Page 70 of The Girlfriend Goal
She laughed, but it wasn't a happy sound. "There is no 'us,' remember? That's the whole point."
I wanted to argue, to point out all the ways she was wrong, all the moments that proved we were more than just a casual hookup. But the look on her face—scared and defensive and maybe a little lost—stopped me.
"Okay," I said instead. "No 'us.' Just friends who sometimes kiss during drinking games."
That got a small smile. "Your definition of friendship is very different from mine."
"Hockey player," I reminded her. "We're not known for our emotional intelligence."
"Could've fooled me," she said softly, then seemed to catch herself. "We should go in. Before Jared sends a search party."
We found Matt and Jared in a suspicious-looking huddle by the fireplace, breaking apart guiltily when we approached.
"We were just—" Matt started.
"Planning dinner!" Jared finished brightly. "Definitely not discussing your obvious sexual tension and taking bets on when you'll cave and admit you're in love."
"Jared!" Matt hissed.
"What? They already know we know. The cat's out of the bag. The hockey player's out of the closet. The—"
"We get it," Rachel interrupted. "And we're not in love."
"Right," Jared said, drawing out the word. "Just like Matt and I aren't—"
"We're not!" Matt said quickly, then looked frustrated with himself. "We're just figuring things out."
The parallel was so obvious even Rachel couldn't miss it. She looked between them, then at me, and I could see her brain working, trying to find a way to maintain her boundaries in the face of mounting evidence that none of us were as casual as we pretended.
"I need a shower," she announced. "A long, hot shower. Alone," she added, pointing at me when I opened my mouth. "Very alone."
After she left, Jared turned his knowing gaze on me. "So, how long have you been in love with her?"
"I'm not."
"Please," Jared interrupted. "I've seen how you look at her."
Matt nodded sagely. "You've got it bad, dude."
"Says the guy who spent all morning teaching Jared to 'ski,'" I made air quotes, "when you mostly just held him a lot."
Matt blushed but didn't deny it. "At least I'm honest about wanting more than casual."
"With who?" Jared asked, perking up. "Are you honest with someone? Is it me? Please say it's me because I've been throwing myself at you for weeks and—"
Matt kissed him. Right there in the middle of the lodge, full on romantic movie kiss, complete with Jared making a surprised sound before melting into it.
When they broke apart, both breathing hard, Jared blinked up at him. "Oh, okay. We should talk about that."
"Later," Matt agreed, still holding Jared's face in his hands. "Definitely talking later."
"Get a room," I said, but I was grinning.
"Excellent idea," Jared said, already pulling Matt toward the door. "We'll see you at dinner. Maybe. Probably not."
And then I was alone, standing in a ski lodge, thinking about complications and expectations and the way Rachel had looked when she kissed me—like she was drowning and I was air.
My phone buzzed with a text from Rachel:Our friends are not subtle.
