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I opened the other eye. “She said she’s ‘still very interested?’”
“She definitely said that.”
I tapped my fingers on my thigh. “That is interesting…No I can’t. I can’t do that to Gemma. And I haven’t decided if I’m going to rent it out again or not.”
“What would you be doing to Gemma?”
“Don’t make me explain the obvious.”
“Well. Gemma isn’t the one with the jealousy problem.”
I pulled myself up to slouch on the sofa. “You think I have a problem?”
“No. The level of jealousy you’re feeling is totally normal for an alpha male such as yourself and perfectly healthy.”
“It is, right? It’s normal to care about a friend.”
“No. It’s going to ruin everything.”
“You are not good at talking me through this stuff.”
“I agree. You should talk to Chloe.”
“I need to get some new friends.”
“What happened to your buddies from college?”
“They’ll just ask me about Gemma. They think she’s hot.”
“So you’ll have to get new friends who are straight women who won’t try to hit on Gemma?”
“No way. Never again. Don’t ever be best friends with a woman, Ethan.”
“Iambest friends with a woman. My wife.”
“Yeah.” I pushed out a breath. “Me too.”
“Look, I believe you’re into Gemma, I see it, I completely get it and I encourage it. But are you one hundred percent sure that this isn’t a grass is greener situation?”
“What do you mean?”
“She’s been the one attractive woman in your life that you can’t quite have, for years, are you sure this isn’t just aboutgettingher? Because if yougether and then youdropher once you’vehad her, you lose your best friend, and Chloe will kick the shit out of you, and she’ll kick the shit out of me if I stay friends with you, so you’d basically lose everyone in LA that’s important to you.”
I stared at him, holding my breath as his words wove their way through my brain and my soul. “Fuuuuuck.”
“So no pressure—just saying think about it.”
“I can’t not think about it.”
“If this were a movie I’d take you to a strip club to try to cheer you up.”
Before I could even get a little bit excited about the prospect, Chloe called out from the other room: “If you go to a strip club I will strip you of your balls while you’re sleeping!”
Ethan grinned at me. “And that is why she’s my best friend.”
“I need another drink.”
“Okay. But before I pour you one…” He lowered his voice and got in closer. I instinctively pulled away from him, but I was desperate to hear what he had to say despite his historic inability to say anything worthwhile on the subject. “You didn’t hear this from me. But a while ago, she told Chloe that she has a journal with a list.”
