Page 67 of Friend Me

I glanced over at him.Oh.He was watching me, his own controller forgotten in his slack hands. I ignored the unmistakable sounds of my own character’s demise. Now I regretted having sat at the far end of the sofa from Tyler. It’d be so nice to lean my head on his shoulder, have his arms come around me, and just relax into his embrace. Friends did that…right?

“You never told me what happened with Operation Prince Charming.”

It felt like he’d dumped cold beer on my head. I pulled the blanket tighter around myself. “It…it didn’t go so well. Cooper has reservations about having a relationship with someone who works for Synergy.” Okay, fine, that was my spin on what he’d said. “So it’s not going to work out.” I shrugged.

Friend or not, I didn’t want to talk about it with Tyler. I didn’t like the way his mouth pinched whenever I said Cooper’s name. I dropped the controller onto my lap and blew on my sweaty hands. “Remind me to do some warm-up finger exercises next time.”

“Reservationsdoesn’t sound so bad. Are you going to wait? Keep trying?”

I kneaded my palm with my other thumb. “I don’t think so.”

“I’ve never known you to give up on anything.” He ducked his head to catch my gaze.

I stared at the TV. “There’s a difference between having a crush on someone and being a stalker. I’m trying to let it go.” Though Cooper Fallon had held a place in my heart for so long, the space he’d left felt empty.

“Marlee.” He scooted toward me until our knees touched. “Remember the first time we met? Really met?”

I knew what he meant. Jackson had introduced us on Tyler’s first day, when he was showing him around the office. But we’d gotten to know each other weeks later. “You saved me from that evil keg tap.”

“You had beer in your eyes and your hair.”

“And all over my shirt. You gave me your sweater to cover up.”

He chuckled. “I lent it to you. And you never gave it back.”

“What? I didn’t?” I’d worn it every weekend last spring. It was too soft and cozy to give back. Even after I’d washed the beer out of it, it smelled incredible, like nothing else in my drawers.

“You didn’t. But I don’t mind.” His voice had gone all deep. “Even covered in beer, you were the most beautiful woman I’d ever met.”

“Aw, thanks. You’re sweet.” But in the flickering light from the television, his pupils had swallowed up his irises, leaving only a glint of gold. He didn’t look sweet. He looked dangerous.

“I didn’t say it to be sweet. I said it because it’s true. And now that you and Cooper aren’t getting together, I think we—” He cleared his throat. “I think we should think about being more than friends.”

I tugged the blanket tighter around myself. “I can’t just go from being in—from crushing on Cooper to dating someone else. My heart doesn’t work like that.” I’d thought Cooper was my One True Love, like my mother had been for Dad. If that was true, I’d be pining for a long time. Years. Decades.

“But I—”

“We’re friends. I can’t think of you like that.” What if Cooper’s warnings came true? What if a relationship turned out to be too weird, and I lost my friend? I couldn’t let that happen.

He looked like I’d slapped him. “Okay.” He clasped his hands between his knees and stared at them like they held the key we’d been hunting in the video game. “Okay.” He stood. “I’ll get out of here, then.”

“No, Tyler, I—”Shit.Why thefuckhad he ruined everything by saying that? “I want to stay friends.”

“Of course.” He looked like he’d stepped on a rusty nail and was trying to smile through the pain. “Friends. See you Monday.”

“Okay.” But were we?

I watched him walk out, his back stiff. The engine of his Mustang roared to life. It was only after the rumble died away down the street that I refocused on our living room and realized he’d left his gaming system connected to our television.

I let out a shaky breath. It meant he wanted to stay friends. That he’d be back, and we’d play again. That, regardless of what he’d said earlier, he wanted to hold together our precious friendship and not risk it by trying to make it more.

Because what I needed most, after snuffing out my crush, while Dad needed more care than I knew how to give him, was a friend.

Staring at the game console, I hoped Tyler would be that friend for me.

---