Let's Be Just Friends (A New Adult College Romance)

by Camilla Isley

  ***

  Afterward, Tyler lay in Rose’s bed. He was staring at the ceiling mesmerized by what had just happened, and cherishing the weight of her body on his chest as she slept. Tyler trailed a finger down her neck, to her shoulder, and down her arm. Rose shivered without waking up, and then her breathing relaxed again.

  Tyler was stunned by what had just happened between them. Finally, he understood what making love meant as opposed to having sex. Everything happened spontaneously with no inhibitions. Even if it was their first time together, they knew each other too well to be shy. At least in the passion of the moment. And making love to Rose had been unique, explosive, and urgent, like taking that first breath of air after being underwater for a long time. Why had they waited so long? The last ten years seemed like a total waste of time now. But that was over. Everything would change now.

  Guilt tightened his chest, the same sensation that ripped through Tyler whenever he cheated on any of his girlfriends. With Georgiana, he’d honestly thought things would be different. His girlfriend was cool, never too clingy, and—except for the subject of Rose staying with him—they never argued about anything. And now Tyler could see Georgiana had been right all along. She’d picked up on something he’d been blind to.

  He’d have to break up with her at once. Tyler wasn’t looking forward to that “friendly” chat. He was sure Georgiana would not make it easy for him. But there was no space left in his life for her, not now that his friendship with Rose had transformed into something new, something better…

  Could it be possible he’d been in love with his best friend all these years without ever realizing it? Was this why he’d cheated in all his previous relationships? Because he’d never loved any of the girls he’d dated?

  Tyler had always been attracted to Rose. But he’d always assumed it was a natural I-am-a-boy-you-are-a-girl kind of attraction. Nothing more. Today, he was no longer sure about anything. All the air had left his lungs and his heart wouldn’t stop racing. Whenever he had a flashback of the past hour, his stomach contracted as if plunging down a steep rollercoaster ride. Was this what being in love felt like?

  The L-word sent a thrill of fear down his spine. This was Rose in his arms; he couldn’t screw this one up. He had to be cautious and take it slow, one day at a time. He looked down at her. Rose was snuggled against him, her head resting on his chest, her eyes closed. He brushed the hair away from her face to have a clear view of her beautiful, serene features as she slept.

  Yep, he was in trouble.

  Six

  Rose

  Rose kept her eyes tightly shut, pretending she was still asleep, despite Tyler trailing a finger down her arm. She was sure the loud thuds of her heart would soon give her away, but she didn’t know what to do next. After what just happened between them, was her friendship with Tyler ruined forever?

  Rose was mad at herself for being so weak. Today, she hadn’t been able to resist. Not with Georgiana being a bitch. Not with Marcus dumping her and leaving her as insecure as ever. And not with Tyler being Tyler.

  Oh, Tyler! He was a lost cause. A romantic relationship between them was impossible. Hope for a future with Tyler had died a long time ago. Rose spent years waiting for him to change, not dating anyone, sticking around for when he’d be mature enough or for the girl of the moment to be dumped. Until she’d finally accepted he would never change.

  Unbidden, her mind began a mental recap of all the girls Tyler had dated over the years. He had sex for the first time during sophomore year in high school with Amanda Lockwood, a junior. Amanda was a popular girl, and after his conquest, Tyler became the hero of the school. Despite girls finding him irresistible, he remained faithful to Amanda for a whole year; after all, she was his first. They were happy together until summer break when Amanda’s nemesis, Charlotte Pierce, seduced him during summer break. With Amanda gone for a month, teenage Tyler was easy prey for Charlotte.

  When Amanda found out, drama ensued. Amanda and Charlotte became the first entries on a long list of girls who would end up hating Tyler for cheating on and dumping them. By twelfth grade, Tyler was the most popular guy in school, basking in the glory of fooling around with a never-ending stream of girls.

  Rose had hoped college would steady him. Instead, it sent him on an even wilder spree. In their freshman year at Harvard, Tyler slept with a different girl almost every night. Rose told herself it was only their first year; once he got it out of his system, he would be ready for something serious. Across their sophomore and junior year, hope returned briefly as Tyler stayed in a serious relationship with Jessica, an English major he’d met at the library. Tyler and Jessica were together for nine months before Tyler cheated on her, making Rose officially give up on him. If he couldn’t stay true to Jessica, the closest thing he’d ever had to a long-term girlfriend, then how could Rose trust him with her own heart?

  After Jessica, it had been the same story with every new girlfriend. He cheated on all of them, and they each ended up loathing him. Rose didn’t want to end up loathing her best friend; he was the most important person in her life besides her parents. He was family. And she knew a romantic relationship would lead exactly to that. In the end, he’d cheat on her—if not in a year, in five, or ten. It was a given. Tyler simply wasn’t a monogamist. Rose would end up bitter, with her heart shattered. Today had been a mistake, a big one. But they could fix it. They had to.

  Rose stirred as if just now waking up. She looked at Tyler shyly, blushing.

  “What?” she asked, self-consciously pulling the sheets around her body.

  Tyler flashed her a mischievous grin. “I find it funny you choose to blush now.”

  “I didn’t choose to, and don’t look at me like that.”

  “Like what?”

  His wolfish smile was making it impossible to keep a steady mind.

  “As if you want to eat me.”

  “Maybe I do.” Tyler bit her hand affectionately.

  “Pff.” Rose’s face burned red, so she buried it in his chest to cover up her uneasiness. Shame attacked as she replayed the past hour in her head in an all-consuming vortex of emotions. Oh, the things Tyler had done to her, and the way she’d responded! It wasn’t just sex—Tyler had made love to her. Or had it all been a dream?

  Unable to meet his gaze yet, Rose burrowed her face deeper.

  “Don’t play shy, Rosalynn,” Tyler said, using her full name. He planted a soft kiss on her collarbone. No, definitely not a dream. “After today, I won’t buy it.”

  After today. That’s the problem.

  She shifted position so that he couldn’t kiss her. “So…” she began.

  “I know that expression, Rosalynn Atwood. It’s your serious-talk one.”

  “Tyler. This is serious.”

  “What’s serious?”

  “Me, you, naked in bed.”

  “Relax, Rose. It’s not the end of the world.”

  “No, but it could be the end of our friendship. Doesn’t that scare you?”

  “What do you mean?” he asked, frowning.

  Tears welled in Rose’s eyes. Emotions were running high, and her throat closed, making it difficult to get the words out. “I think it was a mistake.”

  “Why?”

  “All your exes hate you.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “You cheated on all of them.”

  “That’s not true.”

  “Name one you haven’t.”

  Tyler scrunched his face for a while and then said, “I haven’t cheated on Georgiana.”

  “Oh, right, your girlfriend!” Hearing him say her name sent Rose into a frenzy. “The one you just cheated on!”

  “But it was with you, so it doesn’t count.”

  “I don’t think Georgiana would agree.”

  Tyler shrugged, unconcerned. “I can dump her if that’s what’s bothering you.”

  “How nice of you,” she replied with an edge. “Please, don’t
dump her on my account.”

  “Rose, I wouldn’t cheat on you.”

  “How do you know?” She narrowed her eyes at him. “Do you really expect me to trust you’d be fine sleeping with me, and only with me, for the rest of your life?”

  “Yes. No. What the hell do I know! I haven’t even had breakfast and you’re already talking marriage. Why don’t we choose the name of our kids already and be done with it?”

  “It’s not like we can date and see how it goes, right?” Rose bit back.

  “Why not? What’s wrong with that?”

  “Everything’s wrong with that.”

  “Nothing’s wrong with that.”

  “Tyler, please stop talking. You’re making it worse.”

  “I don’t get you, Rose. What do you want me to say?”

  “Nothing. You’ve already said enough.”

  “Why do you girls have to go cuckoo the moment the sex is over?”

  “See, Tyler, that’s the problem. I’m not one of your girls, and I’ll never be.” Rose sat up, leaning away from him. “This was a big mistake. I wasn’t thinking.”

  “I preferred you when you weren’t.”

  “Well, I am now. This,” she added, flipping a finger between them, “shouldn’t have happened. It won’t happen again.” Rose gathered the bed linens around her, transforming into a human cocoon to shield her naked body from him, and further retreated to her side of the bed.

  “Don’t worry, Rose,” Tyler said, grabbing his pants and pulling them on. “I’ll get out of your way.”

  He jumped off the bed and was out of the room in three quick strides. He slammed the door behind him, making her chest jolt. The knot in her throat worsened.

  The moment Tyler left, Rose felt dead inside. She reached out her hand to his side of the bed where the sheets were still warm from his body heat. Tears pricked her eyes again. She wasn’t ready to let him go, not yet.

  Still wrapped in the sheets, Rose followed him out of the room. In the hall, she paused to listen. The shower was running. Rose tried the bathroom door. Unlocked. Turning the knob, she pushed the door open and tiptoed into the room. As expected, Tyler was in the shower. She tapped on the glass, the sound barely audible over the water noise.

  He flung the glass door open and stared at her in shock. With a pounding heart, Rose let the bed sheet drop to the floor and stepped into the shower with him. Tyler raised his eyebrows. He probably thought she was crazy. She’d just said sleeping together had been a mistake. Yet, here she was, jumping him in the shower not two minutes later.

  “Today doesn’t count,” Rose said curtly, answering his unspoken question. She stood on tiptoes and pulled him toward her in a wet kiss.

  Seven

  Rose

  The next day ended up not counting as well. And the next. And the next.

  Rose and Tyler fell into a weird routine of having sex (making love?) wherever, whenever, without ever talking about it. Afterward, they pretended nothing had happened. Rose knew she was playing a dangerous game, one impossible to win. She knew Tyler wasn’t ready for a serious relationship with her, but she couldn’t help herself. Even if having an affair with Tyler was so wrong, for so many reasons.

  For one, it put their friendship, the most important thing in her life, at stake. Then there was the obvious moral issue: Tyler still had a girlfriend. He hadn’t broken up with Georgiana. And even if he didn’t bring her to the house anymore, he was still with her. Was he sleeping with her too? On the odd nights when he didn’t come home and stayed at her place, Rose cried herself to sleep in her room. For the next few days, she would pout and ignore Tyler, but eventually, she’d break. Then she would jump right back into his arms, and their unhealthy routine started all over.

  Another week like this—another day—and she’d go crazy. The right thing to do would be to stop. But Rose didn’t know how to be strong, not anymore. She’d wanted Tyler for too long to be able to keep saying no. Rose told herself she preferred to be the one he was cheating with, instead of the one he was cheating on. After a month, however, even this excuse was running thin.

  True, Rose had told him he didn’t have to leave Georgiana for her, but that had been ages ago! After a month of sleeping together, everything was different. How could Tyler not see it? She refused to beg him—what if he said no? What if he said yes? They’d get together, and then he’d cheat on her. Nothing terrified Rose more. On one hand, she wanted Tyler to leave Georgiana and be with her officially. On the other, it scared her to death. Unsure of everything else, the only thing Rose knew for a fact was that her life couldn’t keep going like this.

  Something had to change, soon, but Rose didn’t know what, or how.

  Tyler

  For the first time in his life, Tyler didn’t understand his best friend. How to read her, how to translate what she said as opposed to what went on inside her head. Rose had been adamant they shouldn’t be together. Not unless he proposed right then and there, and he wasn’t ready for that kind of commitment. At twenty-four and still in school, who the hell would be? He didn’t want to be tied down already. But Rose had become a drug for him. He couldn’t go back to being just her friend, and he couldn’t be with her, either—not in the way she wanted.

  Screwed, he was so screwed.

  Georgiana was driving him mad, too. His girlfriend wasn’t stupid, and she must have sensed his emotional distance. The few nights she forced him to stay at her apartment he pretended to be tired to avoid sleeping with her, and he never invited her to the house anymore. They were arguing more often than not, and he was getting tired. And school hadn’t even started yet. His love life was proving more stressful than Harvard Law. To survive one was hard, but the two combined? Impossible. How would he handle the pressure in less than a month when the academic year started? What would happen when he’d have to spend all his days in class squeezed between the two women in his life? It would be a disaster, no doubt. He should dump Georgiana, but the idea scared him. If he became single, what would happen with Rose? Wedding bells? And what would happen if he kept a girlfriend on the side to avoid commitment?

  If he didn’t do something, the situation with Rose and Georgiana was going to explode in his face. But what could he do? Tyler was stuck, strangled in a situation of his own making, with no escape in sight. He wished girls came with an instruction manual. The only thing he knew was that his life couldn’t keep going like this.

  Something had to change, soon, but Tyler didn’t know what, or how.

  Georgiana

  Something was up with Tyler. No sex since the night of their fight about Rose moving out of his apartment. That was a month ago. A month. Whenever Georgiana tried initiating, Tyler mumbled some lame excuse about being tired. Usually, he couldn’t keep his hands off her, and now nothing for a month. Thirty. Freaking. Days. He also made it clear she wasn’t welcome at his apartment anymore. Why? What did he have to hide?

  If not with her, he was sleeping with someone else. Rose? It must be that bitch. Why keep his girlfriend away from the house otherwise?

  Georgiana was almost certain something had happened between them. When she finally admitted to herself that her boyfriend was cheating on her, Georgiana went to a dark place. She shut herself in her apartment without eating and without getting out of bed for two days. Tyler didn’t check on her once. His conspicuous absence and indifference transformed the numbing pain in a rampaging fury. The blind rage manifested in a strong desire to burn Tyler’s expensive car to the ground. She’d also been tempted to dump him without ever looking back. But then her pride took over. She discovered she didn’t care if he’d cheated on her—she was in love with Tyler. He was hers, and she was ready to fight for him. She wasn’t going to let that ho snatch him away from her. No matter what it took, Georgiana was determined to keep Tyler. But their relationship couldn’t keep going like this.

  Something had to change, soon, and Georgiana knew exactly what, and how.

  Eightr />
  Rose

  “Rose, can you please pass me the ketchup bottle?” Georgiana asked, her tone so viciously polite she might as well have said, “I know what you did.”

  Rose lowered her gaze. Georgiana’s razor sharp blue eyes were too much for her now. “Sure.” She took the red plastic bottle and handed it to Tyler’s girlfriend.

  Two weeks later, and not only had her “situation” with Tyler not resolved—or improved, or changed at all—now she was also having lunch with the happy couple in a cafeteria on campus. The fall semester hadn’t started yet, but it was orientation period, and the campus was already buzzing with students. How in hell did this lunch happen? The three of them eating burgers together was too weird.

  Tyler’s text, “lunch 2gether,” had been innocent enough; it didn’t say, “Georgiana the Ice Queen will attend too,” anywhere, not even a hint. Since their affair, Tyler had avoided any unnecessary contact between mistress and girlfriend. Rose suspected Georgiana must’ve orchestrated the lunch trapping them here.

  But, why? Did she know? That had to be it. Georgiana knew about her and Tyler, and now she would slowly torture them until they confessed. No matter how many fake smiles Georgiana shot Rose, they never reached her cold, calculating eyes. That freezing blue gaze sent Rose a clear message, “I hate you.”

  Rose studied Georgiana as she sat possessively next to Tyler, eating all his fries. Did she know Rose loved eating his fries? Was her dominion over his French fries a metaphor for their love triangle? Rose hated that out in the open Tyler belonged to Georgiana, and that she, the other woman, was powerless about it.

  “Rose,” Georgiana said, still all sweetness, “do you have any plans for this coming Friday?”

  “No, nothing in particular,” Rose said cautiously.

  This had to be an ambush or some kind of plot—Georgiana never asked about her “plans.” Not to mention she was still being uncharacteristically nice. Had Tyler’s girlfriend decided to kill her with kindness? Rose wasn’t a fan of this sudden change; it was easier to sneak around with Tyler behind her back when Georgiana was being a bitch to her. If she considered Georgiana a nice, normal girl, then Rose’s guilt would overwhelm her. The Ice Queen almost certainly had an ulterior motive.

  “Oh, that’s perfect!” Georgiana exclaimed. “I’m having a dinner with some friends for my birthday. I want you to be there. Will you come?”

  Rose couldn’t think of a polite way to say no. “Um… yeah, sure. Where?”

  “Great.” Georgiana’s lips parted in a cruel grin. “I haven’t decided yet. But you can come with Tyler straight from your house. I’ll meet you there.”

  “Okay.”

  Even more peculiar. Georgiana not bugging Tyler to pick her up and instead suggesting he chauffeured Rose. Something was definitely up.

  Tyler

  Tyler followed the exchange, at a loss for words. He pushed his plate away, his stomach churning. What was Georgiana planning? She’d already thrown him a curve ball impossible to catch. He was trapped; what else did she need?

  He should’ve left her when he had the chance. He should’ve known Georgiana wouldn’t stand idly by while he was having his way with Rose. That his conniving girlfriend would fight. And she had. She’d fought and won, at least the first battle: make sure Tyler and Rose didn't share a roof. Heck, make sure they didn’t live in the same continent!

  Tyler smiled a bitter smile. He had to give it to Georgiana. She was resourceful. Even without proof, he was sure she had orchestrated everything. Scholarships abroad did not reopen out of the blue. Georgiana’s doing or not, the damage was done, and Tyler was left with no other choice other than when to tell Rose. No turning back time at this point.

  He looked at his best friend with longing. He’d have to talk to her soon, but Tyler couldn’t bear the thought of losing her. And after talking to her, he’d consider himself lucky if she ever spoke two words to him again.