Page 51 of The Friend Zone

A part of me is really upset that what I was fearing happened. I waited too long to talk to Bay about my feelings for her and she moved on. Rebounding with Jagger was one thing, but dating Ryker means I lost her for good.

Ryker is a great guy and if he really has feelings for her, they could be together for a long time.

The truth is that if I didn’t feel like the world is coming to an end, I’d actually be happy for them.

I inhale a deep breath and do the right thing. “Congrats, man.” I clasp Ryker’s shoulder. “I’m sure you know how great Bay is. Treat her right. That’s all I have to say.”

Jagger’s jaw hits the floor. “Treat her right?Is this all you have to say, dude?”

I shrug. “What else do you want me to say?” I glare at him. Ryker had walked out of the room when I foolishly admitted my feelings for Bay to Jagger. It’s not his place to tell him, especially now when it could create animosity between me and Ryker.

“I’m not the only idiot who caught feelings for Bay. Cole has been in love with her for ages.”

“What the fuck?” I snap. “You have no right. That’s?—”

“That’s something you should do. You should tell Bay how you really feel about her. And you,” Ryker points his finger at Jagger. “You owe her a huge apology. For ending things by text, for hooking up with Candace and Bianca and for parading Candace around at last night’s party. Hopefully she’ll forgive you and give you a second chance.”

RYKER

Jagger and Cole look at me as if I had sprouted a second head.

“Come again?” Jagger asks, clearly confused. “A second chance? What the fuck are you talking about? If you’re together, why would she do that? Look man, I get it that you want to see me humiliated because I hurt her. But demanding that I tell her how I feel to have her reject me isn’t fair. I fucked up but Topher left me no choice.”

I roll my eyes. I would love nothing more than to let these two reap what they sowed, but I can’t.

The look in Bay’s eyes when she told me she had feelings for Cole and Jagger and Madame Svetlana’s predictions push me to do the right thing. Even if it means going against my nature.

“Bay cares about you. Both of you.” I say, shoving my ego so deep down that I hope it’ll stay there until I’m through with this talk.

Cole doesn’t get it. “Yeah, she’s my best friend. I know she cares about me. If I let my feelings for her get out of hand, it’s on me, I?—”

“Oh for fuck’s sake,” I groan. “Do I have to spell it out for you? Shecaresabout you, dude. And about that moron too.” I point at Jagger again.

My two best friends on the team look more confused with every passing second.

“There’s one thing I don’t get,” Cole says. “You and Bay are together, right?”

I nod. “We are.”

“Then why are you telling us shecaresabout us? That should fucking bother you.”

I’m so exasperated, I want to either bang my head against my locker, or shove both their heads in it. “Because Icareabout Bay. I want to see her happy. So you both need to tell her how you feel and Jagger needs to beg for her forgiveness.”

Cole pinches the bridge of his nose. “And then what? Do we go back to being friends? What if she ends it with you to be with me or Jagger?”

I seriously doubt it’s what Bay wants. “She won’t. I’m with her for as long as she will have me. That’s with or without either of you in the picture.”

Jagger catches my drift before Cole. “Do you mean like… we’d all date her? Like her sister with Luca, Blaze and Cash?”

I nod. “If that’s what Bay wants, sure. Apparently it’s written in the stars.”

I tell them about Madame Svetlana’s prediction. “So this is me fighting my possessiveness.”

Cole looks perplexed. “You care about Bay so much that you’d share her with me and Jagger? Can you really do that?”

There’s a glimmer of hope in Jagger’s eyes. “That obviously isn’t a deal breaker for Ryker. He was fine sharing her with me when he apologized to her.”

Cole’s head rears back as if that puck from earlier had rebounded back in his face. “What the fuck did you just say?”

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