Page 36 of The Friend Zone
“I told you I’m moving here!” Sheldon said.
“And I told you, I don’t want you to base your decision on us.”
He let out a bitter laugh. “So you met someone last night, when I didn’t show up for the concert?”
“No. This is someone I’ve known for a long time and we decided to… become more than friends.”
“I see. Well, good luck, Dana. I hope he treats you better than you treated me.”
The line went dead.
Shocked at his anger, Dana stared at the phone.
“Was that your boyfriend?” Omar asked from the bed.
“He’s not my boyfriend,” Dana answered.
“Not anymore,” he said.
She set down the phone and climbed into bed with him. “He didn’t take our conversation too well.”
“Not your problem anymore. You were honest with him.”
“He was so angry. I feel kinda bad, but I didn’t want to just ghost him.” That conversation was one of the most awkward breakups she’d ever experienced, and they weren’t even a couple in a committed relationship.
“Come here,” Omar said.
Dana moved the food to the nightstand and crawled across the mattress. She settled against his shoulder and stretched her arm across his wide chest. Cuddling in bed with him felt so right, and she wished they’d been honest about their attraction to each other before and taken steps sooner to move their relationship past the friend zone.
“Don’t worry about him. Positive thoughts only,” Omar said, winding one of her locks around his finger. “I meant to ask you last night, when do you leave for your retreat?”
Dana tensed and hesitated before answering. “I’m not going.”
“Why? Last night you told me you already paid the deposit and planned to go.”
She scooted away so she could look into his eyes. “Before I tell you why, promise you won’t get upset.”
“No,” he said, dead serious.
“Omar…”
“No, because whenever someone makes that request, the listening party definitely gets upset, and I don’t want you to call me a liar when I can’t control my anger. Why aren’t you going to Colorado?”
She hesitated, then released a deep breath. “You know Tommy called last night.”
“Yes.” His eyes narrowed a fraction.
“The reason he called is because his car—”
Omar was already shaking his head.
“Listen to me explain before you go off on one of your tangents,” Dana said in an exasperated voice.
A muscle in his jaw tightened. “Go ahead.”
“The engine blew out of his car or something, and he needs a new engine. He has a job but didn’t have the money to cover the cost. He needed help so he could continue going to work and paying his bills.”
“You done justifying your explanation to me and yourself?”
