“Like I said, I’m your family, and that’s what families do.”

She smiled at me and headed into her room, closing the door behind her.

I dropped into the seat of my car just as the sky decided to open up. The rain poured down my windshield, blurring the world outside into a smear of muted colors. I sat there, listening to the water pound against the hood of my car. All I could think about was her lips. I wanted to run back up the stairs and find out what she tasted like. I wanted to know the sound she would make when I kissed her neck, how soft the skin of her back was, what she looked like just before she fell asleep.

I’d put myself in the worst possible position. I found the one girl who I wanted more than anything else, and I could do nothing about it. I couldn’t risk messing this up. Alex needed me. If, by some miracle, she wanted anything to do with me, I would no doubt fuck it up, and then I would lose her. A lifetime as her friend sounded so much better than being the man who broke her heart.

I couldn’t be selfish. She deserved more than that. I would keep my word to her and be whatever she wanted for as long as she wanted. I just needed to figure out exactly how to do that.

Chapter 18

Alex (Now)

I hadn’t heard from Drew since he left the bar Monday night. He was a no show for trivia, and my texts went unanswered. I paced the square a few times, debating whether I should just go over there, but I told him I would need some time. He was just giving me what I asked for, but it made me more desperate to see him.

By Saturday afternoon, I was excited because the boys were playing football in the park. Drew never missed football. I slipped on a cute strapless sundress and headed to the park.

When I got there, Drew was nowhere to be seen. David and Sean were already on the field, and Millie was quietly reading her pregnancy book.

“Hey, Millie.” She looked up at me from her book and gave me an awkward smile.

“Hey, Alex. You look nice,” she said with none of her usual spirit.

Something was up.

“Still no Drew?”

She looked out to the field. “No. He’s not coming.”

I could hear the discomfort in her voice, but I pressed anyway. I was desperate for answers. “Why?”

She sighed. “It is not my place. You need to talk to Drew.”

Were they already choosing sides? “So I guess he told you what happened,” I said, unable to meet her eyes.

She looked at me with a sad smile. “He talked to David. You know how we are.” David kept nothing from Millie. They were the textbook example of the perfect couple.

“Do you think I’m a total idiot?”

Millie looked back to the field where David was running toward the makeshift goal. “Did I ever tell you how I met David?”

“Yeah, you met in college.”

She laughed. “No, the real story.”

She had my attention now. I shook my head, waiting for her to explain.

“I was engaged to someone else,” she said. My eyes widened. Holy shit! Sweet, innocent Millie broke someone’s heart. I could never imagine that.

“His name was Brayden. We were high school sweethearts, had been dating since tenth grade. We had a plan. We were gonna go away to college together, graduate together, then law school, then the wedding, and happily ever after.” She sighed. “David was in Brayden’s fraternity. They met during pledge week. David was assigned to be Brayden’s big brother. Now you have to understand, I always played it safe. Never took a single risk. I stuck to the plan. Brayden took me to the house for some date party or some other theme, it’s not important. Anyway, David was there. Things started off the usual way, Brayden in his element, me trailing behind him or fading into the background. I was incredibly shy, and Brayden was always the center of attention.”

She took a deep breath. “I was fine letting him take the lead because I never knew anything different. He made all my decisions for me. Where we went, what I wore, even where I went to college. So, eventually Brayden left me, as he always did, to do God knows what with his friends. That’s when David came over to talk to me.”

Her face spread into an incredible smile as she thought back to when they first met. “He was hands down the most gorgeous man I had ever seen. He asked me if Brayden ditched me a lot, and I nodded. He offered to get me a drink and took a seat next to me. We didn’t say anything for a long time, just sat there sipping our drinks. Girls were coming up to him left and right, asking him to dance, trying to get his attention, but David didn’t budge. After a while he shook his head as he caught a glimpse of Brayden talking to some sorority girl. I was pretending not to notice.”

I gaped at her. Millie was sweet, sure, but she was no doormat. I couldn’t believe she would let someone treat her that way.

“So, there we were, still sitting in complete silence, when he leaned in and whispered that Brayden didn’t understand how lucky he was. I was a little taken back. I didn’t know what to say. I just stared at him. David smiled at me and brushed a strand of hair from my face. I felt more in that one touch than in the three years with Brayden. I asked David if he would take me home, and he agreed. He was such a gentleman. He drove me back to the dorm and walked me to the door. Then he told me something I would never forget. He said, ‘I hope that one day I am man enough to deserve someone like you, but I can tell you that Brayden never will be.’”

I couldn’t help but cheer for David in this story.

“At first,” she continued, “I was upset. I mean, who was he to judge my relationship? But then he took my hand and squeezed it and I knew he was right. Brayden was safe, he offered me security and a direction, but not real love or even respect. David added color to my world and made me see the possibilities. I had such a revelation in that one crazy moment that I just reacted and launched myself at him. I kissed him with everything I had. He was surprised at first, but gave in quickly and kissed me back. It was a life changing kiss in more ways than one. The next day, I broke it off with Brayden and changed my major to fashion, but kept my minor in business.”

“So, David is a homewrecker who went after someone else’s girl. I didn’t know he had it in him,” I said, looking out at him on the field.

Millie laughed. “I guess you could say that, but we didn’t get together until later. My point, Alex,” she said, turning to face me, “sometimes taking the risk, or the leap of faith, whatever you want to call it, can change your life for the better. Only God knows where I would be today if I never met David that night, but my life is full, and I don’t think I could be happier. It’s all because I had the guts to go for it.”

“Millie, he knows how I feel and he hasn’t said anything. I put myself out there, I took the leap, and fell flat on my face.”

Millie just gave me a sad smile.

When the game was over, Sean and David came over to help Millie with her stuff. They each said a quick goodbye. Millie gave me a hug. “You guys will work this out.”

I wasn’t so sure, but I promised her I was going to try. They packed up Millie’s chair and the cooler and headed to the car. Sean looked back at me with an apologetic smile. I didn’t know what to do, so I just sank down to the grass.

I couldn’t focus. I felt like my whole world was falling apart. It had been days since I’d seen or talked to Drew. The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. This wasn’t about giving me time to forgive him. Drew was avoiding me, and I was going to find out why.

Ten minutes later, I found myself standing in front of Drew’s door with no memory of exactly how I got there. I knocked. No answer. I knocked again. I heard something from behind the door.