Better as Friends

by Liliana Rhodes

  I chewed my bottom lip as I wrapped my fingers around the warm mug. It was late. Why hadn't he texted?

  Maybe he didn't want to wake me.

  Maybe they got into an accident.

  Why does my brain always go to the worst-case scenario?

  I grabbed my phone and checked if any new texts had come through. Nothing. I rebooted my phone and waited to see if that would fix the possibly missing texts. Nope, nothing. I had to find out if he was alright.

  Becca: Did you get home okay? Don't make me stalk you.

  I waited a few minutes for Gideon to reply, but he didn't. I finished my hot chocolate and then opened my laptop. As I glanced over the entertainment news, I tried to get my mind off him, but it didn't work. Before I realized what I was doing, I started searching for 'Canyon Cove accident tonight.'

  Nothing recent came up, but it didn't calm my morbid thoughts. As I thought of other searches I could do to find out if Gideon and Navarro were wrapped around a tree or had fallen off a cliff, my phone finally buzzed to life again.

  Gideon: Don't do that. I'm home, I'm just not in the right frame of mind.

  Becca: Did something happen?

  Gideon: Yeah, I'm an idiot.

  It wasn't like Gideon to feel sorry for himself. He was usually too confident and cocky for that.

  This must be what drunk Gideon is like, I thought.

  Becca: You just need to sleep it off.

  Gideon: Stop that.

  Becca: Stop what?

  Gideon: Being so sweet. You need to stop or I'm going to seduce you.

  Becca: LOL! Good to see you still have your sense of humor.

  Gideon: I'm serious.

  Becca: Yeah, right.

  Gideon: You can't tell me you've never thought about it.

  What is going on tonight?

  I stared at my phone, waiting for an 'lol' or 'just kidding' from Gideon, but nothing came. He couldn't be serious, could he?

  Gideon: It's okay, you don't have to answer.

  I didn't reply. I slid the phone across the table, pushing it with my fingertips until it was out of my reach.

  He's drunk. He doesn't know what he's saying.

  I repeated that to myself over and over as I cleaned up the kitchen and went to bed.

  Chapter Three

  Becca

  When I woke late the next morning, I grabbed my phone to see if Gideon texted anything more. He didn't. It was for the best. I didn't want anything ruining our friendship. So why was I disappointed?

  I pulled on a bright red sweatshirt from my uncle's gym and grumbled as my feet touched the cold tile floor in the kitchen. This time of year always made me feel lonely. Ever since I had moved away from my family, the holidays had this effect on me. I was glad Gideon didn't text anything more. The last thing I needed was to act on something when I was vulnerable.

  Desperate to get my mind on something else, I picked up my phone and called my friend Sandra. She and I went to college together, but she moved to Washington State where she had grown up four years ago.

  "Hey, I was just thinking about you," Sandra said as she answered the phone. "I was going to call you later."

  "I beat you to it," I said with a laugh, glad to hear her voice. "How's the house hunting going? Did you find something yet?"

  "We finally found a place that's available immediately. It's this gorgeous Victorian with an updated kitchen and a detached office near the koi pond for Billy. We're supposed to move in tomorrow."

  "Wow, a Victorian and a koi pond. I can only imagine what you're leaving out."

  Sandra laughed, but I could tell it was forced. Anyone else might have missed it, but I knew her too well.

  "What's wrong?" I asked.

  "It's Billy," she said hesitantly. "I...I don't know..."

  Her voice was filled with pain and confusion. A faint sniffle came through the phone. There was only one thing I could think of that would upset her so much. I didn't want to ask her, but I needed to know.

  "Is he drinking again?" I asked.

  Sandra squeaked something I couldn't understand, then took a shaky breath.

  "It’s been so long. He's been sober for two years. I really thought after the last time that this was it, he finally had it under control."

  Sandra had told me about Billy's drinking, but I always felt she was hiding something from me. I knew him, we had met several times and had spoken on the phone when he answered. He seemed like a good guy, but when he drank, he simply wasn't himself anymore. I suspected drunk Billy was much worse than Sandra would ever admit.

  "Did something happen?" I asked.

  She was quiet, but I knew she just needed some time.

  "It's the house, the new one. We were supposed to move in a few days ago. You know about the mold here. We need to get out of here as soon as possible. I thought the new house was a dream come true, but we haven't even moved in and it's already a nightmare. The realtor gave us the keys, but when we went over, the previous tenants were still there."

  "They hadn't moved out?"

  "Nope," she said. "The woman was very nice and apologized. She said they would be out yesterday, but when Billy went over, she was out trying to find a place. Billy ended up talking to her three kids, they're teens and she's a single mom. It brought back a lot for him of what he and his brother and sister went through growing up. He ended up giving them a few hundred dollars so they could go to a hotel, but between that and his brother passing away a few weeks ago, he broke down."

  My heart went out to Sandra. She moved to Washington with her two kids to get away from an abusive husband. Once she was there, she reconnected with her boyfriend from the seventh grade, Billy. They moved in together pretty quickly, but four years later they were still together.

  "So he started drinking," I said.

  "Yes, well no. He had a couple of drinks when his brother died, but I thought that was it. I thought he had it under control. I think this happening so soon after his brother's death really messed him up. He's been staying in his office. I haven't seen him since he came home yesterday. I just know he's drinking in there."

  We sat in silence for a moment. I ran through my head all the different things I could say to her, but nothing seemed right.

  "What are you going to do?" I asked.

  "We can't stay here and we're already packed. The kids and I are moving into the new place tomorrow. I've tried talking to Billy about it, but he won't respond. I can hear him, so I know he's okay, but he won't talk to me. I can't stay here though. I need to do what's right for Chloe and Charlie. We're moving tomorrow. Whether Billy comes with us...I don't know."

  "Let me know what happens tomorrow," I said. "And Sandra, please, no matter what time it is, if you need to talk, if you need anything at all, you call me."

  "Okay, I will. Thank you, Becca. Love you."

  "Love you too."

  I hung up and let out a long sigh. I wasn't kidding when I told Cassie yesterday that I loved hearing the story of how couples met. Sandra and Billy's story was one of my favorites. I rooted for them to make it work.

  I managed to spend the rest of the day without thinking about Gideon and his texts. It wasn't like him to say anything like that. It had to be the alcohol talking.

  As I got ready for bed, my phone rang. With my mind still on Sandra, I rushed to pick it up and answered without looking to see who was calling.

  "Hello?"

  The line was silent except for a dull hum on the other end.

  "Hello? Sandra?" I said.

  "It's Gideon."

  His voice made me catch my breath. It was husky and deep and made me think thoughts about my friend that I shouldn't have.

  I wasn't sure what to say. Why was I being so weird? I closed my eyes and reminded myself I was only feeling this way because of the holidays. Gideon was a relentless flirt, that was just who he was. I shouldn't take any of his flirting seriously.

  "Hey," I said, trying to sound normal.

&nb
sp; "I know we usually just text, but we need to talk," he said.

  My eyes flew open. Why? Why did we need to talk? I didn't want to talk, especially not about what he was calling about.

  "About last night? That was nothing," I said. "You just had a little too much to drink."

  "You know I don't drink."

  I did know that, I just didn't want to accept it. It was easier to believe he wasn't being genuine. I refused to believe he could see me as anything more than a friend.

  "Well, I thought maybe--"

  "No, Becca. You know me better than that. I need to go out of town for a couple of days on business, but I'm coming home on Friday. I want to see you. We need to talk about this."

  "There's nothing to talk about."

  "There is. Even if it's just one-sided, I need to talk. So what do you say? I can come by Friday on my way from the airport."

  "Friday? That's New Year's Eve."

  "Then there's even more of a reason to get together," he said. "Let's go out. There's this new place, Mallory's, that I've heard some good things about. What do you think?"

  What do I think? I don't know what to think!

  "Are you asking me out on a date?"

  "Maybe. Let's not put a name to it. How about we just see what happens Friday night? I'll pick you up on my way from the airport."

  "I know where Mallory's is. That's one of the first areas you and I worked on rebuilding. It's out of your way to pick me up. I'll just meet you there. You said it yourself, it's not a date."

  But even as the words slipped past my lips, I felt my nose scrunch up.

  I'm going on a date with my best friend. Maybe.

  Chapter Four

  Gideon

  Last Night

  Five of us sat in a VIP booth at Ember, the hottest jazz club in Canyon Cove. We were close and thought of each other as brothers, but we hadn't seen each other in months.

  The warm wood tones of the club gave it a relaxed vibe. On the walls were photos of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis, Jr. In the corner, a three-piece band played while waitresses delivered drinks to the tables. It was the perfect place for a group of overconfident guys like us to do what we did best – pick up women.

  "Did you see the beauties at the table by the bar?" Smith asked us as he raised his glass to a passing redhead in a too-tight skirt. She smiled at him as she walked past. "The name's Brody," he said to her with a wink.

  "So it's Brody tonight?" I asked once she was out of earshot.

  "For now," he said with a laugh.

  We called each other by our last names to avoid any confusion. Giving out fake first names was part of our game. It kept things easy. None of us wanted to be tied down to anyone, we were just looking for fun.

  “What about you, Kohl? Figure out a name yet or are you going to use your brother's again?" Navarro asked.

  Navarro was my closest friend of all of them. He had intense ebony eyes and tanned skin that made all the girls go crazy for him. That also made him the perfect wingman.

  "I'll never do that again. Gabriel was pissed when some random girl hunted him down after spending the night with me." I laughed. "Who knew she was an MMA fan?"

  "That's exactly why she should've known you weren't who you said you were," Navarro said. "You don't look anything like your brother."

  I shrugged as the guys laughed. "I had a good time, she had a good time, that's all that matters."

  "That redhead is still making eyes at me," Smith said. "Did you see the body on her? Thick, just how I like them." Smith licked his lips like a cartoon wolf. "And who do you have your eyes set on tonight, Navarro?"

  Navarro lifted his cranberry and club soda off the table as he scanned the room with it. His hand stopped as he pointed to a small table with two brunettes. He lifted his glass and lowered his head at the same time, keeping his dark eyes on them. They looked like sisters with their long, wavy shoulder-length hair. They leaned close to each other and whispered as one corner of his mouth slowly twitched up.

  "Them," he said. "Looks like a two for one deal, but if you're interested in one, Kohl, we can split them up."

  "Nah, go enjoy yourself," I said. "I think I'm going to lay low for the night."

  "Interesting," he said as he raised an eyebrow at me.

  As the night went on, Smith and the other guys found themselves surrounded by a bachelorette party in another VIP booth. The waitress brought Navarro and me another round of cranberry and club sodas, our drink of choice when we scouted for women. We always made sure nothing affected our judgment.

  "You going to tell me about her?" Navarro asked.

  "Tell you about who?" I asked.

  "The reason you're laying low tonight. The reason I haven't been hearing about anyone new. Come on, Gideon, I know you better than these other guys. If you're not chasing tail, you're either sick or you met someone."

  "What about you? I don't see you out there."

  "Because my brothers are more important to me than getting some random piece of ass or two. So you gonna tell me about her?"

  Navarro had four brothers but had long ago declared I was his brother from a different mother. I felt the same way. I didn't make it a habit of opening up to people, but he knew me better than even my actual brother. The only other person who knew me as well was Becca.

  "There's no one to tell you about," I grumbled.

  "Oh come on, I've known you for years now, Gideon. If there's one thing you have never been afraid of, it's falling for someone. Who is it this time?"

  I glared at Navarro as my hands tightened into fists. His words were a swift kick in the balls. I wasn't mad at him though, I was mad at myself. No one knew what I had been going through. No one knew the doubts I had about myself, but Navarro just summed them up.

  "No one," I said through clenched teeth.

  The anger in my voice surprised me. Navarro nodded slowly as he took another drink from his glass.

  "That's a load of shit and you know it," he said.

  "That's enough, Grayson."

  His eyes darted to the table, and I realized what he was going for. My hand darted out to grab my car keys, but he grabbed them and dangled them in front of me.

  "Let me drive the Bugatti tonight and I'll drop it."

  The Bugatti was my baby. Becca called it my girlfriend, but I loved that car more than I had ever loved anyone I dated.

  He flipped the keys around his finger as his smile grew. He knew he had me. He knew that despite how much I didn't want anyone driving my car, I wanted to talk about this even less.

  "If anything happens to her, I swear I will cut your balls off," I said.

  "Don't worry, your baby is safe with me. I won't even take her out without you. I'll drive you home."

  I nodded as Navarro slid out of the booth with my car keys in his hand. I signaled to the waitress and left several folded hundreds on the table. I was glad to get out of there.

  As Navarro sped down the freeway, I pulled my phone out and texted Becca. She had been on my mind all night despite how much I wanted to not think about her.

  She was my friend, my best friend, but lately I was thinking about her differently. The situation was bad. I did not want to talk about it. I didn't want to even think about it.

  "You've done really well for yourself," Navarro said as he turned the car back towards the city.

  "I owe it all to Gabriel. He hooked me up with the right people," I said.

  "Don't give your brother all the credit, man. If you didn't know your shit and have all these ideas, none of those connections would've mattered."

  "I guess," I said. "I keep expecting it to end. Do you know what I mean? Everything is too good to be true."

  "Screw that, you have to stop thinking like that."

  "What about you? How was your first season in the Major Leagues? Is baseball still what you thought it would be?"

  "Yeah, better than I imagined really. Everything's going really well too. Not Bugatti kind
of great, but good enough for me." He laughed. "I still can't believe you bought this car."

  "Me neither," I said. "I don't know what I was thinking."

  "You were thinking it would get you laid."

  "Like I need the help."

  I pulled down the visor and admired myself in the mirror as I ran my fingers through my hair. Navarro's laughter filled the car.

  "You heading back home tomorrow?" I asked.

  "Of course. It's not the holidays without my mom, even if I'm late. You want to come? You know she'd love to have you."

  "She still single? You know your mom is hot."

  "Don't you dare mess with my mom. If anything happens to her, I swear I will cut your balls off," he said, repeating my words from earlier.

  "Okay, okay, I promise. But I have seen how she looks at me."

  "Yeah, like she's glad you're not one of hers."

  "Exactly."

  "Not for that reason, you--" he growled as he stopped himself mid-sentence.

  "You were going to call me a motherf--"

  "Shut it," Navarro growled before laughing. "Seriously though, spend the New Year in New Jersey."

  "I'll think about it, but probably not. I have to fly out tomorrow to meet the Slater Brothers and when I get back, I want to see Becca."

  He nodded but didn't say anything as he turned the car into the parking garage of my building and turned into my reserved spot. As he put the car in park, Navarro asked what I knew he had been waiting to ask. It was the same question I kept asking myself but was unable to answer.

  "You fell for Becca, didn't you?" he asked.

  Chapter Five

  Becca

  Picking out what to wear for my non-date with Gideon was hard. Part of me wanted to wear the black dress I wore to the fundraiser just to see his reaction again, but that dress was too fancy for this restaurant. Mallory's was a casual place, perfect for jeans and a nice top, so that's what I went with.