Forever Friend Zoned

by C. Morgan

  I couldn’t control my anger. I felt like there was steam pumping out of my ears. I folded my arms over my chest and watched them gyrate against each other. It made me sick. It made me insanely jealous. I had no claim to her, but damn if I could stand to watch her get it on with another man.

  The song ended and I steeled myself to confront her. She was walking toward the bar with her cheeks flushed. She looked a lot like she had yesterday after we had sex. She was laughing until she caught sight of me. Her eyes widened and she stumbled in her heels.

  “Jeff,” she said with surprise. “What are you doing here?”

  At that moment, Bunny handed me a drink. “We thought we’d come by and get a drink.”

  Alora’s lip curled as she looked at me. “Oh, really?”

  “Yes, I heard about this place opening and I wanted to check it out. It’s a co-worker happy hour.”

  Alora’s eyes were flashing with anger. She pretended to look around, leaning left and right. “Did you bring Fran along too?”

  “Fran isn’t here,” I said.

  She raised an eyebrow and smirked. “You don’t waste any time,” she mumbled under her breath.

  “I’ll get you a drink, babe. You shook your ass off out there.”

  I ignored the man. My gaze was focused on Alora. She smiled sweetly. “Thanks, babe, I’d appreciate that,” she answered him while staring at me.

  “We need to talk,” I said.

  She gave me one last dirty look before turning to Sue. She was going to try and ignore me. I was too furious to let that happen. “Alora,” I said her name.

  “Don’t,” she hissed.

  I fought the urge to throw her over my shoulder and drag her ass out of there. I stood there watching as she talked with Sue and completely ignored me. I looked like a total dumbass.

  “Alora, please,” I said and tamped down my anger.

  The guy returned and handed her a martini. “Who is this guy?” he asked her. “Is he bothering you?”

  “No. It’s fine.”

  “Alora, we need to talk,” I said again.

  “Not now.”

  “Get lost, man,” the guy said.

  “Who the fuck are you?” I snapped.

  He stepped forward. I was about an inch taller than he was. We were relatively evenly matched. “I’m her fucking fiancé.”

  “Todd, stop,” Alora said.

  Todd. There was an alarm bell ringing as I looked at the dick that had ruined my life all those years ago. “Todd?” I said.

  “Todd, leave it alone,” Alora said again.

  “If this guy is messing with my fiancée, I am going to put a stop to it.”

  I looked at Alora. The look on her face told me all I needed to know. She was engaged to Todd Purcell. She had fucked me while she was engaged to another man. She was getting in shape for him. My head was spinning with the onslaught of information. I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t say anything. It was like I was fourteen again and I was staring down the quarterback.

  “Hey, dance with me,” Bunny said and grabbed my arm.

  I didn’t move. “You’re engaged?” I said the words. They tasted sour. It felt like I was speaking a foreign language.

  “Yeah, asshole. She’s engaged to me. I don’t like anyone bothering my woman. Now back the fuck off. Go dance with this hot blonde and leave her alone.”

  I was a special kind of stupid to put myself right back into the situation I’d barely survived the first time. Who was dumb enough to fall for a girl twice when she wanted nothing to do with you? Me. I was that kind of stupid.

  Bunny was a lot stronger than she looked and managed to pull me away from Alora and Todd. I turned to look over my shoulder and found him still staring me down like he wanted to fight me. I wasn’t a violent man and I never got into bar fights, but in that moment, I would have loved the chance to kick his ass.

  “This was a mistake,” I snapped and jerked my arm out of her grasp. “We never should have come here.”

  “Relax. Who was that?”

  “You fucking heard him. It was her fiancé.”

  “Did you know she was engaged?”

  I gave her a look. “No, I didn’t fucking know. She doesn’t wear a ring. Did you? You two are best buds.”

  “No, I didn’t know. Trust me, if I would have, I would have never brought you here. I had no idea. I’m sorry.”

  “I want to get out of here.”

  “Don’t let her or him run you off. We came to have some fun.”

  “No, you came to have some fun. I came to talk to her. That isn’t going to happen. I don’t have anything to say to her.”

  “There is probably a very valid explanation for all of this,” she reasoned.

  I frowned at her. “Really? There’s a good explanation for lying about everything?”

  “Look, I don’t know what happened between the two of you, but you need to calm down. Alora doesn’t strike me as the type to screw around. This is all a big misunderstanding.”

  “The only one who misunderstood anything was me. It’s all very clear to me now. She’s engaged to the quarterback.”

  Bunny looked confused. “What? Who?”

  “Nothing, never mind. I’m going home.”

  “Don’t. Stay and have a drink with me. You can still have fun. Look around you. There are at least fifty women you could hook up with.”

  “I don’t want fifty women.”

  “Don’t let any woman have so much control over you that she can ruin your night. Stay in control. Have fun. Do it to spite her.”

  I liked where she was going with her thinking. I was tired of being the jilted one. “Fine. I’ll stay. One drink and then I’m out of here.”

  She grinned before giving me a quick hug. “Things will be okay.”

  Chapter 26

  Alora

  Things were going to get really ugly in a hurry if I didn’t do something fast. Todd was still eyeballing Jeff. Todd had always been a hothead and would love an excuse to fight whether it was a good one or not. Jeff wasn’t exactly a pushover. I knew how strong he was. I was certain he could kick Todd’s ass all over this bar if he wanted to. I needed to keep the peace. This was all my fault anyway.

  I led Todd on, not thinking there could be consequences to my actions. “Todd, come with me,” I said and grabbed his hand. “Sue, I’ll be back in a minute.”

  She held up her glass. “I’ll be right here.”

  I felt a little guilty for ditching her but this was something that needed to be taken care of sooner rather than later. I led him out the door and onto the sidewalk.

  “You ready to get out of here?” he asked, bending his knees and lining his face up with mine. “I know I sure as hell am. We’ll go home and pick up where we left off.”

  “We’re not engaged, Todd.”

  “Sure we are. Do you want me to ask you again? I’ll get down on my knees and ask you again, but I want you naked when I do it.”

  “No, I don’t want you to ask me again and you will never see me naked again.”

  “Babe, don’t be like that. Are you still mad? Let me make it up to you. I know just what you like.”

  I wrinkled my nose. “Actually, I don’t think you do.”

  “Yes, I do. You like it when I take you from behind.”

  “No, I don’t. In fact, I never did. I did it because you were sure that’s what I liked and for a long time I let you decide what I did and didn’t like. But I don’t like you and I don’t like doing that with you.”

  “You’re mad. I get it. I’ll buy you flowers and chocolate and take you out to the best restaurants.”

  “On my father’s dime,” I muttered.

  “What’s your problem?” he snapped.

  “You. You dumped me. I would very much like to stay dumped.”

  “You don’t know what you are doing.”

  “Yes, I do. For the first time in a very long time, I have perfect clarity. I see you for who you are and I d
on’t like it. I don’t want to marry you. I definitely don’t want to fuck you. You will never see this body or my checkbook again. Closed. Closed forever to you.”

  My words were sinking in. “Don’t fucking do this, Alora. I am giving you one more chance. I’m not playing around. You reject me now, I’ll never take your ass back.”

  “Good.”

  “No other man is ever going to want your fat ass. You might look good now, but you’ll blow up again. You always do. You’re going to spend the rest of your days alone if you do this.”

  “I doubt that,” I said, unbothered by his cruel words. “I can walk back in there right now and have a man on my arm.”

  “You mean that little weasel that was drooling on you before I pushed him away?”

  “Uh, you didn’t push anyone away and no one was drooling.”

  “You’re a fool. Make sure you tell mommy and daddy you shot me down. I don’t want to hear them bitching to me anymore.”

  “Whatever.”

  “That guy is a loser,” he spat.

  I shrugged. “Maybe but that’s my problem, not yours. You have no say in my life. Not anymore. Not ever again.”

  “You’re going to regret this,” he hissed and walked away.

  I felt like I lost two hundred pounds as I watched him walk away. It was over. The baggage was gone. Todd was a distant memory. I didn’t plan to see or talk to him again. I didn’t want to. Before tonight, there was a little part of me that lamented losing that relationship with him. Not anymore. He could stay long gone.

  I went back inside the bar. Now I had to face Jeff. Seeing him with Bunny hurt a lot worse than it had hearing Todd say such mean things. I liked Bunny. It sucked that I had to hate her now. How could I be friends with someone sleeping with the guy I was crushing on? He was a dick for hopping out of one bed and right into another.

  I was not going to let myself be treated like a space-filler ever again. Todd did that to me and I put up with it. I wasn’t putting up with it ever again. I was not a throwaway. I deserved better. Maybe I didn’t deserve to be with a man that looked like Jeff, and that was fine. Looks didn’t matter. Honesty and kindness were far more important.

  Sue was still sitting at the bar. I sat down on the stool Bunny had been on. “Where did our little gym buddies go?” I asked while raising my hand to get a drink.

  “Bunny told me she was taking Jeff to play shuffleboard.”

  “Shuffleboard?” I said with skepticism. “Is that code for something else?”

  Sue pointed toward the back of the bar. Sure enough, they were standing next to a table. They were talking but not hanging all over each other. I wanted to believe it was platonic, but looking at them, they made a great couple. They were perfectly suited to one another. They were both tens. They both loved fitness and they would make beautiful babies together.

  “How did it go with Todd?”

  “I told him we are not engaged and never will be.”

  “How did he take that?”

  “He was an asshole as usual. I just don’t care anymore.”

  “Good for you. I thought maybe you were going to go home with him the way you were climbing all over him out there.”

  I took my martini from the bartender. “Not a chance. I just wanted to tease him and then shut him down. I wanted to give him a taste of his own medicine.”

  “He was certainly into you.”

  “I know. It was all going so well. When did it go sideways?”

  “Don’t look now, but we’ve got incoming,” Sue whispered.

  I looked up and saw the two men we’d been making eyes at earlier coming our way. “These dresses are dangerous,” I said.

  She grinned. “Dangerously awesome.”

  “Hello,” the man I had been ogling said.

  “Hi,” I said with a smile.

  “We couldn’t help but notice the two most beautiful women in the bar,” he said. “I’m Dave and this is Mike.”

  “Hi Dave and Mike,” Sue said with a lot of enthusiasm. “I’m Sue and this is Alora.”

  Dave looked at me. “Alora. That is a unique name.”

  “My parents like to be unique. Me, not so much.”

  “Can we buy you ladies a drink?” he asked.

  “I just—”

  “Yes,” Sue answered. “We would love that.”

  “There’s a free table,” Mike said. “Would you like to join us?”

  “That would be very nice,” Sue said.

  I glanced over and caught Jeff watching us. I didn’t want to be like him. I didn’t want him to think I was jumping from one man to the next. He probably thought I was trolling the bar and testing out the best ride.

  I didn’t have to care what he thought, I told myself. Jeff was already working on getting Bunny in his bed. Hell, maybe she had already been there and he was trying to get her back in. It was hard to say. I couldn’t worry about him.

  “Are you guys locals?” Dave asked me. I sat next to him while Sue sat next to Mike.

  “We are,” Sue answered for me.

  I shot her a dirty look. She was making me look like an idiot. “What about you?” I asked him.

  “I just moved to town about six months ago. Mike has lived here about five years.”

  “How do you like it so far?” Sue asked.

  She was clearly digging Mike. I couldn’t remember ever seeing her so giddy. She’d had a few drinks but this was different. She was really happy. I was happy for her. “I do like it. I’m from Minnesota. It took a while to get used to the heat.”

  “Oh boy,” Sue exclaimed. “I bet it gets really cold there.”

  A round of drinks was delivered to our table. I glanced up once again and saw Jeff glaring at me. I did feel a little guilty about the way things had gone down with Todd. I knew I didn’t owe him an explanation, but I wanted to make sure he knew I wasn’t a cheater. I was not engaged and therefore what we did was not cheating.

  “You seem distracted,” Dave said. “Everything okay?”

  “Yes, fine. I’m just a little tired.”

  “Would you like to dance?”

  I didn’t want to dance with him. I didn’t want to give Jeff any more reason to glare at me. “Maybe after this drink,” I said.

  He winked. “I’m going to hold you to that.”

  “Would you like to dance?” Mike asked Sue.

  She looked at me with fear in her eyes. This was out of both of our comfort zones. I gave her a slight nod, encouraging her to do it. We were living on the edge tonight. She put on a bright smile. “I would like that.”

  They both got up and left the table. I realized my mistake in encouraging her to go. Now I was alone with Dave. I thought about making an excuse to leave. I couldn’t do it. Sue had been my cheerleader for a long time. I could play her wingman if it meant she got to have a good time.

  “What do you do for a living?” he asked.

  It was a normal question, but I hated it. “I’m taking some time off,” I said. It was the cheesiest line ever. Basically, I was a slacker and I didn’t have to work because my mommy and daddy took care of me.

  “I see,” he said.

  “What about you?”

  “I’m in construction. I’m a foreman.”

  “Really? Do you do the actual building?”

  “Nope. I sit in an air-conditioned office and make phone calls and yell at people while staring at blueprints mostly.”

  “Ah, sounds like a rough job,” I teased.

  “It is. I had to work my way up. I started at the bottom and have the calluses to prove it.” He turned his hands over and exposed his palms. I touched the rough hands with my finger as if I needed to verify the story.

  “You’re a blue-collar man.” I laughed.

  “I am. I was. I can still swing a hammer. I just don’t do it as often.”

  “I don’t blame you.”

  “So, what do you do when you aren’t taking time off?”

  Again, innocent qu
estion, but for me, it was embarrassing. “I went to school and got my degree in business.”

  “Ah, a white-collar woman,” he joked.

  “Yes, maybe one day. For now, I’m exploring my options.”

  “It’s cool you have the freedom to do that.”

  That translated to you must be a spoiled rich girl and he would be right. “It is very nice,” I said.

  I felt my skin prickling and looked up to find Jeff really glaring at me now. I gave him a defiant stare in return before turning my attention back to the man openly flirting with me. A braver woman would have gotten up and danced with him. I wasn’t feeling that brave.

  I didn’t know what Jeff’s deal was, but I instinctively knew I didn’t want to press the issue. The way he was looking at me told me he was not a man to be pushed.

  Chapter 27

  Jeff

  I had never felt so violent in my life. I wasn’t a pushover but I wasn’t a natural born fighter either. But the way I was feeling right now made me feel like the Incredible Hulk. I could feel my muscles tightening and flexing. I wanted to rip my shirt off and yank that fucker away from Alora.

  I didn’t know what the hell she was playing at, but I was not enjoying it in the least. She was like the star of the fucking bar. The guys were flocking around her. It was that damn dress. Her tits were practically spilling out, and if she bent over, everyone would get a clear shot of her lady bits. It was the kind of dress designed to tease a man. I decided I didn’t like being teased.

  I glanced her way again and saw her watching me. She was purposely taunting me. She turned back to the guy that had just been looking down her top while she looked at me. He was playing it cool, but I could identify a snake when I saw one. He was trying to get in her pants. Panties, rather. She was going to end up going home with him if I didn’t do something.

  “Stop,” Bunny snapped. “You keep staring at her and things are going to get really awkward.”

  “What the hell is she doing?” I growled. “That man is practically pawing at her.”

  “He’s talking to her.”

  “He’s looking down her blouse.”