Page 6 of The Friend Zone

I clasp his shoulder. “Like I said before, you’d get over it eventually, right?”

I’ve never seen him so despondent. “It’s not that simple,” he sighs. “My family is in the public eye a lot. Especially after that huge merger last year that made Connelly Tech the biggest techcompany worldwide. If that video circulated, it would really hurt our image. My parents would never forgive me.”

I’d be lying if I said that I’m entirely sorry for his predicament. On one hand, I don’t want Bay to be hurt if he ends their friends with benefits deal; on the other hand, I’m kind of glad he has to end it. Jagger swears left and right that it’s just a rebound thing, but I know he cares about her. What if she cared too and they got together? I know it’s selfish of me, but as long as Bay stays single, there’s a hope that one day, we could end up together.

Bay told me more than once that this year she intends to focus on school and her social media empire. While this is another reason why telling her how I feel would be risky, it buys me time.

I could tell her at graduation. If she feels the same way I do, we’ll find a way to stay close. If she doesn't, I won't have to see her every day and be reminded of what I can never have.

“I’m sorry, dude,” I say, feeling a little hypocritical. “Just make sure you let her down gently. What are you going to say to her?”

His eyes are fixed on the table. “I wasn’t planning on saying anything. I just—I thought if I avoided her long enough, she’d get the hint.”

That won’t work. “She’ll be hurt if you do that. She’ll think there’s something wrong with her. Besides, you can’t avoid her. I’m already doing that.”

Jagger flips me off. “You can’t avoid her forever either. At least Bay and I had just started getting to know each other. You’re her best friend, you can’t pretend she doesn’t exist without hurting her.”

I know he’s right.

And if I had to choose, I’d rather get hurt than see her getting hurt again.

“I know. I’m going to have to suck it up and keep things between us as platonic as they’ve been so far. What are you going to tell her?”

He shrugs. “I’ll think of something.”

“Jagger, if you hurt her—” I threaten.

“I won’t, I swear.”

I get up, ready to hit the shower, but I stop in my tracks when a thought hits me. “What are you going to do about your lucky bj?”

“Topher said the bunny strike is over. I guess I’ll have to start the bunny rotation again.”

I’ve never seen a man talking about getting head from a different hot girl every other week and looking so miserable. His face would look appropriate on someone walking to the gallows.

The thought that if I couldn’t have Bay, I would rather see her with someone decent, like Jagger, hits me again. Too bad that, thanks to Topher, we’re both indefinitely stuck in the friend zone.

CHAPTER 3

DAZED AND CONFUSED

BAY

Iswear I’m not a bad person.

I’m a good daughter and sister and a loyal friend. I work hard, study hard, pay my taxes and let people with just one item go before me in the line at the grocery store.

My karma should be at least somewhat decent. I don’t expect to win the lottery or anything crazy, but would it be too much to ask that everything I touch stop turning to shit?

After yesterday’s close call with the no confidence vote, fate has decided to deliver another blow today.

First the insurance company called to tell me that they can’t release the payment for the house fire, pending their own investigation.

The firefighters found the item that caused the fire, but weren’t able to establish with any degree of certainty if the curling iron had been tampered with.

The insurance company wants to eliminate any foul play, because obviously, were they to conclude that the fire was set intentionally, they wouldn’t pay us a cent.

Maybe I should have cut my losses and gone back to bed. Nothing bad can happen if I huddle under my blankets and wait for the storm to pass, right?

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