Forever Friend Zoned

by C. Morgan

  A light turned yellow and I was certain she was going to run it. She didn’t. She hit the brakes, and if it hadn’t been for the seatbelt locking up and nearly snapping my collarbone, I would have eaten the windshield.

  “Sorry,” she muttered. “I didn’t want to run the red.”

  “Thanks. I think.”

  The light turned green and she floored it. My head flew back and hit the headrest. “Dammit, Bunny.”

  “Sorry.”

  She took another corner and I swear it was on two wheels. I held on and prayed. I wasn’t the praying type, but in her car, I found religion. “How many tickets do you have?”

  “Only a few.”

  “Accidents?”

  “Just two,” she answered. “But they weren’t my fault.”

  “Of course not,” I muttered.

  “Hold on,” she called out and stretched her arm out across my chest. She hit the brakes before switching lanes.

  I looked down at the thin arm stretched across my chest. “Do you really think your little arm is going to do anything?”

  “Haven’t you seen the Blind Side?”

  “Maybe, what has that got do with anything?”

  “Because if the airbag deploys, my arm will help block the blow.”

  I grabbed her wrist and raised her arm until it was in front of my face. “This is what needs protection from the airbag, and I hate to tell you, that’s not going to do a lot of good. I would prefer it if you kept both hands on the wheel.”

  She burst into laughter. “You are such a baby.”

  I shot her a crazed look. “You are fucking crazy. I will find a ride. No way in hell am I riding home with you.”

  She only laughed, clearly not the least bit bothered by my complaints. As soon as we pull up to the bar, I was going to bail out and suck in some much needed fresh air. There were several moments during the ride I wasn’t sure I would ever breathe fresh air again.

  Chapter 24

  Alora

  I was having fun. Real fun. Something I had not experienced in what felt like years. I was feeling sexy in my little red dress and there were a lot of eyes on me. I didn’t mind. The eyes were those of men that were being very flirty.

  “Ready for another round?” Sue asked.

  “Absolutely.”

  “This is fun, right?”

  “This is amazing!”

  “Don’t look now, but hot corporate dude is checking you out,” she said close to my ear.

  I knew exactly who she was talking about. I had noticed him earlier. We’d made eye contact a few times. “He has a friend,” I replied.

  “Yes, he does. Let’s get our drinks and a little more liquid courage and then we make a move.”

  I immediately felt butterflies. “Shouldn’t we let them make a move first?”

  “We are strong, confident, beautiful women. We can make a move. He is really checking you out. I think he is undressing you with his eyes.”

  “I hope it’s dark when he’s doing it,” I said with a laugh.

  “Oh no. Those eyes say it is bright daylight and he is eating you up.”

  “What do we say?” I said as I sipped from my fresh martini.

  “I don’t know.”

  “This was your idea and you’ve been in the game longer than I have. I have not dated in—well, forever. I went right from high school sweetheart to fiancé and never did this whole bar thing. I am completely out of my element.”

  “It’s fine. Just be natural. Flirt and have fun. You aren’t asking to have his babies. It’s a little harmless flirting at a bar. If things go well, you might get a kiss. If that goes really well, you exchange numbers. And if you are just panting after him, you go out for a little after-drink.”

  I shook my head. “Woah, woah, woah. You are getting way ahead of yourself.”

  “I hope I am. It’s time for us both to start having some real fun. We’ve been good girls for too long. I want to be naughty.”

  “Alora,” I heard a man say. My head shot up and I looked at Todd, who was standing next to our tiny table.

  “Todd?” I said with confusion.

  “Hey, babe.”

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I stopped by the house to see you. Your mom said you were out. I checked the Gram and saw you were here. I thought I would come down and see if you would let me buy you a drink.”

  Sue looked at me, then Todd. “We’re enjoying a girls’ night out,” she told him.

  Todd barely looked at her. “I was speaking to my fiancée,” he said.

  “Uh, ex-fiancée,” she corrected.

  The vein in the middle of Todd’s forehead jumped. I could see him clenching his jaw and knew he was getting pissed. When he got really pissed, he tended to make a scene. I did not want to be kicked out of the new bar in town.

  “Sue, can you get us another round? I need to talk with Todd for a minute.”

  She looked down at our full glasses. “We just got a new round.”

  “Please?” I asked, begging her with my eyes.

  “Fine, but remember who you are,” she said before shooting a dirty look at Todd.

  He didn’t seem the least bit bothered by her anger. “You look good, babe. Is this a new dress?”

  “What are you doing here?” I asked him again.

  “I told you. I wanted to see you. You’re so fucking hot. I love this dress. You never wore red when we were together.”

  I scoffed. “You hated when I wore red.”

  “I was a fool. It looks good on you. That dress is smokin’. I can see your cleavage. I miss those girls.”

  I wasn’t about to be so easily persuaded. “Do you? Because these girls have always been attached to this body. This is the body you said was too fat, remember?”

  “Babe, I’m sorry. I was an idiot. You’re not too fat. You’ve been losing weight. You look really good. This was what I wanted. I wanted my old girl back, not the one you turned into.”

  He had such a way with words. “I’m still the same girl. I always was.”

  “But I like this girl a lot more,” he said with his sexy smile. “Come on. You know we were good together.”

  “I thought we were, but you made it clear you were better off with just about every other woman that looked your way.”

  “Not even close. I was weak. They were gorgeous.”

  It stung to hear him admit to his infidelities. Technically, he had only ever admitted to one. I knew there had been others, but he always denied it. Hearing him confirm what I always suspected hurt. It hurt more than it should have. He should not have had the power to hurt me anymore, but he did.

  “And now?” I asked.

  “And now I want you again.”

  “What happens when another gorgeous woman decides she wants you? How will you deal with that?”

  He shrugged. “Babe, I’m an attractive guy and women like me. I will do my best to be faithful to you.”

  “You’ll do your best, huh?”

  “Absolutely. You have my word. Just give me another chance. I’ve apologized. I’ve told you how pretty you are. I promise I will show you how good we are together. You, me, the girls.” His eyes were on my breasts.

  He had always been a boob man. My breasts were large. They’d gotten bigger with the weight I put on. “You know, if I lose weight, the girls are going to shrink a bit.”

  He looked at me, his eyes wide. “No!”

  “Fact.”

  “That’s fine. I like your tits the way they are. Come on. You know you want me. You begged me to stay.”

  He was right. I did. For the longest time, I thought I wanted him back. I thought I couldn’t live without him. I was convinced my life would never be worth living if he didn’t come back to me. Now, I knew differently. Now, I knew he was just a blip on my radar of life and there were too many other options.

  “You know we were good together,” he said.

  “Remember high school graduation?”

/>   He smiled and nodded. “I do. We took that trip to Mexico.”

  “Yes, my parents paid for us to have a two-week luxury vacation. That was a lot of fun.”

  He nodded again. “I remember that little bikini you wore on the beach. The one that drove me so crazy I dragged you into the cabana and made love to you.”

  I cocked my head to the side and looked at him. “We never had sex in a cabana.”

  He looked caught before quickly covering his mistake. “Maybe it was one of those little beach shacks.”

  He’d been cheating on me then and I was such a dipshit I never realized. “Did you move out of our apartment?” I asked him. “The one my parents helped us get in that new building?”

  “Nope. I’m still there. It’s just the way you remember. You can move right back in and it will be like you never left.”

  “Is my dad still paying the lease?”

  “It was paid through the year,” he answered like it wasn’t a dick move to stay in the apartment my parents paid for. “I knew we would be back together someday.”

  “Did you?”

  “I had faith. I’ve always known you were the one for me. I got a little lost, but I’m back, baby. I want you back. Forgive me. Come back and let’s make love in all our favorite places. We’ll go up on the roof and in the kitchen. Wherever you want.”

  I took a drink from my martini. “I said I wanted to do it on the roof because you said you were bored. I was trying to spice things up.”

  He looked at my boobs again. “You’ve certainly spiced things up. Come on, let’s get out of here. We’ll go home and we’ll do all the things you said you would. Remember, you promised you would do that thing I liked if I took you back? I’m taking you back.”

  “Oh, the thing I hate but you like?” I asked, my anger growing.

  He bobbed his eyebrows. “That, but I can make you like it.”

  “I doubt that.”

  “Babe, don’t tease me. You’ve got me hard just thinking about it.”

  “Dance with me,” I blurted out.

  “What? Now? Here?”

  That was when the Todd I knew came out from hiding. The Todd that was embarrassed to be seen with me. He wanted to fuck me, and he wanted me to go down on him, but he didn’t want the public to know he liked fatties.

  “Yes, dance with me. I want to feel your body against mine.”

  He looked like he was going to say no. I leaned forward, flashing more cleavage. “Please?” I pouted. “I might do that other thing you always want to do.”

  His eyes flashed. “Okay,” he said and jumped up from the chair.

  I was never going down on him and I was never letting him do what he thought he was going to do. This was my sweet revenge. I was finally going to give him a taste of his own medicine. He was going to want me so badly his cock hurt and I was going to leave him hanging.

  Sue looked at me as we walked by. I winked at her before turning to make sure Todd was following. He was, just like a good little boy. We stepped into the crowd already bumping and grinding on the dance floor.

  Todd stepped up behind me, rubbing his crotch against my ass. I rolled my hips, dancing like I had not done in a long time. I didn’t know the latest moves, but I remembered the old stuff, and it was just as good and just as effective as what they were doing nowadays.

  I turned around to face Todd, my arms resting on his shoulders as our hips danced to their own groove. “Damn,” he groaned. “I don’t remember you ever moving like this.”

  I smiled up at him. “I guess it’s all the working out at the gym. I have more stamina. I’m far more flexible. I can go for hours without needing a break.”

  I felt his cock jump. I wasn’t finished toying with him yet. I leaned forward, pressing my chest against his. I heard his intake of breath. I knew exactly what he looked like when he wanted sex. Right now, he was dying for it. I was doing that to him.

  “Let’s go in the bathroom,” he whispered close to my ear. “I need you right fucking now.”

  “I want to dance,” I said and stepped out of his arms. I raised my arms up high and shook my ass. I danced like no one was watching. It felt good to let go and have fun. I didn’t care if it turned him on or if it humiliated him. This was for me.

  He stepped up behind me once again, grabbing my hips and grinding his erection against my backside. “Do you feel that?” he growled. “You’re making me crazy. My car is outside. Let’s step outside for a minute.”

  I laughed as I turned around to look at him once again. “Are you actually asking me to fuck you in the backseat?”

  “Yes. You said you wanted to be spontaneous before. Let’s do it.”

  He was really excited. I had never felt so powerful and so damn sexy in my life. He was right where I wanted him. I couldn’t wait for the moment I dropped my little bombshell on him. It was probably a terrible thing to plot revenge, but this man had turned my life upside down.

  He deserved a little something in return.

  Chapter 25

  Jeff

  I opened the car door and climbed out on legs that felt just a little shaky. I ran my hands over my body. I was alive and in one piece. That had been one hell of a ride.

  “Did you do that on purpose?” I asked Bunny when she came around the front.

  “Do what?”

  “Don’t play dumb. You could have killed me.”

  “But did you die?” She grinned.

  I could hear music filtering out the doors of the new bar and I suddenly got cold feet. “Maybe I should just go home. I don’t want to ruin her night.”

  “You are not going to ruin her night. Trust me, she is going to be thrilled to see you. Just relax.”

  I wasn’t so sure. “I don’t want her to think I’m hunting her down. This might be crossing some lines. She is a client.”

  “We’re at a bar to grab a drink. We’re all young twenty-somethings and that is what this bar is appealing to. It isn’t unheard of we would all be at the same place. You are reading way too much into this. Just relax. Let’s go inside.”

  I wanted to. God knew I wanted nothing more than to go inside and pour my heart out. Unfortunately, I was pretty sure she would not feel the same way. We’d been down this road before. I didn’t want to feel the sting of her rejection a second time. It would kill me a little to have her laugh in my face or give me the easy letdown speech.

  “I swear, I hate you.”

  She laughed and took my hand. She practically dragged me to the door. My heart was pounding and I could feel my palms getting sweaty. I was seriously having a panic attack at the thought of seeing her. Only she had this kind of power over me. Only she could make my knees shake and my heart race.

  I had to do this. With Bunny dragging me inside the dim bar, I really had to do this. She wasn’t letting me escape. I gave myself a little pep talk. If I really wanted a future with Alora, I had to do this. I had to put myself out there. I had to risk getting my heart broken again. It was the only way I would ever move forward. If I just let things continue the way they had been, I’d be stuck treading water while she moved on with her life. Again.

  “Let’s get a drink!” Bunny shouted close to my ear.

  “You’re driving!”

  “Maybe I’ll call a cab,” she said with a wink.

  We made our way to the bar. “There’s Sue,” I said and pointed her out.

  Sue was sitting at the bar with two martinis in front of her. She was making eyes at a guy on the other side of the large square bar. I noticed the little black dress she was wearing almost right away. I had never seen her in normal clothes. She was very pretty.

  “You look great!” Bunny said when she saw her. Bunny hugged Sue, who looked a little caught off guard but hugged her back.

  “Hey!” she said when she saw me.

  She looked from me to Bunny and then back to me. She scowled, clearly jumping to the wrong conclusion. “If you’re here to bitch at us for skipping your session, y
ou only have yourself to blame.”

  “I’m not here to bitch at you.”

  The bartender came by and grabbed the untouched martini. “I’m sorry, miss. I can’t leave this one here. I won’t charge you for it.”

  “It’s fine,” she said. “Take it.”

  She sipped her own before shooting another glare at me. I was going to assume that was Alora’s drink. Where was she? I scanned the bar and didn’t see her.

  “This place is awesome,” Bunny said.

  “Yes, it is. Why are you guys here?”

  “We wanted to check the place out,” Bunny said.

  “Both of you?” Sue asked. “Together?”

  Bunny didn’t answer her. She was flagging down the bartender. She ordered a dry martini and took the empty seat next to Sue. “I dragged him here because the guy could use a drink.”

  I wasn’t listening to them as they chatted. I was looking for Alora. I knew she was here somewhere. Then I spotted her. She was on the dance floor in the red dress I saw in the picture. She was swaying her hips, her head moving back and forth with her hands in the air. The dress clung to her curves, slowly moving up her thighs. She turned, giving me a glimpse of her frontside. I had to take a deep breath and count to five. Her breasts were high and full, the cleavage inviting the eye right in.

  Damn. She was so damn fine. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. Her body moved in time with the music. She looked like she was free. All the figurative weight she carried on her shoulders was gone. She was letting loose and never looked more beautiful.

  “What the fuck?” I said under my breath.

  I watched as a man put his hands on her hips and slid them up and down while rubbing his body against her. I saw red and it had nothing to do with her dress. The man leaned down and whispered close to her ear. She laughed and pulled away from him. He followed. He was enjoying the chase and she was flirting her ass off with him.

  His hands were all over her. Hands touching places I had been touching. I was supposed to be the one worshipping her body. Not that asshole. How could she do this? How could she jump from me to another man in a twenty-four-hour span?