Page 51 of Petals of Blue: Part One
"What's going on, guys?" I ask hesitantly.
Blue's eyes widen when she sees me, but she doesn't move. Instead, she gives Declan and Felix a pointed look.
Felix sighs and turns to me. "We kissed."
Holy shit.My backpack clunks to the ground. "Who?" There are so many options.
"Declan and I," Felix answers, blushing slightly. I notice his hand on my best friend's thigh, and my mood brightens exponentially.
"Fuck yes!" I holler, ready to party. "About damn time."
"That's not all," Roman drawls, leaning against the fridge looking smug.
Blue huffs but otherwise doesn't say anything. I narrow my eyes, incredibly intrigued and shocked to see her in our home, but I'm too anxious to point it out.Please don’t leave.
"Blue kissed Felix," Declan announces. "And me," he adds with a shit-eating grin.
I choke on fucking air. "Holy shit. What? Why? How did this happen?!"
"Maybe I should go..." Blue wiggles off the counter, but I jump in front of her. "Jared," she warns.
"No. Fuck, please don't go. Tell me about today. Why are you here? Not that I don't want you here but-but how?" Begging isn't a good look on me, I know that. But I'm so lost and jealous and so fucking excited I'm breathing funny.
Blue nibbles on her bottom lip, which my dick notices and perks up. "I shouldn't have kissed them. The tension got the best of me, but hey now they're together, so you're all welcome."
That's a lot to unpack, but I urge her on. "What else?"Please stay, please stay, please stay.
"Apparently Rome knows another one of my friends. Levi hired him as a personal trainer then brought him back into the office and laid into him about your piss-poor decisions. Oh!" Blue smiles big and glances at a red-faced Roman. "ThenLevi proceeded to out-bench Roman. All in all, it was a fine time. I'm feeling avenged."
"And now you’re here?" I'm still not understanding what suddenly changed. She had been giving us the bare minimum for weeks after Roman poured his heart out to her.
"Mhmm," she hums.
I glance at the others who are eyeing Blue like she's going to bolt at any moment. I can practically feel them begging me not to push her away, but we can't dance around the subject without it coming back to bite us in the ass.
"What changed? Do-Do you forgive us?" I stutter over my words, the enormity of the situation strangling me for a second.
Her lips twist, a sign that she's anxious as well. Or at least that's what it used to mean. With her hair up in a high ponytail and her body in tight workout gear, she looks ready to fight, but her nervous behavior tells me otherwise.
She needs comfort and stability when she gets like this. Everything she never had growing up with her aunt.Everything we stole when we ghosted her.
"I've had time to think..." Blue mutters, twisting her hands in front of her. We all lean forward to hear her better. "I understand we were young and mistakes are made. Friendship while being near each other often seems like the mature path to take."
"So, you forgive us?" Declan sounds excited and way too hopeful. He's about to have his hopes shattered because the angry glint in Blue's eyes makes it obvious what she's thinking.
"Fuck no." She glowers at him. "I said Iunderstood. You haven't done enough to mask the bad with good yet, Declan. There's so much hurt that I don't know if you'll ever make it better, but I'm willing to let you try. I'm willing to try..." Blue adds in a much softer tone, making my heart ache for her.
This can't be easy, but she's offering an olive branch. We'dbe stupid not to take it. I reach out and trail my fingers down her bare arm. "Thank you, Bee. We'll make sure you won't regret it."
I watch with fascination as she releases a tense breath. "I hope not. But you need to understand I don't have a lot to give. There's a lot Iwon'tgive. I have Violet to think about, and I refuse to be broken ever again. Shallow friendships are all I'm willing to offer."
Right now, I add for her because there's no fucking way we'll only be friendly. Hell, she kissed my two friends today.
"Alright," I agree without letting on that we're going to fight for more. "Still want to go?"
Blue glances at all of us one last time. "Yeah. I should get home. See you later," she blurts and basically runs out of our house.
Not a moment after the door slams closed, Declan says what I've been thinking. "We're all in agreement that herfriendshipthing is bullshit, right? I'm going to grovel for way fucking more than that. And you're coming with me," he says to Felix, dragging him on this new romantic adventure.
