Everyone is moving on to the next stage and I’m still basically in the same spot I was in three years ago.”
“But we’re changing that on Tuesday night, remember?” I reminded him, hoping that the promise of finding his future Mrs. Kekoa in Denver would help convince him to stay here. “We’re going to find you your dream girl at the club.”
“Yeah.” His eyes seemed to search mine. “I, uh, yeah, I guess that’s the plan, isn’t it?”
I nodded. “And with me as your dating coach, I’m sure you’ll be in a relationship with the perfect girl in no time.”
I expected him to brighten up or at least give me a hint of a smile at the promise of finding his next girlfriend soon, but his shoulders drooped even further.
Was it possible that Denver really wasn’t cutting it for him anymore?
He had lived near the ocean in Hawaii for the first fourteen years of his life. And he loved the big deep-sea fishing trips that he took every May.
Maybe moving to San Francisco and buying a big house on the ocean really was more appealing than living in Denver and staying close to me and Vincent and his other buddies from the team.
Maybe our friendship was more replaceable to him than it was to me.
“Is Denver just not where you want to end up then?” I asked.
“It’s not that,” he said.
I peeked up at him, waiting for him to continue.
“I’m just looking at all the pros and cons of playing for each of the different teams.” He ran a hand through his now short hair and shrugged. “I’m sure I’ll have a better idea of which way to go in a few weeks.”
“Well, for what it’s worth, I really want you to stay,” I said, hoping that he’d see in my eyes how sincere I was. “I’d hate it if I couldn’t hang out with you any time I wanted.”
“You would?” His eyes darted back and forth between mine.
“Of course.” I rolled up the tortilla I’d filled with the chicken mixture. “You’re my best friend. I don’t want you to live a thousand miles away. I mean, who else would I watch all my romance movies with when Chad refuses?”
Instead of smiling like I’d hoped, he bristled at my mention of Chad.
Which I should have expected, really.
What I wouldn’t give for the two most important men in my life to just get along? But for some reason, instead of becoming friends as time went on, it seemed like whatever animosity they had with each other just festered below the surface.
More so on Cole’s end, though.
It hadn’t always been like that. In fact, up until about a year ago I thought for sure they might finally be getting along better. Cole had at least been able to be in the same room as Chad without glaring at him, anyway.
But then whatever bridges they’d been building seemed to burn down all over again after the night of Cole’s twenty-sixth birthday party—the night I’d gotten snowed in and had to sleep at his house.
We’d never talked about that night, or the stolen moment in his guest bedroom.
But even though our friendship had stayed intact after we’d gotten over the initial awkwardness, what had transpired between us in that unguarded moment had seemingly made it impossible for Cole to get along with my boyfriend anymore.
It sucked.
Sucked really bad, actually.
But apparently, that was how it was going to stay, with how Cole seeming to have a physical reaction anytime I mentioned my boyfriend.
And Chad wasn’t much better.
It was like Cole and Chad played for opposing teams and I was the football in the middle, constantly being tossed back and forth between them, just waiting until the clock ran out to see which team would win.
Though, in this scenario, choosing one side over the other would make me lose more than anyone in this sad game we were playing. Because if one of them won and had their way, I’d lose one of the men I didn’t want to let go of.
Cole pressed his lips together, like he was thinking. After a moment he said, “I have to make my decision by the end of the month at the absolute latest. So hopefully, after this week and my trip to San Francisco next week I’ll have a clearer idea of what I want to do.”
Which meant he might decide how this sad excuse of a game the three of us had been playing would finally end.
I