Page 3 of Break: Vol. 2

"Are you on a diet or something?" she inquired. "You usually get the chocolate caramel, don't you?"

"Oh, yeah—I'm trying to cut back on all the sugar." I sipped from the protruding straw. "I won't ever be able to keep up with the guys if I keep going at the rate I'm going. Even if Dex isn't on the team anymore because of his injury, he still works out with the team and Ho-ly shiiitttt," I confessed. "It makes me feel like a slacker. So no more coffee-stuffs for me."

Roxi snorted. "Your damn chocolate caramel drink wasn't coffee. You're right, though, it was like sugar on meth."

"It's a Frappuccino." I set the cup back on the table. "It hassomecoffee in it."

She laughed. "Let's be honest, Sweetie. Frappuccinos are glorified milkshakes. The only reason we buy them is because they make us feel like we have our shit together."

I feigned insult, tilting my head to the side and placing a delicate hand over my chest. "Are you saying I don't have my life together?"

Roxi arched one delicate, dark-golden brow. "Am I wrong?"

I laughed and reached for the Frappuccino again. "Maybe not. But at least I have some regular sex."

Her lips popped open in mock shock and insult. "So. Not. Fair."

I grinned, sipping from my drink. "You snooze, you lose," I said.

"Well, we can't all have four guys at our beck and call all the freaking time," she said before turning to the side and muttering, "I can't even get two to look at me like I have a vagina between my legs."

Roxi knew all about my relationship with the guys. She was, quite honestly, the first real friend I had made at Winthrope. After the awful fiasco of my first year, concerning Victoria and Stacey, I wasn't sure if I'd be able to find a girlfriend I could just hang with. I was so focused on studying, and the guys had pushed me to start tutoring. Fortunately for me, Roxi needed an English tutor and we had clicked almost immediately. We had been fast friends ever since. I couldn’t believe that this time next year, I’d be graduated with my degree in hand. It was like these last few years had just flown by.

"Are Bastien and Oliver still not taking the bait?" I asked lightly.

"Of course not," she grumbled. "If I could be getting as much dick as you, I'd probably be smiling all the time." Using her straw, she poked at the random chunks of chocolate in her cup while she avoided my gaze.

"Have you told them how you feel?" I asked.

She rolled her eyes, jamming the straw against one chunk with more gusto than before. "They barely even know I exist," she snapped. "Or worse, they see me as some sort of kid sister. Ugh. It's so frustrating."

"I'm sure they don't see you as a kid sister," I said.

Roxi stopped stabbing for a moment and looked at me over the rim of her cup. "I told Bas I was going out with Joel from improv and you know what he told me?" She leans forward, her face flushing an angry red. "He told me to—and I quote—'have a good time.'"

I waited for the big reveal, but when she looked at me expectantly, I realized that was it. "Oh." I blinked and then cleared my throat. Unsure what to say, I glanced to the side and winced. "What an asshole?"

She groaned. "You don't have to force it," she said. "I'm just irritated because he said it like it was nothing. No big deal." She huffed and sat back again. "I thought … you know since we've all been friends for the last few years, we hang out all of the time, I've seen the two of them in their underwear—which I must say is a good fifty percent of the reason I'm so attracted to them. Those two are stacked. And I've tried, really I have. To see if they're into me. I've worn short skirts. I've hinted at wanting a date to some of my friend's performances. Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. I even wore a bikini to that party they held a while back. Bastien threw a hoodie over my head so fucking fast, and every time I tried to say I wanted to go for a dip in the pool, he distracted me. He obviously finds me repulsive and considering how Oliver helped him, he must too. Trust me. They're not interested."

I frowned. From what she was saying, it sounded like the opposite was true, but I wasn't quite sure how to say that. So, I settled on the only thing I could think of. "I'm sorry, babe..."

Roxi stared down into her cup and flicked the end of the straw. "Do you really think it's me?" she asked suddenly, looking up. "I mean, we've been friends since like our first day here, but it's always just that. Just friends. They've dated and nothing changes. We hang out. We go to the movies together. I’ve even met their mom. She loves me. Every time I go on dates, I feel like they get irritated and after one conversation with the guy I'm going out with, they pull this whole big brother act, and then poof, suddenly the guy’s not interested anymore. It's like they can fuck around, but I can't. That's bullshit."

Or they were two incredibly jealous guys who didn't know how to pull their heads out of their asses, and as sweet and smart as Roxi was, she was blind when it came to them.

“Can girls even get friendzoned?” I asked. "Are you sure they're not just—

"Of course they can," she said, cutting me off. "Usually, though, it's by guys that are already involved with someone. I'm just unlucky enough to repel all guys no matter the status of their romantic involvement."

I winced, reaching over and patting her hand with sincere sympathy. "I honestly don't think they're—"

"They're cock blocking me," she snapped. "Do you know when the last time I had sex was? I can't even freaking remember!"

I sighed. It didn't matter what I tried to say, she'd obviously made up her mind. A part of me felt a little bad for Bastien and Oliver, but at the same time, they had brought this upon themselves. God, I hoped the three of them would just come out and say it—they were into each other. It'd save me a headache and would probably chill out my one and only friend because homegirl needed to get laid and get laidhard.

"It's just not fair," Roxi continued to complain. "I mean, if we're going to be just friends then that's what they need to decide. If I'm out with them and a guy is checking me out, do they tell me? No!" Roxi swung her gaze my way and leveled me with an outraged look. "Do you know what those assholes do?" she demanded.

Slowly, I extracted my hand and leaned back—eyes wide. "Um, no?"

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