Just Friends

by Jennifer Sucevic

  A growl vibrates in my chest as a handful of guys chime in with what they’d like to do to Emerson.

  “I’d fuck that virgin pussy all night long!” someone shouts.

  Gruff laughter rings throughout the locker room until I’m on the verge of losing it.

  “How come you haven’t tapped that ass, Philips? That girl has got one hell of a sweet body.” Alex McAvoy gyrates his hips and moans like he’s just about to come. I’m sure this is what he sounds like in the bathroom when he’s rubbing one out.

  Not that I would know.

  Or want to know.

  A few of the guys throw balls of wadded up tape at him and he bats them away with a laugh.

  “That’s it,” I mutter under my breath. I don’t care if I have to beat the hell out of every guy on the team. No one talks about Emerson like that and gets away with it. Em has always been off-limits when it comes to these boneheads.

  A heavy hand falls on my shoulder and pushes me back down to the metal bench. Not only is Colton our starting goaltender, he’s a captain like me. “Relax. You know they’re just busting your balls. No one’s going to touch her.” He glares at the group and bellows, “Now shut the fuck up before I let Philips pummel your stupid asses.”

  Once the team settles, Colton plunks down on the bench across from me.

  Without any pussy-footing around, he gets right to the point. “What are you going to do about this situation?”

  I frown and pull off my shin guards. “What situation are you talking about?” Although, I’m pretty sure I know what he’s alluding to.

  Colton gives me an impatient look before jerking his thumb toward the dipshits I consider my friends. Most are in various states of undress before heading to the shower. “For better or worse, Em’s private business is out there. You know damn well there’ll be guys who go after her because she’s a virgin. Thanks to her douchebag boyfriend, there’s now a giant target on her back.” His dark eyes bore into mine. “You’re not going to let that happen, are you?” There’s another pause. “You’re not going to just stand by and let some asshole use her for bragging rights?”

  Fuck!

  I push my sweat soaked hair out of my face as the implication of his words sink in. As much as I hate to admit it, Colton is right.

  How didn’t I see this before?

  I’d been so blown away by the revelation, that I hadn’t considered how this would mark her for any guy who wants to say he was the first to bone a virgin.

  The thought of some asswipe doing that makes me sick to my stomach.

  I can’t allow that to happen.

  Colton rises to his feet before stripping off the rest of his pads. “You better think long and hard about what you’re going to do, man. It’s obvious you have feelings for her.”

  Damn right I have feelings for Em. She’s my best friend. Sure, sometimes those feelings might cross over the line, but they’re still ones of friendship. I don’t want a girlfriend at this point in my life and I’m sure as hell not looking to mess up our relationship.

  So, I do the only thing I can and deny the implication.

  “Nah.” I shake my head. “You’ve got it all wrong. Em and I are just friends. You know that.” I try to swallow, but my mouth has gone dry. Needing to busy my hands, I grab a bottle of water from my locker and guzzle it down. It doesn’t do a damn bit of good to quench my parched throat.

  He quirks a brow and studies me before unstrapping his chest pad. “Do I?”

  “Yeah.” I glance away. Colton has always been perceptive. Most of the time it’s a good thing. But right now?

  Not so much.

  When he says nothing further, I huff out a relieved breath and hightail it to the showers before he can make any other unwanted observations.

  Chapter Eight

  Emerson

  There’s a quick rap on my door before it’s shoved open and Brinley sticks her head inside my room. When she sees I’m already awake, she shuffles over to the bed and plops down on top of me.

  I grunt as her ass hits my hip.

  Her thick blond hair is sticking up in tufts all over the place. She looks like she stuck her finger in an electrical socket.

  “Where’d you disappear to last night?” she asks with a loud yawn and a stretch. “I tried calling your cell a bunch of times but you weren’t answering.”

  A groan leaves my lips. At no time did I think about calling or texting Brinley to let her know that I’d left the party.

  “I was worried about you,” she adds, poking a finger into my shoulder. “It’s called the buddy system for a reason.” There’s a pause. “And you let me down, buddy.”

  An avalanche of regret buries me alive. “I’m sorry, Brin. I should have let you know what was going on.” I run a hand through my hair, attempting to smooth it down. Much like Brinley’s, I have the feeling it’s sticking up all over the place. “Last night turned into a total shitshow.”

  Her eyes light with interest. “Really? What happened?”

  I huff out a sigh. “For starters, I found Tyler up in a bedroom getting his pump primed—”

  “No!” she shrieks, cutting me off. Brin’s eyes look like they’re about to fall out of their sockets. “You actually caught him in the act?”

  “Unfortunately.” All that sucking and bobbing over Tyler’s crotch isn’t something I’ll soon forget.

  Brinley nips her bottom lip between her teeth as indecision wavers across her face. “Crap. That makes what I have to tell you even worse.”

  “What?” I whisper between stiff lips before bursting with impatience, “Just tell me!” My world has already been blown to pieces. How much worse can it get?

  Brinley shifts on the bed before pushing her hair out of her eyes. “I don’t want you to get upset, but—”

  It’s too late for that.

  “I overheard a few people talking about you being a virgin at the party last night.” She throws her hands up in a gesture of surrender. “I swear on my Nana’s life, Em, that I never said a word about it. That information was locked up tight in the vault and never saw the light of day.”

  The air rushes from my lungs in relief that there’s nothing new to add to my list of problems. “It was Tyler. He’s the one who outed me. Apparently, me being sexually inexperienced is the reason he was getting his rocks off with another girl.”

  “What an asshole!” she snaps as anger gathers on her pretty face. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah.” Then I shrug and repeat my new mantra. “It’s not the end of the world. I’ll get over it.”

  “I’m sorry, Em,” she says softly, voice filling with sympathy as she reaches out and gives my shoulder a squeeze. “It was a shitty move on Ty’s part.” There’s a pause. “Thank God you didn’t give it up to him. Talk about a waste.”

  Leave it to Brin to find the silver lining in an otherwise crap-filled cloud.

  At this point, I kind of wish that I had given it up to someone along the way. Then I wouldn’t be in this predicament.

  Brittany Spears’ Baby, Hit Me One More Time fills the room. It’s my ringtone for Reed. He hates it and usually that’s enough to bring a smile to my lips. In high school, I found this song on one of his playlists. What kind of friend would I be if I let him live it down? Every time he manages to get his hands on my cell, he changes it to something more manly.

  Something hard rock with a deep pumping bass. Maybe a guitar solo.

  It doesn’t matter how many times he deletes it, I change it right back again.

  When I don’t immediately reach for my phone on the nightstand, Brinley raises a brow. “Aren’t you going to answer that?”

  I shake my head.

  I’ve lost track of how many times Reed has tried calling this morning. After everything that went down last night, I need a little space. As much as Tyler’s grand announcement has been forefront in my brain, I can’t stop thinking about the kiss I shared with Reed.

  Part of me is dying to rehas
h it with Brinley, but instead, I keep it to myself. What’s the point of sharing the details? It’s not like it meant anything. It was a kiss between friends. A consolation prize for a shitty evening.

  “Wow,” she murmurs. “The situation is much worse than I suspected if you don’t want to talk to Reed.”

  Exactly.

  My life imploded and I can’t turn to the one person I would normally seek comfort from. Which only makes everything worse.

  “I’ll talk to him later,” I murmur.

  “Does he know what happened with Tyler?”

  “Yeah,” I sigh, remembering the gory details in Technicolor. “Reed and I were together when we found him.” I pause before admitting, “Reed punched Ty. Twice.”

  “Good.” Brin looks slightly mollified by that information. “I only wish I could have been there to see it for myself.”

  Now that she’s been caught up to speed, we both fall silent.

  “You’re not going to take Ty back after what he did, are you?” she asks.

  Does Brin seriously think I could stick around after what I saw?

  Hell no.

  There are a lot of guys on this campus who think they should be given a free pass for bad behavior. Unfortunately, there are more than enough chicks who are willing to turn a blind eye to a good-for-nothing, cheating asshole.

  I’m not one of those girls.

  My expression turns grim. “I told him that we were through. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to look at him without seeing that girl hunkered over his crotch.” A shutter of distaste slides through me.

  “Gross.” She scrunches her nose as if she’s just caught a whiff of something nasty. “That is so not an image I want in my head.”

  “Me neither, but it’s too late for that.”

  “If I’m being honest, I never thought you two fit together.”

  It’s what I’ve always suspected. “Why is that?”

  “I don’t know.” She jerks her shoulders. “You two are just so different. He likes to live in the moment and is all about his stupid frat. You’re concerned about your grades and moving on with your future after graduation.” There’s a pause before she adds, “Plus, you never really seemed that into spending time with him. You’d rather spend time with Reed than your boyfriend.”

  She’s not wrong.

  Tyler and I have different outlooks. But that’s always been part of his charm. He doesn’t take life so seriously. He’s fun and easy to be around. And he’s never put a lot of demands on our relationship.

  Not that it matters anymore, but it makes me wonder if he’s been screwing around on me the entire time. I guess if you’re getting your dick sucked by other chicks, you don’t need your girlfriend to do it for you. Maybe that’s the reason he didn’t get frustrated with me when I wanted to take our physical relationship slow.

  “Sorry I wasn’t there for you last night when you needed me,” Brin says, interrupting my thoughts.

  I wave off her apology. “Don’t worry about it. I shouldn’t have taken off without letting you know.”

  Brin perks up. “Hey, I know exactly what would make you feel better.”

  Staying in my pajamas for the rest of the weekend? Binge watching Gossip Girl and ordering an extra-large pepperoni pizza? Inhaling a gallon of rocky road ice cream?

  That just might do the trick.

  “I heard there’s a huge party—”

  Is Brin out of her ever-loving mind?

  “Absolutely not!” I shake my head and stab a finger at the bed we’re both sitting on. “I’m not leaving this apartment. My plans include hiding out until this all blows over.”

  “Aren’t you scheduled to work at nine?”

  I yelp and glance at the clock on the nightstand. “I almost forgot!” Actually, I did forget. I whip off the covers and jump from the bed before racing to the closet. I pull out my hot pink waitress uniform that is standard issue at Stella’s Diner.

  Stella, the owner, thought it would be fun for the waitresses to wear fifties throwback uniforms. I’m not a huge fan but the customers seem to love it. We always get a ton of compliments.

  Outfit aside, I love working at the diner. Stella took a chance and hired me freshman year and I’ve been waiting tables ever since. The tips are good, but it’s the people that keep me coming back. Stella and her husband, Hank, have become like family to me. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for them.

  “You could always call in sick,” Brin offers from her comfy spot on my bed as she watches me shimmy into my dress before buttoning up the front.

  As tempting as the idea is given my current predicament, I shake my head. “I can’t do that to Stella. Maybe getting out for a while and not obsessing over the situation will help. I’m sure the restaurant will be busy.”

  She smiles and points a finger in my direction. “You’re absolutely right, getting out of the apartment will be good—”

  “Forget it.” I pull my hair up into a simple ponytail. “I’m not going to the party. Maybe after all this virgin talk dies down, I’ll think about showing my face around campus again.”

  She waves a hand, dismissing my concern. “It was just a few people at a party who were gossiping about it. I’m sure it’s already been forgotten.”

  “I hope so,” I mutter, slipping my feet into my pink Converse sneakers. I barely have time to catch my breath before I swipe my purse off the dresser and rush out the door.

  All I can hope is that my shift at the diner is less eventful than last night’s party.

  Chapter Nine

  Reed

  I glare at my cell in frustration as my call goes straight to voicemail. Why isn’t Emerson picking up her damn phone? I’ve left a shit ton of messages and haven’t heard a peep in response.

  I don’t like it. Not one bit.

  Is she avoiding me?

  Emerson has never purposefully dodged my calls.

  If she thinks I’m going to let her ignore me, the girl has got another thing coming. She should know me better than that. Now that I’m finished with practice, I can head over to her apartment.

  My mind circles back to what Colton said in the locker room. As much as I hate to admit it, he’s right about guys going after her now that they know she’s a virgin. It’ll become a game.

  We need a plan.

  Actually, I’ve already come up with a course of action. All she needs to do is agree.

  Just as I click the locks on my truck, I realize that Emerson is probably working the early shift at Stella’s. That must be why she’s not picking up her phone.

  Em isn’t avoiding me, she’s just busy.

  I don’t even know why I jumped to that conclusion.

  All right, yes I do.

  It’s the kiss we shared last night. I have no idea how she felt about it. Maybe I should have manned up and discussed it with her, but I let the moment slip away.

  Once I slide behind the wheel of the truck and start the engine, I pull out of the empty parking lot near the sports arena. Stella’s Diner is located about a mile away from campus on the main strip which means it gets a mixed crowd of people who live in town as well as a number of students from the college.

  Everything about the place is retro fifties diner throwback. The floor is black and white checkered tiles and the ceiling is covered with shiny silver tin. Framed photographs of old Hollywood stars interspersed with Coca-Cola memorabilia decorate the walls. The booths are bright red leather with shiny white linoleum tops.

  I love hanging out here. Hank makes the best Salisbury steak and mashed potatoes I’ve ever tasted. The guy is a culinary wizard. I’d wolf it down every night of the week after practice if I could. Although it’s doubtful my arteries would thank me for it.

  Another perk is seeing Emerson in her tight pink waitress uniform that hugs every curve. Yeah, I shouldn’t be looking, but I’m a guy. I can’t help but notice how hot she is.

  As soon as I push through the glass door, I spot Em waiting on a g
roup of dudes who are around our age. I’m willing to bet they attend Southern. She’s all smiles as she takes their order. My eyes narrow as I watch them flirt with her, each one jockeying for attention.

  Normally, that wouldn’t bother me. It’s part of her job to be friendly. But for some reason, it hits me differently this morning. Once she’s finished jotting down their order on her pocket-sized note pad, I stalk over to the table and grab her hand.

  Her eyes widen when she sees me. “Reed! What are you doing here?”

  “We need to talk.” Not waiting for a response, I tow her toward the cash register where Stella is waiting. The older woman beams. I’ve been stopping in at the diner for as long as Emerson has been working here. Stella loves me. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that I’ve helped fix a few things around the restaurant. Dad left when I was around ten and Mom never remarried. I learned at an early age how to repair leaky pipes and hang drywall. It’s amazing what you can pick up from the internet. Give me YouTube and I could fly blindfolded through the Swiss Alps.

  “Reed, what a nice surprise,” Stella greets. “You want Hank to cook you up something for breakfast? We’ve added a new special to the menu—we call it the Red Devil Grand Slam. It comes with three eggs, ham, bacon, two pancakes, and a side of hash browns. You gotta bring a big appetite to the table for that one.” She gives me a wink. “It’s not for the faint of heart.”

  Or anyone with a heart condition.

  My belly growls just thinking about all that food. It’s everything I enjoy for breakfast without any of the work. “That does sound good,” I muse, glancing at Emerson whose frown has deepened. That’s when I remember what prompted me to stop by in the first place.

  Unfortunately, it wasn’t for breakfast. Had I been thinking straight, I would have chowed down one of the protein bars I keep stashed in my glovebox. After that two-hour practice, it feels like my stomach is eating its own lining.