Crazy About My Best Friend

by Hazel Keys

  I thought it over. Before I spoke, Jake stole the words before they even left my mouth. “Because she wanted to be friends.”

  I stared in disbelief. “How did you know that?”

  “Because, I told Maggie that! Listen, I already told you I knew Maggie from before. I distinctly remember one day she was asking about you. Know what I told her?”

  “What?” I said with a nervous series of blinks.

  “That you like to be friends with a girl first. You like to fall in love with your best friend.”

  I laughed nervously. “What, why…”

  “Let me tell you, sport, she used that information to pick you up. She played you for a fool.”

  “No way!” I laughed it off but deep down I felt my gut twisted. Maggie did seem to give me a lot of rehearsed answers. And then the kicker…I thought back to our apocalypse conversation…

  “I believe leadership is most important. Stuff comes and goes but a strong leader gets the job done.”

  She actually said that! Oh God. Was I really being played? Was Maggie just buttering me up telling me everything I wanted to hear? Was I the girl in this relationship and was Maggie just trying to get in my pants?!

  The scandal got so blown out of proportion that at some point, Maggie started badmouthing Jake and even Amelia, claiming that they were trying to sabotage our relationship. Supposedly Maggie heard Amelia say that I was too “immature” for marriage, which of course put me on the defensive.

  It just got petty after a while and much to Maggie’s chagrin, that’s about the time I started to realize Maggie just wasn’t what I was looking for. Without the rehearsed answers, she really had nothing to say. I felt a little violated…but I guess all is fair in love and war.

  Maggie he didn’t take the break up very well and even whispered in huff on her way out…

  “Goodie for you. Guess you can chase after Amelia after all, like you always wanted.”

  I shook my head, ignoring her comment. By now I was exhausted of that conversation, and having had my fill of Amelia-Maggie-Jake drama.

  If anything, I was a little proud of Jake for being bold and telling me that Maggie was playing me. I was so self-involved, I might not even have noticed she was “cheating on her test” all along if Jake hadn’t warned me. Of course, Jake still had crazy theories about who I was in love with.

  And it was sweet that he saw Amelia and me together. But the tide was turning and unfortunately—just as our thirties were around the corner—we began to see new opportunities.

  Chapter 11

  David &Amelia

  The warm embrace of a hug from a friend is a magical feeling. As David hugged me outside the Japanese Gardens, I couldn’t help but smile ear to ear. Within an instant, all the animosity of the past faded away. I really didn’t even care about all the drama with Jake or Maggie or any of that silliness. I didn’t even say what Maggie supposedly heard me say!

  But it was all neither here nor there, since we hugged and shoulder-tapped each other—as friendly as possible—within minutes of our brunch date. The awkwardness was all but gone this time around, and not really because the naughty thought ceased to exist; more like, because we really had moved onto stable relationships—for a change.

  The thirties does give you a sense of closure on the “youth” of your life. You’re more capable of seeing mistakes of the past. But maybe even more important than that, you’re able to see why mistakes aren’t really a huge deal. Everyone makes them…and thankfully, everyone recovers from them.

  We decided to have a picnic in the gardens that day as we were once again reflecting on our past year. Somewhat uneventful at least as far as careers go, since we both gravitated towards our favorite hobbies and pastimes. But Amelia did report some progress being made in her love life and I got to chime in with my own good news.

  “Yeah there’s someone I kind of like,” Amelia said shyly, definitely not thinking of me this time. She had the glimmer in her eyes that suggested she was making progress for real this time and had a firm sense of who she was and what she wanted.

  “Me too,” I said, with a smile. “Not to compare…but of course I will get married three days ahead of you.”

  Laughter. At least when she laughed this time it seemed sincere and not just an excuse to fill nervous air with noise.

  “Funny, and who would have thought I was capable of changing and growing up? Since you know, you never thought I was capable of marriage because of rampant immaturity.”

  “That is so not true,” she said with at least a line of an angry frown, meaning she took it personally. “I would never say that about you. Your ex was just crazy.”

  “Yeah, not really an ex though. After Jake told me of her scheme I just put a stop to it.”

  “Well good. And now things are getting serious with the new woman in your life?”

  “I try not to label things as ‘fun’ or ‘serious’ anymore,” I said with a smile. “They complicate something that’s beautiful.”

  “I understand completely.”

  “Right.”

  I thought back to the past and developed a big smile on my face, with dimples galore. Amelia mirrored by contagious happiness and listened intently. “You remember years ago one day when we were bored and went walking through the woods?”

  “I remember a lot of things,” she said with a squint of her eyes. “What do you remember?”

  “I remember one time when we were talking about positive qualities.”

  “Oh and I’m sure you gave yourself high marks!”

  “I did,” I laughed. “But what I remember was telling you…

  What you have Amelia, is the voice of a siren. You can sing like magic, like a siren. And whenever someone hears you sing, whenever any person hears you sing, they instantly fall in love with you. You hold their heart forever with your siren voice.

  “I remember saying that, sure as the remember anything else today,” I said with a calm smile. “And you still have the same siren voice, you haven’t changed much…even after all these years. You’re still the same woman you used to be.”

  I expected Amelia to call me ‘silly’ and just laugh off the compliment. But to my surprise, she simply stared at me in discomfort. Like she was really upset.

  What? What did I say? Did I tell her about the siren voice…or did I say something else? Am I going senile and have I lost the filtering process in my own head? What just happened here?

  Amelia shook her head, as if she were ready to punch me. Before I could respond in concern, she broke down in tears and cried right before my very eyes. My mouth dropped in concern and I started to panic—instinctively waving my arms back and forth as if trying to put the fire of her grief out. What had happened?

  “I…I’m sorry. You must have misheard me. Or maybe you just remembered some really heart-warming thing you on the news last night…”

  “NO, David, I do NOT have a siren’s voice.”

  “Okay…I guess my metaphors are sometimes taken too literally.”

  She ignored my smile and kept crying into her hands. I was horrified…what was happening? Did something happen to her? Was it something I did, said or didn’t do?

  “Nobody falls in love with me!” Amelia said in a rage, although she wasn’t staring me in the face. “They just hear my voice and are charmed, David. You’re right they hear the Siren’s voice and then they imagine that I’m something special…something really wonderful. Something better than what I am!”

  I shook my head, trying to argue but she wouldn’t hear it.

  “They love what they see, love what they hear. They take me home and fuck me and then slowly realize that I’m NOTHING worth fighting for. I’m nothing worth holding onto. I’m just a mirage, David.”

  Still panicking, and feeling my dear friend’s despair, I start to wonder if she’s being literal or figurative. Is she real? Am I real? Is one of us fictional? What is going on, Amelia?

  “The Siren’s Voice is
supposed to last longer than just a few months. I always thought a love spell lasts forever.”

  Amelia wiped her tears away as I struggled to swallow my own grief and fears and say something—anything.

  “Amelia…you got it all wrong. They fall in love with your voice. They…”

  “Ah, it must be the voice. Then when they see me in person they realize that no one can just stay married to a voice.”

  I shook my head and tried to speak again, but within a few fleeting moments, she was standing up and grabbing her purse.

  “I’m so sorry, David. I didn’t mean to unload all this baggage on you. Of course I’m not upset at you. You’ve been so good to me.”

  “Amelia…where are you going?”

  “I don’t know. Away from here.”

  That day, I had terrible, hard-hitting thoughts ransack my brain. Unspeakable thoughts about whether she was in love with me, and just unwilling to speak any word of it. Was it her pride holding back or maybe the illusion that I was “happily dating someone”. Or was she really depressed over something else…something having nothing to do with me, and was my big ego just shoving its way to where it didn’t belong.

  After Amelia dismissed herself and quickly left me behind despite my hundred or so questions, I went home and thought repeatedly about the incident. I thought up various conversation starters, words of encouragement that might make her feel better…even a few jokes since I knew she usually loved to laugh.

  But she didn’t contact me, even two days after the incident. I called her and went by, but no one answered; apparently she and her mother took a vacation somewhere, to recuperate.

  It seemed that I was invading her personal space. She didn’t want to be found. It took everything I had to not go down and look for her. She had her own life and I had mine.

  Just as soon as I started second-guessing myself, I heard through the grapevine that she had a boyfriend. His name was Clyde.

  And for once, I didn’t instantly hate him. I was merely appreciative of him, so relieved that Amelia had someone to confide in—someone who could help her recover from every crying spell. Someone who could give her a happy life that she deserved. Someday dare I say, better than me.

  I did finally run into her a months later, just when I decided to propose to my fiancée, Crystal, after several months of dating and relative calm. Amelia seemed mellow, as did I, the both of us relieved to have conquered our angst and found someone precious. It seemed for a moment as if we both finally “grew up” before each other’s eyes.

  This is what we were aiming towards and by God we found it. After Amelia apologized to me for the umpteenth time, for the siren conversation, and after I apologized to for triggering “whatever”…we both finally tiptoed our way into the “Happiness” conversation.

  “So are we finally here?” I asked, smiling wide and finding her eyes. Lots of love shared but without the desperation.

  “Oh yes,” she said meeting my eyes with full honesty. “I think we finally found what we were looking for. I think I can say, I’ve completed my life long search for the right guy.”

  “Oh yeah?”

  “Funny…confident…caring. Knowledgeable.”

  “All good things,” I said with a smile.

  “I think I finally know what love is…at least, what love feels like to me.”

  “Oh please do define it. Since you’re the love expert now.”

  She laughed. “Well you’re the one who’s engaged so I’m sure you could teach a class on it.”

  “Probably.”

  “I think,” she said proudly, “that love is real because we make ourselves feel it. It doesn’t come like a virus or like a spiritual vision. We decide it’s real and it’s a condition that we allow into our hearts. We build it. We analyze the truth of our lives and realize we’re happy one day. And that’s that.”

  It was an odd statement and one that sounded familiar. As we said goodbye and embraced again, a particular memory returned to me. Something Amelia said a long time ago.

  I don’t think happiness is a real thing…I think it’s more like a condition we make ourselves feel. We convince ourselves we’re happy with our decisions.

  I watched her leave with that statement echoing through my head. And then I realized something about myself and Amelia—that both of us, even as children we understood love and happiness perfectly. The moment we start to doubt, start to think that we’re unhappy or not “really in love” that’s when everything’s burned to the ground. We built around ourselves a foundation of lies, convincing ourselves what we needed to be happy. Patterns, types, qualities…

  But to me, it was as plain as day and night. As sure as the sun coming out every morning. We were both in love…head over heels in love. The kind of reckless love that sabotages our other relationships and makes us lunge for something we don’t even want. The kind of unrequited but blazing love that causes us to randomly laugh or cry at any given moment.

  We are both in denial of who we are and what we want. Part of me, that very moment!, wanted to chase after Amelia and whisk her away to Paris—leaving our respective partners in the lurch. It felt like the right thing to do…

  But it also felt like the rude thing to do, to ignore Amelia’s plea of happiness. To mock her values. To call everything she currently believed a lie. I loved that woman so much…I let her go.

  **

  That night we made mad passionate love all over my bed, soiling the sheets and dirtying the blankets with reckless abandon. We said, screw the world! We decided to play the game of life by our rules and our rules only. Of course it was in my imagination, but it was just about all I had left at that point.

  I imagined myself back at her house that day, when she was acting funny. Maybe she was actually really desiring me behind that door she had half open. Maybe if I had been a little more forward she would have let me come in. I wouldn’t have asked permission or made the damned thing into trivia challenge—I would just have grabbed her and kissed her.

  Said, who’s your best friend now? Take her into the bedroom, carry her in my arms, and toss her on the bed. Eagerly rip my shirt off and let her eye me in wanton lust, objectifying me in that wonderfully vulgar way I can only imagine—those lucky bastards she once looked at in the same way. But this time, her eyes would be on me. I would strip down in front of her, letting her see everything. Every inch of me.

  Then I would undress her, twirling her out of her clothes and dancing with her until I discarded every last item, leaving only her perfectly pink skin behind. I would put my hands on her, my tongue, my lips…exploring her every morsel and every orifice.

  All the while her eyes would meet mine, as we realize there really is nowhere to go—nowhere to run. All we have now is each other and a whole week to get used to the idea. Touch me. Let me touch you. This is the way I’ve always wanted you, Amelia.

  Look at me, I would tell her as I took her trembling body into my arms and held her tight. I would enter her for the first time…with my hand, my fingers. Better than her first boyfriend, better than any lover she ever had. I would demand her attention, make her watch me as I fingered her to orgasm. I would destroy every memory she had of other guys and their box of cheap tricks. I would make this night last, make her feel every forbidden sensation.

  And then I would be there in the morning, cuddling her, still holding her and whispering sweet nothings into her ear. Always coming up with new conversations, just like old times. Always making her laugh. Stopping her from crying with warm inviting hugs that lasted for minutes on end. Always wiping every last tear away, always kissing her until her frown became a smile.

  Always, and forever, listening to the Siren’s voice and falling desperately in love.

  **

  But sometimes life has other plans for us.

  I walked into the bedroom, to see Crystal sleeping beautifully. I quietly got under the sheets and coiled myself next to her.

  ****THE END***


  Keep scrolling down to start reading the preview of the first book in the series.

  Obsessed With My Best Friend

  Book 1

  Hazel Keys

  “Hello?”

  “…Hi David. It’s Amelia.”

  “Oh hey, Amelia. How are you?”

  “I…I’m fine, thank you! I wasn’t sure if your number had changed. I still had the same 404 number but then I remember you told me that you had a new

  number…”

  “Oh well, yeah. I did have a new number because I moved…but this is actually the number I still use. It goes directly to my cell number.”

  “Oh great, okay! Well, I’m glad I have it then.”

  “Yes, I am now accessible anytime, anywhere. Even when I’m asleep I answer. Even in the bathtub, I can still talk.”

  “You shouldn’t answer your phone in the tub. Might get electrocuted.”

  “That is…a good point. ”

  Laughter.

  “Yeah…so anyway, how are you?”

  “I’m good. You?”

  “Pretty good. Nice to hear from you.”

  “Yes, likewise. Listen, David…”

  “Uh huh?”

  “I want to ask you something.”

  “Uh oh. Are you an undercover cop, Amelia?”

  “I can’t answer that, but believe me, I’ve seen your records. You should be ashamed of yourself.”

  Uncomfortable laughter.

  “No seriously, I want to ask you a big favor.”

  “A favor? Really? Sure…I mean…what is it?

  I am wondering though if you can help me run an errand for mother? We need a strong guy that can help trim some branches and then toss them into the pit.

  I know it’s a lot to ask and I hate to ask you but…”

  “Nah, it’ll be all right. I can do it this weekend.”

  “Oh that would be so great. Mother will be so delighted. You know she always thought very highly of you. We would really appreciate it.”

  “Well yeah. I’m always honored to help you…and your mother. Naomi’s been such a good friend to us all.”