Page 32 of Four Times Taken

"Where the hell have you been? We missed our flight last night because of you. Why wouldn't you answer your phone?" I accosted him as Ethan and Matt tumbled out of their rooms.

"Sor—" Eric fixed his mouth to apologize as Matt grinned.

"You made up with Lily, didn't you? By the looks of it, you did more than just 'make up.'" Matt hopped across the room like a damn bunny rabbit, to jump on Eric, who was grinning from ear to ear.

My stomach turned over, and my energy drained in the blink of an eye. Still, I found the heat to bark at him a little too hard. "Well, you could've at least called!"

Everyone turned to look at me. "Sorry, man. I just wanted to make sure she was okay." Eric's brows came together.

"Oh, is that what they're calling it nowadays?" I scoffed.

"What's the matter with you?" Eric scowled. "I thought you'd at least be happy for me. I'm sorry about the flight. You're right. I should've called, but I got caught up." He turned away from me and directed his attention to Matt and Ethan. "Anyway, I have something else to tell you. I'm staying in Durham for a bit."

"What? No, bro. It's all of us, or none of us," Matt protested.

"Yeah, but I can't ask you guys to stay, and I'm not going. If there's a chance I can start over with Lily, I want to. I don't want it to just be a fuck and another goodbye. I don't want to lose her again," he said.

"Bro, I think you're reading too much into this. Just because she let you fuck her, it doesn't mean she wants you in her life forever," I muttered. Eric grimaced before stepping to me. "What the hell is your problem, huh?"

Ethan pulled me aside and out of the room, putting his hand out to stall Eric. "I'll sort this," he told him. When we're alone, he lowered his voice. "You have a thing for Lily, don't you?" he asked.

My eyes flashed. "What? I-I...what?" I responded, clearly flustered.

"It's clear as fucking day, and if you keep going, Eric's going to see it too. Is that what you want?" he said.

Hissing, I took a breath. "Maybe," I grumbled.

"And ruin our friendship? I get that Lily's hot and deep, real, and kind..." he started.

I tilted my head at him. "You better lower your voice, or Eric might think you have a thing for her too."

He dropped his eyes from mine.

"You fucking do, don't you?!" I gasped, shock overriding jealousy.

"Shut up." He grabbed me by the shoulders. "Look, it doesn't fucking matter, okay. It doesn't matter what you or I feel for Lily. She's Eric's first love, and we're his best friends. If he has a shot of rekindling whatever the hell they lost between them, it's our duty to be happy for him, not resent him for it. So, you've got to make a choice, Ryan. Do you want to be the bitter ex-friend, coveting what's not yours, or do you want to be a grown-up and be happy for your best friend?"

"What are you guys whispering about?" Eric came up so fast behind us that Ethan's whole life flashed through his brown eyes as he spun around.

"Oh, hey!" Ethan said in the most unnatural way possible.

I interrupted, "We were just talking about how unreasonable I was being about you missing the flight and having us all worried about why you weren't calling. Sorry for overreacting."

"It wasn't an overreaction. You're right. I could've called." Eric reached out to pat me on my shoulder.

"And we were just saying how it would be nice to just chill in Durham for a bit," Ethan added.

Wait, what? I wasn't saying that.

"That if you're not leaving, we're not leaving. Isn't that right, Ryan?" he asked.

Why'd he have to go and add all that bullshit now? Running my hand across his shoulder, I grinned, gripping it tight enough for him to wince. It was one thing being happy for Eric when I was on the other side of the world; getting over this lust for Lily with some other guy or girl, it was a whole other thing being so close to them, wondering when I could get my turn with her. Fuck, I sounded disgusting.

"Yeah, I'm up for staying another month or so," Matt added.

Two against one. Flights were cheaper when we all put together. Out of the two rich guys in the group, they always found incredible places for us to stay, picturesque places. I could go back home, but what was I going to do there? And it wasn't like I couldn't find picturesque places within my budget to continue my work. That was a lie. Everything was photo-worthy, but it was what people wanted to see on my social media that brought in the attention, and what people were willing to pay for. I was bullshitting. I was talented. I could take a picture of anything, and it would be captivating. But I didn't want to do any of it without my best friends there. Damn it, I guess I was codependent, and I guess I was staying. I'd just have to learn to curb my enthusiasm around Lily.

Chapter 23

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