For now, at least, we could stay like this. For a little while.
Alas, even the tender, quiet moments had to end. Such was life. I hated the fact that I had to help Bree off me, had to let her go and feel a coldness where her body had been, but I had to. I had to go home, had to fix my life. Things would get better, though. With this girl by my side, everything would get better.
“I’ll text you when I’m home, okay?”
Bree nodded, and I gave her a quick peck on the cheek before leaving. I waved goodbye to her parents, who were in the living room, and I headed to the front door, feeling good about it. Bree might not believe me yet, but hopefully in time she would. Hopefully in time she’d come to trust me, know that I meant everything I said. I—
All of my thoughts stopped the moment I stepped outside and found myself staring at another guy getting out of his car. He’d parked in the driveway, right behind Bree’s car. He had a backpack slung over his shoulder, and he looked positively thrilled to be here.
Was he here to see Michelle? Kyle hadn’t mentioned anything about her working with another guy…
Light brown hair that seemed to sparkle golden in the sun, a clean-cut jaw that was more square than anything. When he got closer, I could see his eyes were a dark amber, and the moment they locked on me, his legs halted.
He was a handsome guy, I guess. Kyle would be jealous if Michelle had to work with him.
The other guy narrowed his eyes at me somewhat, and he soon met me on the pathway just below the porch. I had no idea why he stared at me like he didn’t like me, but as long as he wasn’t making any moved on my brother’s girl, we were fine.
“Let me guess,” the newcomer spoke, grinning a dimpled smile. “Calum, right? You know, I always wondered, what kind of name is Calum anyways?”
Wait a minute. How the heck did this guy know me?
“Who are you?” I questioned, feeling the need to flex my muscles.
“Ah, so Bree kept me to herself,” he went on, his grin widening. “Interesting. Kind of makes me wonder if she likes me more than she likes you. Not going to lie, it feels pretty good.”
Hold the fucking phone. Bree? This kid was here for Bree? I felt my heart start to race in my chest. The way he spoke her name, the way he was happy to learn she’d kept him to herself…did he like her, too?
And, of course, I wondered right after that: did she like him? Bree never told me she was seeing someone else. Granted, I never asked, but I didn’t think I had to.
Did I have competition?
“I’m Mason,” the newcomer spoke, still grinning that annoying proud grin, like he thought he had me beaten. “I’m in one of Bree’s classes. We’re also partners for a group project, so, you know, we’ll be seeing lots of each other in the future.” He walked around me, saying nothing else as he headed to the house.
I turned, watching him go in without even knocking. How many times had he been here? How much time had he spent with her? Suddenly I felt insecure about my relationship with Bree. How could I possibly beat someone who saw her damn near every day? I’d be hours away. I couldn’t…
No. Insecure wasn’t me. The way Bree reacted to me, how she felt in my arms…it was right. No matter what happened, no matter what that idiot Mason thought might be between them, it was nothing compared to what was between Bree and me.
Bree was mine, even if she wasn’t technically my girlfriend. That freak Mason would realize it soon enough, because even though I might be going home, I would never give up on this girl.
Chapter Twelve – Bree
Michelle sat on the end of my bed, wearing her pajamas. Tonight was an odd night for her; she wasn’t hanging with Kyle. Nights like that were far and few between. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a bun, and she’d already taken off her makeup for the day. Her azure stare was on me, twinkling, knowing everything about everything, and yet she still felt like she had to ask.
“What are you going to do?”
I said nothing for a while, leaning back against my headboard. Calum had gone home a few days ago, but he’d been texting me nonstop. He’d even made time to call and talk at night. We stayed on the phone for over an hour yesterday, which was very weird, because I was not the easiest person to hold a conversation with.
Heck, I had no idea why he was trying so hard, but he was. I did wonder if it was because he’d run into Mason on his way out.
Oh, yeah. Mason had told me all about it, and he told me the story with a huge grin on his face. I’d been so shocked that I hadn’t said much at all during the few hours we worked on our project. I also had been pretty quiet during class, but like always, Mason made up for my silence.
Still jealous, though I think he thought he had it in the bag, since Calum had gone home.
What did he think he had in the bag? Me.
I had no idea why these two were so adamant about me, because really, there was nothing special about me. Nothing worth fighting over, but they seemed content to keep trying.
Michelle, of course, loved the drama. She liked hearing about both of my, to use her words, would-be suitors. It was as she sat on my bed and asked me what I was going to do that I realized she was probably right. I had to do something. We couldn’t go on like this.
As I remained silent, Michelle went on, “If you would’ve asked me two months ago if my sister would be stuck in a love triangle, I would’ve laughed. But here you are, in the middle of Cute and Cuter.” I had no idea which one was supposed to be which, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.
A love triangle. Was that what this was? Was I stuck between two guys, and in the end I’d be forced to choose? Or maybe one of them would get sick and tired of the indecision on my part and leave, and thereby making my decision easier.
But then it probably wouldn’t be too long before the other one left, too. They both might claim they wanted to stick around, but I knew better. I knew, in the end, neither one would. Who would want to stay by my side for that long? I couldn’t even stomach myself.
“No hard feelings if you like Mason better. He is cute, and from what I hear, funny,” Michelle went on. “Calum’s a big boy, he’ll get over it.”
I shook my head a bit, not knowing what the hell I was going to do.
“Or do you like Calum better? He is older, and he’s out of the partying stage—although it doesn’t seem like Mason’s in that stage, either.” It was something she’d know, since she was knee-deep in that stage of her life herself.
“I don’t know who I like better,” I said, wondering if that made me a bad person. I didn’t know how many times I’d kissed Calum now…and Mason—he hadn’t made a move on me after his sudden kiss, but I knew he was dying to. I knew, if I gave him the go-ahead, he would gladly kiss me again. “I like them both.”
“I hear ya.”
“No, you don’t. You’re all for Kyle.”
“You’re right,” Michelle said, shrugging. “But still, I can see their appeal. I mean, I like both chips and cookies, you know? I wouldn’t want to choose, either.”
It was then I had a silly thought—and it was the silliest thought I could possibly have in this situation—but what if I didn’t choose? What if I refused to? How long could we go on like this? Perhaps that would be better than outright choosing one.