Page 14 of The Proximity Factor

“Amen,” everyone agreed.

The man had just set a fire that was going to burn the ears of everyone in town, including his fiancée’s. Honestly, I felt bad for Meribeth.

“I’m not the person you should come crying to about that. I think you should go.” It wasn’t a suggestion.

Greg blinked, bewildered, as if he didn’t understand me. “You’re exactly who I need to talk to. I think I still love you.”

“Ah, hell no. He did not. He did not,” Miss Rae yelled.

My sentiments exactly. I was so outraged by his audacity and declaration I had no idea what to say. Thankfully, I didn’t have to say anything. Mama was pushing through the crowd. “What is going on here? Rae, why are you cursing like that?”

Like I said, Mama believed hell is not to be uttered unless you’re reading out of the Bible. Even then, she’d sometimes say H-E-double hockey sticks in its place.

“I’ll tell you why.” Miss Rae was not shy at all. She raised six sons, if that says anything. “This boy here.” She pointed at Greg, who wouldn’t take his eyes off me. “He just done told your girl he’s still in love with her, even though he’s fixin’ to get married next month. Got the announcement on my refrigerator.”

Mama balled her fists as she marched toward Greg. Meanwhile, the humiliation of the situation and the memories of our painful breakup came crashing down on me, making it hard for me to catch my breath. He was adding insult to one of the biggest injuries my heart had ever sustained. I couldn’t understand why he was doing this. Wasn’t I just eye candy? I was about to say just that, but Mama got ahold of him first.

She grabbed his arm and pointed toward the exit. “I don’t know what you’re playing at here, but you better stay away from my girl. You had your chance, you fool.”

Greg tore his eyes away from me and pleaded with Mama. “I know,” he stuttered. “I made a mistake. Lanie Jane is the one I love.” That was the wrong thing to say.

Mama is smaller than Greg, but she is mighty. She hauled him toward the exit. “Coming in here like this only says you love yourself. If you truly loved Lanie Jane, you would have known what you had when you had it. But you were too busy worrying about yourself.”

Mama hit the nail on the head. I think it boiled down to the fact that it embarrassed Greg that I’m a cheer coach.

Well, you know what? Everyone needs a cheerleader in their lives, and I would have been Greg’s biggest one if only he had let me. I just wished a man would come along who wanted to cheer me on in the same way. Sadly, I wasn’t sure that was ever going to happen.

“WHERE’S LANIE?” ETHAN ASKED AS soon as he walked in the door for our LAN party.

My grimace said, Really, man? I thought he agreed to forget about her. “I don’t know.” I hadn’t seen her much this week. And even when we had crossed paths, she hadn’t said a word to me. She hadn’t even put my Pop-Tarts back in the basket or blared Taylor Swift. And gone were all the hot-pink sticky notes. You’d think this would make me happy—it was exactly what I’d hoped for. So why was it bugging the hell out of me?

“I’m sensing some tension. Are you two fighting?” Ethan grinned like nothing would make him happier.

“No.” I shut the door. “What would we have to fight about? We hardly know each other.”

“Which is a crime against humanity, man. Seriously. I can’t believe you aren’t interested in her.”

Who’s to say I wasn’t interested in her? I was just smart enough not to act on any of those desires. I shrugged, not wishing to get into it with Ethan. He could think what he wanted.

“Do you think she might come home soon?” Pete asked. “The woman makes a mean charcuterie board. And Anna wanted me to tell her thank you again for the flowers she brought her yesterday when they went to lunch.”

“Oh yeah, Brynn wanted me to tell her how much she loves the baby outfit she gave her,” Javon added.

“They had lunch together yesterday?” This was news to me. News that probably didn’t bode well for me.

Pete gave me a sly grin. “Yep. You better watch out. I don’t think our wives are too happy with you.”

I saw that one coming. Internally, I groaned. “Did Lanie say something about me?” I thought I’d better find out what my roommate was divulging. Probably what a jerk I was. I wished she were wrong, but it was better for both of our sakes. And I wasn’t necessarily being a jerk—I was just ignoring her.

“You know how our wives are. What happens at lunch stays at lunch, but I think they are under the impression that you judge Lanie for being southern. And that doesn’t sit well with our Georgia peaches,” Javon chided me.

“Not to mention they think Lanie is practically a saint. Which means they’ve adopted her into their circle. You don’t want to mess with that circle. Believe me,” Pete warned. “Remember how crazy our wives went on Maren and Stephen when they screwed you over? That’s your future if you hurt Lanie’s feelings.”

Disgruntled by this information, I walked over to my spot in front of two large monitors and threw myself into the chair. While I appreciated Brynn and Anna having my back, I knew there was some woman code that wouldn’t play in my favor. And admittedly, I was a little afraid of what Brynn and Anna could do. I’d seen the way they’d lost it on Maren and Stephen. It was like a WWE verbal takedown. I’d never seen Maren cry so hard. But what bothered me most was Lanie’s ability to infiltrate my friend group so easily. Where was the loyalty?

It’s not like I hadn’t bought dozens of gifts over the years for their kids. Hell, I’d even had to drive Anna to the hospital when she was in labor with Olivia because Pete about had a panic attack when he realized fatherhood was upon him. And I mowed Javon and Brynn’s lawn for the entire summer five years ago, after Javon had broken his leg. Not to mention all the big and small events I’d been to over the years supporting them. Didn’t these things count for anything?

“I’m not hurting her feelings,” I defended myself. “I’m just remaining aloof.” Not that it was doing any good. It was becoming increasingly likely that Lanie was not going to disappear from my life after the experiment was over. I pinched the bridge of my nose, making my glasses rise. Why couldn’t they have just stuck me with some guy who ate Corn Nuts and guzzled beer all day? That would have been better than the sexy siren I couldn’t stop thinking about. So maybe I was answering my own question regarding the ease of Lanie’s infiltration into the lives of my friends. There was just something about her that was so damn likeable.

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