“Well. It’s not exactly easy to talk about. I’m not sure if I can date her.”
“You can tell me anything, man. Seriously,” Eddy urged.
I took a sip of my drink and continued, testing the waters. “There’s a girl I like… But she’s off-limits, in a sense.”
“How?”
“Uh. She’s… the cousin of one of my… uh… bros from work,” I lied.
Eddy shook his head thoroughly. “Dude. Don’t do it. You don’t want to bang anyone’s cousin. Seriously. You’ll get your ass beat.”
“Oh. You think so?” I asked, looking down. I couldn’t face him.
“Yeah. I mean if someone who was supposed to be my friend was trying to get with my cousin, I’d be pissed. It’s just not cool.”
My stomach lurched. He definitely wouldn’t be okay with my secret attraction, then. “Right. I see what you mean,” I fibbed. “Hey, this pizza is really good, isn’t it? Hasn’t changed a bit.”
“Yeah!” His eyes lit up. Eddy was so damn easy to lie to.
I shoved more pizza in my mouth, listening to him blab about how much he hated his job. There was a pit in my stomach now. Eddy would not be okay with me dating Sasha, and I felt conflicted. I stood up abruptly. I couldn’t sit here with Eddy, feeling betrayed by him and also like I was about to betray him.
“Where are you off to?” Eddy asked.
I took a sip of water and replied, “I have to go riding. My mind is heavy with shit.”
“We were supposed to catch a movie, though,” Eddy whined.
“I’ll see one with you another time. I’m sorry. I gotta split.” I left money on the table. “See you later, bro.”
Bro. He was my bro. That was why I had to rid myself of this infatuation. He was so protective of Sasha. It was a territorial thing. Choosing between your best friend and someone who could easily be the love of your life was not an easy task, and I didn’t know what to do.