Winning my Best Friend's Girl - Piper Rayne Page 0,9
now. He pulls over by the curb in downtown Lake Starlight, where Rome’s restaurant is their version of nightlife.
“We never dated.” Which is the truth. We never officially dated.
He lets loose a long breath. “Thank goodness. That’d be awkward.”
Oh, Lou, you have no idea. “Did you tell him about me? I mean…”
Seriously, Stella, I doubt he’s gushing to his best friend about the great woman he met days ago.
“I mentioned you, but he’s been out because of his concussion.” He glances at me, and the streetlight glowing into the cab reveals his questioning eyes. “I sense there’s more.”
This isn’t something I can hide from him. When Kingston finds out I’m dating… actually, I have no idea if they’re even good friends. “How close are you and Kingston?”
“King? We’ve been tight since the academy.”
My head falls to the headrest. “Oh, Lou, I’m not sure this is a good idea.”
“What am I missing?”
“Kingston and I never dated, but we share a past just the same.” Instead of looking at Lou, I scour the people walking into Terra and Mare. The people I’ll have to address if I walk in there with this man.
“What kind of past?”
There’s no way I can fully explain the situation to him. “In high school, I was dating his friend, Owen. Kingston and I were friends—”
“High school?” He laughs, and my attention is stripped away from the patrons of the restaurant and over to him. “That was almost a decade ago.”
“But—”
“Stella, I’m asking you to have dinner, not to marry me or even classify us as dating. At Tipsy Turvy, I felt like we had a connection. At least enough of one to explore, which is what spurred me to ask you to dinner.”
“You don’t understand.”
He can’t. He didn’t witness the situation that unfolded. The fights in the hallways, the screaming and arguing and tears. All the nights my head wound up in my mom’s lap.
“Believe me, whatever you had with Kingston hasn’t stopped him over the years.”
I look up from my lap, and he nods, confirming my fear that he earned the nickname Romeo the way one would assume. Which he had every right to. We were never a couple. It doesn’t stop the jab in my heart though.
“Let’s do this… one dinner,” he says. “That’s all I ask. We can eat as friends and get to know each other. But we’re already out and here. Come on.”
My stomach churns as I watch people walk in and out of Rome’s restaurant. I fear that silverware will screech across plates and conversations will halt the minute I step inside. Whispers of “She’s back. Does Kingston know?” being murmured as we’re seated.
“Okay, but can we go anywhere but here?” I ask.
He turns the keys in the ignition. “Definitely.”
Luckily, Lou is a cool guy and he takes me to a great burrito place in Portage Glacier, far enough away that I won’t see anyone from Lake Starlight.
And we do have a great night. Midway through dinner, I finally forget that he’s close friends with Kingston. I’m not sure if he feels as though I don’t want to talk about myself or if he’s worried I’ll end up crying over our chips and salsa, but he carries the entire conversation. Impressively enough, he weaves in sly questions about me but never stays on the topic of me long enough to go too deep.
At the end of the night, he pulls up outside my apartment and he walks me to the door.
“I had a great time,” Lou says.
“I did too. Thanks for pushing me to keep it. You’re really a great guy, but I have to be upfront with you. You and me dating isn’t a good idea since you’re friends with Kingston.”
He rocks back on his heels. “So if I ditch him as a friend, you’ll date me?”
I laugh, and thankfully he does too. I promised myself a long time ago I’d never get between Kingston and a friend again. “I’m sorry, but I’m definitely up for being friends.”
Lou nods. “I can’t convince you, huh?”
I smile but shake my head. “No. Again—”
He interrupts me right away. “You can stop saying you’re sorry now. It’s starting to feel like a breakup.”
I chuckle, grabbing my keys out of my purse. “So I’ll see you around the hospital?”
“Sure will. Friends… for now.”
“Lou,” I say before he thinks he can pull out all the stops and get me to agree to more. “I’m serious.”
He nods. “Don’t worry, I’d never pressure you too much, but we’ll