Page 84 of Friend Zone to End Zone

And I’d take him back and things would be good for a while. He’d act like our time apart had truly changed him.

But after a few months, or sometimes even longer, the old cracks in his façade would shine through and I’d be right back to where I’d been before: wishing I was with someone who treated me better.

Wishing I was with someone who treated me the way Cole did.

I’d told myself so many times thatthistime would be different. That this time he’d really be changed and would love me the way I now knew I deserved to be loved.

But I could only lie to myself for so long before the toxic quality of our relationship became too hard to ignore and we’d go on another break only to repeat the cycle again.

And again.

And again.

I was tired of living on this roller coaster with him. Tired of the highs and lows and feeling like I was the only one putting in the effort to make our relationship work.

But most of all: I didn’twanthim anymore.

The past twenty-four hours had helped me realize that being with Chad was like living in partly cloudy weather for so long that you forgot what it felt like to have the sun fully touch your skin.

But being with Cole?

I had a feeling that being with Cole would be like living on the beach in Hawaii where the weather was always perfect and you couldn’t even remember what it felt like to be cold.

And I wanted more of my Hawaii.

I wanted more of the paradise I felt when I was with him.

So as Chad stepped in front of us, I slipped my hand into Cole’s, pulled my shoulders back, and stood up straighter.

I would not be weak this time.

I was finally going to stick up for myself and not accept anything less than I deserved.

Zara held her arms out to give Chad a welcoming hug when he reached us. “I’m so glad you could make it.”

“I wouldn’t miss it.” He gave her a brief hug then he stepped back. “Sorry I’m a little late. I got stuck in traffic.”

“Oh, it’s fine,” she said. “I was just catching up with Arianna and Cole.” And when she turned back to us, her eyes immediately went to Cole’s and my intertwined hands.

Her eyes then lifted to meet mine, a look of confusion filling her expression. And then she turned back to Chad and said, “I’m guessing there’s a reason you two came separately?”

“That’s correct.” Chad glanced at Cole and me for the first time since reaching us, and after seeming to take in how close we stood to one another, he narrowed his gaze and said, “We aren’t together anymore.” And then looking back to Zara, he said, “But it seems Arianna wasted no time in finding a consolation prize.” His gaze flicked up to Cole. “Or perhaps it was more that our NFL star here finally started making passes instead of catching them.”

The awkwardness that filled the air after his comments was immediate and thick.

I watched Zara for her reaction to what Chad had said and noticed a sudden tenseness form behind her eyes. She glanced around the perimeter of the room, like she was suddenly looking for an excuse to exit this conversation. And after her eyes stopped on William, who was heading to the kitchen with a platter of empty glasses, she stood a little straighter and said, “I’m going to see if William needs my help.” Then she looked at each of us individually and said, “Please, do enjoy yourselves. And Chad, make sure to try the bourbon meatballs. William made those himself.”

“I’ll head there next.” Chad shot Zara one of those smiles that had won him lots of clients in the boardroom.

After Zara disappeared, Chad turned back to Cole and me, his smile replaced with suspicion.

“So,” he said, glancing down at Cole’s and my intertwined hands. “Is this the real reason why you broke up with me? Did it actually have less to do with the need tograduateto a higher level relationship, and more to do with the fact that you were shacking up with your friend with benefits here?”

When his icy blue eyes inspected mine, my stomach twisted, making me feel like I might throw up.

“You want me to take this?” Cole asked, giving my hand a reassuring squeeze. “Because you don’t have to deal with this if you don’t want to.”

But as much as I wanted Cole to just handle Chad for me so I wouldn’t have to deal with him anymore, I knew I needed to stand up to Chad myself.

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