Seducing My Best Friend (Fated #3) (5 page)

I opened my eyes when she peeked in my room.

“Hey,” Fiona whispered, tilting her head. “I didn’t mean to wake
you.”

“You didn’t.”

“I just wanted to see if you were home.”

“I’m home.”

She held a glass through the crack in the door. “Orange juice?”

My smile crushed against the pillow. “Please.” I sat up as she
entered the room and rubbed my eyes. “What time is it?”

“Noon,” she said, climbing onto my bed and handing me the juice.

“Thanks.”

“When did you get home last night?”

“I didn’t,” I said, draining half the glass and handing it back
to her. “I came home around six.”

“From…?”

“Aiden’s.”

I could tell she was trying to act calm, but it was clear I
wouldn’t get away with evading her for long.

“Did you have a fun date?” she asked.

I propped my pillows up behind me and leaned back. “Too much
fun.”

“Where did you go?”

I yawned. “Some trendy rooftop restaurant where they gave us six
courses of really posh food.”

“Sounds nice.”

“It was.”

“And then what?”

“Then we went back to his place for a nightcap.”

“Just a nightcap?”

I shook my head.

“Lucy, I know you just woke up, but I’m dying here.”

I dragged my nails through my hair.

“Did something happen? Did he kiss you again?”

“He sure did,” I said.

“Just on the lips or-”

I shook my head. I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks.

Fiona gasped. “Did you guys hook up?”

I nodded.

“Oh my god I’m so jealous.”

I laughed. “What about Peter?”

“I adore Peter, but Aiden’s Aiden. His arms are like tree
trunks.”

“All three of them,” I said.

“Fuck off.”

I sighed.

“I’m actually speechless,” she said. “I’ve been waiting for this
day since- I don’t know- since you introduced me to him, and you’re being so
nonchalant right now I could strangle you.”

I shrugged. “How should I be acting?”

“Excited? Happy? Over the fucking moon?”

“Well, I wish I could say I was those things, but-”

“But what?”

“I’m mostly just confused.”

Fiona shook her head. “Why can’t you just be happy about it? I
mean, it’s a good thing, right? It’s what you’ve always wanted.”

“That’s the thing,” I said, pulling my knees to my chest. “I
used to want it, but then I spent ten years convincing myself that I only
wanted to be friends so I feel… totally messed up.”

“Wasn’t it good though? It had to be good. It’s fucking Aiden.”

“Yeah, of course it was good. He was incredible. Better than-”

“What?”

I didn’t want to say anyone ever. It sounded too ridiculous even
in my head. “Just really good.”

“So what’s the problem?”

“What if it was just a rebound thing for him? I mean, he knows
me well enough that it couldn’t have been hard to say the right things to win
me over. Like what if it was just a joke?”

“It wasn’t.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Cause he’s your best friend.”

“So?”

“So he wouldn’t dick you around like that.”

“But he’s still a guy. Maybe he didn’t mean to, but he was just
horny and-”

“Why are you sabotaging this?”

“I’m not sabotaging anything.”

“Yes, you are. Why can’t you just be happy you guys had a good
time?”

“I want to. Really I do, but-”

“But what?”

“But everything’s different now.”

“No it’s not.”

“Yes it is. We can never have what we had again.”

“Sure you can. Friends hook up all the time.”

“Not like this. It wasn’t a drunken, sloppy fuck, Fiona. It was
intense. He even-” I inhaled sharply.

“He what?”

“He-” I nodded towards my crotch and hoped she would get the hint.

“Wow, really?”

“Yeah.”

“And?”

“And now things can never be the same.”

“So what? Why would you want them to be? Did it occur to you
that maybe things can be better than they were?”

“Not really. To be honest, I’m just freaking out because I feel
so vulnerable now, like I’m still naked or something.”

“So?”

“So it’s scary.”

“What are you talking about?”

“All those times I liked him growing up I got hurt. Every.
Single. Time. And he was oblivious. To this day I think he has no idea how many
times I cried myself to sleep when he asked someone else to a dance or told me
he thought some other girl was pretty.”

She nodded.

“And if he hurts me this time, I’m afraid I won’t be able to
hide it. Cause I crossed a line. And even though I could always quiet my mind when
it ached for him, now my body is aching for him, and I don’t know how to shut
it up.”

She pursed her lips.

“Am I making sense or do you think I’m a lunatic?”

“Both.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m not surprised. It sounds crazy even to
me.”

“Yeah.”

“And I wouldn’t expect you to understand.”

“Why not?”

“Cause you’ve never had an Aiden.”

“You’re right. And you know what’s really fucked up?”

“What?”

“When I think of the guys I’ve dated in the past, I can’t think
of any that ever cared about me the way Aiden cares about you. Not one.”

“That’s not true.”

“Yes it is,” she said. “He would do anything for you, and you
know it. And so what if he’s hurt you? It could only have been by accident. He
would never hurt you on purpose. Never.”

“I know.”

“So you have only yourself to blame for the times your feelings
got hurt. You made that happen. Not him.”

“Well, it’s not all my fault. It’s not like there’s anything I
could’ve done.”

“Sure there is.”

“What?”

“You could’ve told him how you felt. You could’ve stopped being
such a pussy for two seconds and told him that you cared about him or asked him
why he never asked you to a dance. You could’ve confronted him about it.”

“There was never a good time.”

“Oh please. Do you really expect me to believe that? That in
fifteen years there was never a moment when you could’ve done something about
your unrequited feelings?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, I do. And I think you’re lucky your patience paid off.”

“What?”

“You heard me. You’re lucky that he’s not a wimp like you, that
he saw an opportunity to see if there was something more between you, and he
grabbed it.”

“Maybe.”

“You could’ve lost him. You could’ve waited forever and lost
him.”

“That’s not true! I always had him. The closest I’ve ever come
to losing him is right now when I have no idea whether he thinks we made a huge
mistake or whether our friendship can survive this.”

“Why would you even want that?”

“What do you mean?”

“Why would you want that if you could have more?”

“More?”

“Yeah, from where I’m standing, it’s always looked like your
biggest problem with Aiden was the fact that you had to share him.”

“That’s not true.”

“Yes it is,” she said. “You never think anyone is good enough
for him.”

“That has nothing to do with me.”

Fiona smacked her forehead. “It has everything to do with you.”

“How?”

“Because deep down, you know that no one could ever love him
like you love him.”

I pursed my lips.

“Can I be honest with you for a second?”

“Shit. If you weren’t already being honest I’m kind of scared.”

“Whatever. The point is, this is a good thing. And if you want
to overanalyze it to death and come up with a bunch of bullshit reasons you
should sabotage it and cling to the past, then you and Aiden are never going to
work out.”

I swallowed.

“And it will be all your fault this time.”

I opened my mouth.

“Just like it was all the other times you hid your feelings
away.”

I closed my mouth.

“Did it ever occur to you that maybe he thought you didn’t like
him? That you didn’t want him to make a move?”

I shook my head. “Of course not.”

She shrugged. “Well, you had me fooled for a long time. I
genuinely thought you weren’t interested in him when we first met, that you
guys were really just friends. Until I got to know you better.”

“But we were friends.”

“No, you weren’t.”

“Yes we were.”

Fiona stood off the bed and faced me. “You guys were never
friends, Lucy. You were a ticking time bomb.”

“That’s not true.”

“And now the bomb’s gone off and you don’t know what to do about
it.”

“No,” I said. “I don’t.”

“You want my advice?”

“Do I have a choice?”

“You should stop looking for excuses to be miserable about what
happened and start looking for reasons to be happy about it.”

“Cause there’s nothing I can do to change it?”

“No, dummy! Cause it’s a good thing!”

“I want to believe that, Fi. Really I do, but I feel like I
can’t enjoy it until I know our friendship is okay.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Why?”

“Cause your friendship, as you knew it, is fucking over.”

All she said was “yes.”

I asked if she got home okay and all she said was “yes.”

What a bunch of bullshit?!

I was glad she was alive, but why even respond if that’s all
you’re going to say?

I don’t know what I expected from her. It’s not like I asked a
particularly open ended question, but still. Twenty four hours had passed since
the morning after we slept together. She could’ve said something mildly lukewarm.

Whatever. I couldn’t wait for her to come around and start
making sense. I had to see her. Not just cause I had to, but because I needed
to know if she would be my date for Claire’s wedding.

I considered texting her before I left work, but she always
worked Mondays. And if I asked her by text, she would either take her sweet
time getting back to me or she would just say “yes.” And frankly, that would
piss me off.

I picked up some yellow flowers- the closest thing to sunflowers
I could find- and drove to the salon. Worst case scenario, she wouldn’t be
there. But even then, I’d still have an opportunity to intimidate her creepy
boss, which might help me vent some of the frustration I was feeling.

The little bell rang when I pushed the door open. Sure enough,
her boss was standing behind the desk and turned stark white when I walked in.
As for Lucy, I saw her before she saw me. She was wearing black pants and a loose
black shirt. Her hair was pulled back low, but a chunk of it was hanging in her
face as she dragged a small paintbrush over some aluminum foil that was
attached to her client’s head.

A moment later, she saw me through the mirror in front of her
station and turned to look at me.

I raised the flowers as a little wave.

She held her pointer finger up and turned back to her client
while the other stylists took turns looking my way.

I strolled over to Chuck. “Hi Chuck.”

“Hello.”

“Do you remember me?”

“Lucy’s boyfriend?”

“That’s right,” I said. “How are you doing?”

“Fine.”

“You look great,” I said. “With all your teeth and no broken
ribs.”

“Are you threatening me?”

“No,” I said.

He swallowed and looked down so I was staring at his bald spot.

I kept my eyes on him until he raised his head again.

“You can wait for Lucy over there,” he said, gesturing to the
seats lining the front window.

“Thanks, Chuck,” I said. “Good talking to you.”

He didn’t look like he agreed, but that was fine by me.

I took a seat on one of the chairs by the window, laid the
flowers beside me, and watched Lucy work. Foil after foil, she painted strands
of hair on her client’s head, nodding enthusiastically as the woman gabbed at
her.

I tried to keep my eyes from lingering too long on the curve of
her ass, but I let myself steal a few glances while I waited.

Finally, she laid her hands on her client’s shoulders, gave her
a little squeeze and headed towards me, wiping her hands on her apron as she
approached. “Aiden.”

“Lucy,” I said, standing.

“Are those for me?” she asked, glancing at the flowers.

“They were either for you or to put on Chuck’s grave, but he
seems to be behaving himself today.”

“Thanks,” she said. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to see you.”

She pushed the chunk of hair out of her eyes. “I’m working.”

“I can wait.”

“I won’t be done for another hour.”

I leaned in to whisper in her ear. “You really think if I could
wait fifteen years I can’t manage another hour?”

She smiled.

“Plus, we need to talk.”

“About what?”

“Not now. Over ice cream.”

“I haven’t had dinner.”

“So get pistachio.”

“Please don’t sit here and watch me for the next hour.”

“I swear I’ll only look at your ass and nowhere else.”

She shook her head and looked down.

“You won’t even know I’m here.”

“Of course I will.”

“No you won’t. I’ll be as silent as you were when you snuck out
of my apartment yesterday morning.”

She rubbed her arm with her hand. “I’m sorry. I just-”

“You don’t need to apologize.”

“Yes, I do an-”

“Buying my ice cream will be sufficient.”

She rolled her eyes. “Fine. As long as that isn’t a euphemism.”

“It’s not. Besides, money can’t buy the kind of sweet cream we
can make ourselves.”

“Damn it, Aiden. This is my place of work.”

“You call this work? This is nothing compared to how you-”

“Just stop, okay,” she said, leaning towards me. “Just sit down,
and don’t think filthy things about me while I’m trying to do my job.”

“I won’t if you won’t,” I said.

She marched back to her station. Without wasting a moment, she
started peaking in the little foil flaps on her client’s head, and when she
stole a glance at me, her face turned bright red.

I smiled and lifted the flowers to my nose, burying my face in
them like they were Lucy’s perfectly groomed snatch.

The hour I spent watching her flew by. After all, now that I
felt like I was seeing her for the first time, there was so much to admire about
her. Every time she engaged with someone else, they left smiling. Every time
she marched across the floor, she did so with purpose.

In fact, she was incredibly sexy. Even when she was sweeping the
hair around her station, she had a unique grace, a grace she’d somehow retained
when she was spreading her legs for me and soaking my eager tongue.

“Ready?” I asked when she finally approached.

She nodded.

I led the way, opening the door for her.

She waved at the other girls on her way out and exhaled when we
hit the sidewalk. “You can’t just show up at my job like that, Aiden.”

“Cause I’m too distracting?”

“Cause it’s not professional,” she said. “The younger girls get
in trouble when guys hang around waiting for them.”

“Why?”

“Cause it interferes with the client experience.”

“Oh, I didn’t realize,” I said. “Well, if anyone complains, you
can assure them that the only person I’m interested in interfering with is
you.”

She shot me a look out of the corner of her eye. “What made you
stop by anyway?”

I stepped up to the passenger side door and opened it. “I had to
see you.”

She rolled her eyes and tucked her feet in the car. “You
should’ve called.”

“I thought about it, but I was sort of uninspired by your last
text,” I said, shutting the door.

“What are you talking about?” she asked as soon as I sat down
beside her.

“What do you think? We have this incredible night on Saturday,
and then you totally disappear without a trace. Well, that’s not true. You
forgot your underwear.”

She pursed her lips.

“And then you don’t answer my text all day, even just to let me
know you’re alright.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I don’t want an apology. I want an explanation. Didn’t you have
a good time on Saturday?”

“Of course I did.”

“So why the third degree?”

“I just needed to process what happened.”

“What is there to process?” I asked.

“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “We’ve never done anything like
that before.”

“So?”

“So I guess I was just worried things would be weird between
us.”

“Look,” I said. “I don’t want things to be weird either, but
weird is not returning my messages. Weird is sneaking out of my apartment in
the middle of the night.”

“I know,” she said, folding her hands in her lap. “But hooking
up with each other is weird, too.”

“Yeah, but that’s good weird.”