Page 48 of Savage in the Sheets
“To Clayton?”
“Yeah, to Clayton.”
“I had no idea.”
“Most wouldn’t. I’ve always treated him as my own. Heck, he is my own.”
I smile. “That’s wonderful.”
“And the point I was trying to make is that when Wendy confided in me, she didn’t do so with any intention of getting into a relationship. We’d meet for coffee, she’d talk, I’d listen, and then one day, I came to the conclusion that I didn’t just want to listen to her stories. I wanted to be in them too.”
“So you asked her out when she was pregnant?”
“No. I asked her to marry me. She was shocked. She couldn’t imagine what I saw in her, being pregnant and all. The thing is, she thought it was some kind of pity proposal, but it wasn’t that at all. I was just a fool in love.”
“And now you’re living your happily ever after.”
“I am, and you could too.”
“I don’t know if that’s in the cards for me. Not with how bad I am at love.”
“Take a chance on Wes, Jenna. Wendy took a chance on me, and look how it turned out for us. Let Wes take a chance on you.”
My shoulders slump. “I don’t know. There’s too much water under the bridge, and it’s flooding.”
“Some people might have called Clayton the water, and maybe he was. He was the storm that brought the rainbow.”
I never realized how good a guy Elliot was before. I always knew he was a fair, just man, but it wasn’t until now that I realized his heart is pure gold.
“Thanks for listening. I really needed it.”
“Don’t mention it.”
“Can I ask your opinion on something?”
“Shoot.”
“Do you think I’m irrational for cutting off my friendship with Angela?”
He thinks for a moment, pursing his lips and eyeing me critically. “You’ve been friends with Angela for a while, and although I’ve seen other friends within your orbit, it’s always Angela that’s been your ‘best girl.’ While I don’t think you necessarily owe her your friendship, I do think you owe her the chance to explain herself. You don’t know when her ‘relationship’ with Wes started, and you don’t know if she’s developed feelings for him. She might be going through the exact same thing you are.”
Elliot has a way with words and makes me realize how flawed my plan was. Angela will shoot it to me straight, and then I can decide if I want to continue our friendship.
And I do kind of feel a little bad for her. What if Angela has had a longstanding crush on Wes, and my entire endeavor with him has been torture to her? She had been against my hookup from the beginning, which may have been due to feelings she didn’t feel like she could share with me.
I pull out my phone and take Angela’s name off of mute, and about a dozen texts stream onto my screen.
Saturday:
Angela:I can’t wait to hear about Stage 3!!!
Sunday:
Angela:Wake up, sleepyhead! Sunday Funday?
Angela:Going out with Porn Star Jim tonight—wish me luck!
Monday:
