Page 53 of Just Friends
Months of work … gone in a flash.
Mouth agape, I stood and stared, helpless to even move. The edges of my vision went blurry, and soon I was staring at the monitor through a dark tunnel. Ishould’veknown what was happening, but by the time I noticed the weakness in my wobbly knees, it was already too late.
Cataplexy struck. My legs lost all strength and down I went. My body hit the hardwood floor like a bag of sand,thunk.
“Shit!” Jax scrambled out of his chair and squatted next to me on the floor. “You okay, Pipes?”
I was too stunned, too hurt, to speak. I couldn’t move, either. I was too ashamed to even look my best friend in the eye.
“Damn it,” he hissed, shaking his head. “I’m so sorry.” He scooped my body into his strong arms, stood straight up, and carried me over to the couch. Jax set me down gently and laid on the couch next to me.
I doubted he’d had a chance to stop the stream—but at least here, on the couch, we were safely out of the camera’s view.
“I’m really sorry I let you fall, Pipes,” he said, stroking my hair. He spoke quietly so the stream wouldn’t hear us. “I should’ve seen that coming. Fuck me.”
“No,” I whispered back weakly. “I’m not your responsibility. This is all my fault. Not yours. The whole thing—ugh, what a waste of time and money. I’m so stupid, Jax.”
“Hey. Don’t talk about my best bud like that.” He wrapped his arms around me and squeezed me tight. “You’re not stupid, Pipes. You’re the smartest person I know. The fact you were even able to make that app in the first place proves it.”
“Yeah, and look what a success it is,” I said with disgust. “Everyone hates it. They’re deleting it. Soulmate’s done. It’s over.”
He shook his head. “It’s way too early to say that, Pipes. We just don’t know how this might play out.”
“How else could it play out? You saw the things they’re saying in chat—the people are furious. They think Iscammedthem.”
“Yeah, but …” he trailed off, scrambling to find something positive to say. “Maybe, uh, a little controversy will be a good thing? No such thing as bad publicity, right …?”
I appreciated him trying to cheer me up, but I could tell he didn’t really believe it.
“Yeah, right,” I mumbled.
I felt tears coming. I pressed my face against his chest so he wouldn’t see. Throwing a pity party for one, I wept silently, not wanting Jax to hear, and definitelynot wanting the jerks in our stream to hear, either. But when my body began to silently quake in his arms, he noticed.
“Are you crying?” he whispered, trying to get a look at my face.
I struggled to keep my face hidden. I didn’t want him to see me like this, but he was just too strong to resist. He pried me away from the warm comfort of his chest and managed to get a glimpse at my face.
“Aw, damn it,” he said, looking like his own heart had shattered. “Youarecrying.”
He wiped the tears from my cheek and embraced me again, tighter than ever. Now that the cat was out of the bag, I could let myself cry—quietly, anyway, because I didn’t want those rotten people online to have the satisfaction of knowing I was crushed.
“Poor girl.” He made shush noises, not to quiet me, but to soothe me. “Listen. It’s gonna be okay. You hear me?”
I nodded, my throat too tight to speak.
Jax’s strong arms made me feel safe and secure. I snuggled closer and buried my face in his chest, seeking comfort in the nutty, manly musk I’d come to know as his natural scent. He cradled my head with his big hand, running his fingers through my hair.
“It’s okay, babe,” he said, planting a kiss on the top of my head.
He’d never showed affection like that before, but it didn’t surprise me, nor did it feel wrong or out of place.Thiswasthe most upset he’d ever seen me, after all; of course he’d try to make me feel better. All I could think was how lucky I was to have a best friend who picked me up whenever I fell, literally and figuratively, and always did his best to cheer me up.
“You’re so sweet to me,” I whispered.
“Because I care about you,” he said, and he kissed the top of my head once more.
“Thank you,” I sniffled.
His mouth moved lower and he planted feather-soft kisses across my brow. His kisses were so gentle and sincere—there was no ulterior motive, no lust lurking in those lips like when most guys tried to kiss me. No, instead, his kisses were made of pure love and designed to comfort me.
