Page 2 of The Best Friend Power Play

The beauty of hiding your true feelings about your best friend who you've been secretly in love with for the past few years is that you become adept at hiding them.

I clear my throat. "I hate to break it to you, ladies, but Culver and I are in fact one of the rare recorded instances of platonic male-female friendship in the history of our species. While he's here for the summer, a team from National Geographic will be following us around for research purposes."

The girls exchange knowing looks.

"Uh-huh," Beth says, not bothering to contain her smug smirk.

I won't be deterred. "Our families have known each other for four generations. We spent holidays and birthdays and summers together growing up. And as adults, we've formed a deep friendship. I can rely on him. I trust him. I love him. But we are…" I pause for dramatic effect. Cue the close-up and tense music. "Just friends."

And the Emmy for Best Performance by a Small Town Girl Who's Secretly in Love with Her Best Friend even Though He'd Never Think of Her as Anything More Than Friends goes to…Hannah Cooper.

Summer looks at me for a moment before taking a swig of water and Amiel and Beth exchange a glance while Evie's lips remain suctioned to the lid of her jumbo-sized coffee cup.

The topic gets dropped.

Good thing, too, because my calves are killing me. Exhaustion and exercise, coupled with having to deny your true feelings to your closest friends, do not mix well.

The girls move on to talking about something else, while my thoughts stay fixed on a certain two-time Stanley Cup-winning hockey player who just so happens to be my bestie—Culver Palladino.

Culver is the epitome of a good human.

He's kind and honest and dependable. Sweet and thoughtful. Funny. Smart.

Not to mention an incredibly talented hockey player.

When he talks to you, he makes you feel like there's no one else in the universe.

He's outgoing and always looks on the bright side of things. He's been through some hard times—we both have—but he always gets through it and comes out the other side stronger than before.

If I'm having a tough day, he always finds a way to cheer me up.

Usually with a joke.

A so bad it's almost good but not quite joke.

That's kind of a thing we do.

Since our families have always been close, when we were growing up Culver did give off protective older brother vibes.

Especially when my mom died when I was thirteen.

Despite being four years older, he always made an effort to keep in touch and check in on how I was doing.

He's crazy about my younger siblings, Katie and Chester—especially Chester—and I know Chester idolizes him.

After I graduated from high school, the age gap between Culver and I shrunk somehow, and it felt like we were both finally on the same level.

We became friends, then best friends, and now my friendship with him is the closest, most precious friendship I have.

Which is why I can't mess it up.

Culver means the world to me.

He's been there for me when I've needed him, and I've been there for him because I'm not the only one who lost someone they loved dearly in their childhood.

We have a bond stronger than just family. Our connection is strong and runs deep. But we really are just friends.

And it all boils down to one simple reason—Culver isn't interested in me romantically.

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