Page 50 of Friend Zone to End Zone

“Well, if I were you and had the kind of resources you have at your fingertips, I’d pull out all the stops.”

I nodded, listening.

He continued, “I’d probably try to set up a ‘practice date’ before the party on Saturday, so you could get some extra time with her.”

“And some extra coaching,” I added, catching his drift.

“Exactly,” he said with a grin. “And then, basically take her out on the best date you can imagine and let her see just how great life would be with you.”

“And you think that will work?” I asked.

“I don’t see how it couldn’t at least help.” Ethan shrugged. “I mean, she just got out of a really long relationship, so she may not be ready to jump right into a new one with you. But it might at least keep her from running back to Chad like she has done so many times in the past.”

Which would be a feat in and of itself. If she had actually followed through with breaking things off with Chad tonight, that was just the first step of finally climbing out from the strange hold he’d always had on her.

I blew out a breath. “Well, I guess I know what my next step is.”

Ethan held up his glass. “I’m rooting for you.”

“Thanks.” I clinked my glass against his before draining what was left. “I’m going to need all the luck I can get.”

22

Arianna

I had just finished archiving allthe photos of me and Chad on social media, and the water for my bath was starting to move from warm to lukewarm, when a text came through from Cole.

Are you home yet?

I smiled. Deciding that it would be nice to hear his voice after a long day, I pressed the button to call him back.

The phone rang once before he picked up.

“Hello?” he said, sounding surprised that I was calling him this late.

“Hi,” I said, leaning back against the bathtub. “I figured I’d just call since it was easier.”

“So does that mean you’re home?” he asked.

“I got home about an hour ago and found a nice little present on my doorstep.” I smiled, thinking about the thoughtfulness that had gone into it. “Thank you for that, by the way.”

“You’re welcome.” He cleared his throat, and I could imagine the way his cheeks would color at my gratitude. Cole was always cute and bashful like that. “I know breakups are hard and I just wanted you to know that I was thinking about you.”

My body warmed at his sentiment. I really didn’t deserve him sometimes.

“I’m actually surprised you’re still awake,” I said, setting my phone on speaker and putting it on the shelf beside me. “Isn’t ten o’clock pretty late for you?” I dipped my fingers into the body scrub he’d given me and spread it along my arms.

“It’s the off-season.” He chuckled. “And Vincent is still on his honeymoon, which means I was able to set my workouts at the much better hour of ten instead of eight this week.”

“While the quarterback’s away, the wide receiver goes out and plays?” I teased him.

“Something like that.”

I liked that I could hear the smile in his voice. These past three years had been rocky for me, but I loved that I could always count on Cole to be a bright spot in my life.

“So, how did everything go with Chad?” he asked after a short pause. “Was it quick? Or one of those long, drawn-out things?” Cole’s voice was hesitant, like he was almost worried I hadn’t gone through with it.

Which made sense. Chad and I had broken up only to get back together so many times in the past that Cole had probably suffered whiplash just witnessing it.

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