Page 41 of Five Alarm Love
“We are friends!”She actually stomped a foot.“Ever since elementary school for us.And Mav’s been our friend for several years.”
Tuli took one step forward, somehow too far away but also too close.“What if we were more than just friends, Lou?”
For a few seconds, it was hard to breathe.“What?”She tried to ignore the hurt expression written stark on his face, even in the shadows and moonlight.“I mean, wearemore than just friends, aren’t we?We’ve been great friends for almost twenty years.”That was all she had to give right now.It would have to be enough.
Yet it physically hurt her to see the pain cross his face.
Then, for the first time in forever, Tuli went utterly still and serious.His intense gaze pinned her in place.A muscle ticked in his jaw.
Her mouth went dry.
She’d never experienced him like this.
He stepped forward until they were a few inches apart.Heat rolled off him, bringing with it Tuli’s light scent of soap and smoky aftershave.“We are the best of friends.”He looked down at her.“What if there was more than friendship?”
Lou’s thoughts swirled like puffs of smoke from a forest fire.One thought chased another to its inevitable, painful conclusion.The genetic report.His dreams.Her changed future.“There’s a lot going on right now.Things are complicated.”
“Complicated by what?”
She shifted, bumping the vehicle with her hip.“That’s none of your business.”
Tuli’s Adam’s apple bobbed.“Life is always complicated.That’s life.But sometimes things are truly simple.”He rolled his lips.“At some point, we will miss out on some awesome moments by keeping everyone out of our business.”
“Sometimes keeping people out of our business reduces the chance of pain.”
Nodding, he said, “Connection has risks.It requires trust.Respect.”He patted his pocket containing the phone.“It opens us up to criticism and to not living up to others’ expectations.”His voice dropped to a decibel above a whisper.“It opens us up to being seen as a failure.”
It was like he read her mind.“Why risk the pain?”
“Because letting people into our business can also be a joy.Trust.Simple connection.”He extended his arms to the sides.
Lou pointed.“That phone attached to the internet makes things not simple.”
“Huh?”
She reached for the only logical argument that didn’t force her to share her deepest secret.“I had my personal business broadcast all over town once before.I can’t do it again.I can’t live that exposed of a life.Not like you do.”
“No one’s asking for you to be broadcast anywhere.”
“Aren’t you?That’s part of the Tuli package.Social exposure.”As if she had a shot at being part of that package.Lou knew the score.She did not have a chance.
“What are you getting at?”
“I’m a very private person.”
“And I’ve respected that privacy.Always.Never mentioned your name online.Never put you on camera.”
She kept going.“I can’t deal with any relationship, friendship or otherwise, on display for others to see and examine.I don’t know if I want to be around someone who thinks about life as a series of clips for thousands of people to see.”
“Technically, over a hundred thousand people.”He gave a self-deprecating snort.“That’s literally my job.”
“People aren’t content.”
He flinched like she had slapped him.
Lou blew out a harsh breath.“You’re never off.This is why you’re so… you… all the time.”
A beat.Then two.Then he said, “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
