Page 17 of Tangled up in You

Simon releases a heavy breath. “How do you not? We told you we’ve always liked you, but you don’t believe us. My favorite color used to be pink because you wore it all the time.”

Melanie’s chest rises with her deep intake of breath. It deflated as she releases it. “Pink was my favorite color in high school.”

“We know!” the three of us chime.

CHAPTER 9

MELANIE

Did I really miss that much?

I thought it was just me with a crush on them, but they’re telling me it wasn’t just the alcohol that had them seeing our relationship differently. They’ve always wanted me.

Not only that, but they seemed to have paid more attention to me than I ever did to them. My chest tightens as guilt sets in.

Was I a bad friend?

“Melanie, it’s your turn,” Oliver says, pulling me from my thoughts.

I’m not really in the mood to play anymore, but it could help me understand them more, so I straighten. “I’m a dog person, I was good at schoolwork, and I love to cook.”

“Third one’s a lie,” Simon answers without hesitation. “Drink.”

My eyes widen. “How did you know that?”

Kent chuckles. “You were a horrible cook.”

Oliver smirks. “You’ve made comments about how much you hate to cook and how bad you were at it.”

Holy shit.

They remember offhanded things I’ve said growing up. Theydoknow me better than I know them.

“Fine. It’s your turn, Oliver.” I sink back into my seat before taking another sip of my drink.

“I’ve never eaten sushi, I eat candy when I’m stressed, and I’ve been in love with Melanie since the ninth grade.” Oliver looks at me with a straight face.

I groan. “You guys are playing dirty.”

I’m starting to believe their words more than before, so I think I know the lie. It’s making me feel very small. It’s obvious they paid more attention to me than I ever did to them.

Being in our teens, we were all a bit self-centered. I always assumed they only cared about parties and hot chicks; I refused to fool myself into thinking they saw me as anything more than one of the guys.

Turns out I was wrong. They saw me.

And I was blind to it.

“Are you going to pick one?” Kent asks.

I mentally shake off my shame, feeling defensive about their need to prove me wrong. “Why don’t you?”

“Because I know the answer,” he scoffs. “It wouldn’t be any fun if we kept picking the right one.”

“You made your point,” I grumble. “I should have been a better friend and paid more attention.”

“We’re not trying to make you feel bad.” Simon frowns. “We just want you to know that what we said last night—drunk or not—we meant it.”

“You were our best friend,” Oliver says. “The four of us… Our friendship was great. Without you, it would have been incomplete. Don’t be so hard on yourself. We didn’t want you to know how we felt back then. That’s on us, not you.”

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