Page 9 of Common Goal
Maria placed a neatly plated bagel with cream cheese in front of him, then sat down with her own bagel. “What do you have planned for today?”
“I think I’ll lay low.”
Maria eyed him suspiciously, waiting for Kyle to admit he needed a friend right now.
“God,” Kyle sighed. “All right. Last night took a lot out of me. Is that what you want to hear?”
“If you need to talk about it, then yes, I want to hear.”
Kyle picked at the sesame seeds on his bagel. “It’s stupid. I don’t know. It was fine.”
“Watching the man you are basically in love with celebrating his engagement to another man was fine?”
“I’m not in love with him,” Kyle grumbled. “It’s just a crush. And he’s never been a possibility, so it’s not a useful crush anyway.”
“I wish I could tell you otherwise, but no. It isn’t. You need someone new to obsess over.”
“I’m not obsessed with Kip. I just...like the idea of Kip. And me. Together.” He pushed his bagel aside and folded his arms on the table, then buried his face in them.
Maria reached across the table and patted his arm. “I know. But you know what I have to say next, right?”
Kyle shook his head, face still buried. “You don’t have to say it.”
“I’m saying it. You and Kip are not going to be together. Not ever. Okay?”
“I know.”
“If he and Scott were into threesomes, or opening their relationship up in any way—”
“Oh my god.”
“Then I would say you’d have a shot. But those two arecommitted. Like, my parents have renewed their vowstwiceand I don’t think they’re as committed to each other as Scott and Kip are.”
Kyle laughed into his arms. “Okay, I get it.”
Maria always made him laugh. They’d become friends through Kip, who used to work with her at the smoothie shop where he’d first met Scott. Kip invited Kyle out for drinks with some of his friends one night more than two years ago, and Kyle had instantly adored Maria. A few months after that, Kyle had learned that she needed to find a new place to live, and he’d offered his second bedroom to her. The arrangement was supposed to be temporary, but they got along so well that Kyle insisted she stay.
“Can you imagine?” Maria mused. “Getting in the middle of that sandwich?”
“I could probably write a thesis about it, I’ve imagined it so much.”
“I’ll bet Scott is such a generous lover.”
“Stop.” Kyle groaned. “How is this helping?”
“I guess it isn’t. Hey, speaking of impossible crushes, I totally talked to Matti Jalo last night for like six whole minutes.”
“Alone?” Kyle gasped. “You’re compromised! He’ll have to offer to marry you now!”
“I wish. Oh my god. Like, I understand that he is several leagues above me, but damn. A girl can dream, can’t she?”
“He’s not out of your league! You are completely awesome and beautiful. He’s just a big ol’ hockey player.”
“With perfect genes and millions of dollars.”
“Yeah, well. He’d be lucky to have you.”
“Speaking of hockey players...” Maria sucked a gob of cream cheese off her finger, releasing it with a pop. “I saw you talking to Eric ‘Dream Daddy’ Bennett last night.”
