to me. The next day, I’d forgotten all about it until I received an email stating I’d been chosen. I went back and forth on going through with it, but I thought that if I did it—actually went on the show—that it would keep me from backing out. I’d decided many times over the years that I was finally going to tell you, but when it came down to it, I’d always chickened out.”
My phone rings and I pick it up off the table and answer it. It’s Calvin, and as much as I want to watch that movie with him, fixing what I broke with Preston is more important right now. Calvin sounds like he understands, and we agree to do movie night some other time.
“I just . . . I don’t understand why you couldn’t just tell me. Why embarrass us both on that show?” he asks.
I roll my eyes in an attempt to hold back the tears. “Because I suck. You know this,” I laugh out and he laughs with me.
He finally turns to me and takes both of my hands in his. “I love you, Piper. I really do. You’re my best friend and the only person other than my brother who has always had my back. And that’s exactly why I can’t go there with you. God, I wish I fucking could go there with you. I see how perfect it could be. I really do. And it’s not because I don’t find you attractive or anything like that, because you’re beautiful and perfect. I just need you in my life every single day. And throwing dating, sex, marriage, and all of that on top of it would kill us. We’d end up hating each other and losing a lifetime of friendship. I can’t risk losing you.”
I nod as a tear finally wells up and falls down my cheek.
He releases one of my hands and wipes it away. “Every decision I make is to protect us—to protect you and our friendship. I won’t ever make a choice that could ruin us, Piper.”
I do my best to dry my tears. “I know, Preston, and that’s why I love you too. I’ll admit, the line got a bit blurred there for me, but this time apart has taught me something: I can live without being with you, but I could never live without you in my life.”
He smiles. “Good, because I can’t live without you in mine either.” He pulls me in for a big hug, and even though I don’t get exactly what I want, I get exactly what I need. I get his promise to always be in my life—holding my hand when I need it, and protecting me even when I don’t know there’s danger coming. Preston may not be my happily ever after, but he will be in my ending.
The two of us sit, talk, and catch up on what’s been going on since the last time we saw each other. We watch some TV and eat some popcorn. It’s pushing 12:30 a.m. when he finally gets up to leave. I lock the door behind him and turn to clean up our mess before taking a shower. As I’m loading the dishwasher, the doorbell rings and I head for the front door thinking Preston must have forgotten something. I don’t bother checking the peephole. I just pull the door open with a smile, happy to have my friend back.
“What did you forget?” I ask, just as my eyes land on Calvin. “Oh, I thought you were Pres. What’s up?”
He walks in and I close the door behind him, turning to face him. He shakes his head and looks a little nervous, maybe even sick. “I just wanted to check on you. You said that Preston was here and I wanted to make sure things went well.”
I nod. “Oh, yeah. Things went great. I explained myself and why I made the horrible choice I did. He explained his side of things, and we came to an agreement that made us both happy.”
He sits on the couch, resting his elbows on his knees and leaning forward. “Care to clue me in?”
I sit beside him. “We agreed to be friends. I think he’s right. If we were to get together, we’d break up for sure. I mean, we’re the same in a lot of ways, but we’re also really different. Staying friends is the only way to ensure we’ll always have each other.”
“And you’re okay with