“I can’t lose her.” I work my jaw, muscles twitching with the pain the ripple of my words leave in their wake.
“Hey.” West nudges my knee with his own. “Hate to break it with you, brother, but you’re going to lose her either way.”
I hang my head staring at the floor beneath my feet, unable to breathe at the tightening in my chest.
“I’m with West,” Damon says. “Take it from us”?he motions toward Jace and Chris?“if she’s really serious about this dude and she moves for him, things between you are going to change either way. Daily calls turn into weekly. Weekly calls turn into monthly, then they change to texts before they drop altogether. Once either of you is in a committed relationship, your friendship will become a shell of what it once was. And it has nothing to do with you. It’s just the way it works.”
“You’re wrong,” I say, hating the tremor in my voice but hating that I know he’s right even more.
“Seriously, man,” Jace chimes in. “Do you really think one day Tatum is going to marry some other dude, all the while continuing your daily coffee dates, movie nights, and your constant FaceTiming? It’s just not realistic. No man would be cool with that, no matter how secure they are.”
Ouch.“Don’t sugarcoat it or anything,” I grumble.
“Sorry, brother, but the truth hurts.” Jace claps a hand over my shoulder.
At a loss, I turn my attention to West and tip my chin. “West, if you were me, what would you do?”
“You’re askinghim?” Chris gawks. “He barely says two words to girls without stumbling all over himself.”
Ignoring this, I stare at West, a crease forming between his brows as his indigo gaze meets mine. “I disagree. Right now, she’s happy, and if you mess with that, she might resent you.”
“So, he should do nothing?” Chris practically yells.
“No,” West answers calmly, “But if you truly love her?”
“I do.”
“And you think you’re the one for her?”
“I am.” No one knows Tate’s heart like I do.
“Then you wait it out,” West says, his tone firm. “If you really love her, then interfering in any way right now would be selfish. It’ll be becauseyoucan’t stand to see her with someone else, not necessarily because it’s what’s in her best interest. All she’ll see is that when she’s finally happy, you’re trying to sabotage it.”
“But Brandonisin her best interest,” Chris argues, clearly hating the idea.
“She doesn’t know that yet.” West shakes his head.
“But shecouldknow that if this chickenshit would just tell her already,” Chris points out.
“It’s too late.” West shrugs, and when Chris starts to argue again, Jace stops him.
“You know, I think he’s right,” he chimes in.
“Heis?” Chris asks, eyes wider than his coffee cup.
Jace nods. “I had this friend in high school who was totally in love with his best friend, but he waited fucking forever to tell her. Then, right when she started having feelings for someone else, he decided it was the time. Let’s just say, it didn’t end well. She still chose the other dude, and he was in a really bad way.”
Chris scoffs, and by the look on his face, he knows exactly who Jace is talking about. “Graham and Brandon are not even comparable.”
Jace arches a brow. “No?”
“No,” Chris shoots back, then waves a hand toward my face. “This is Brandon we’re talking about here.OurBrandon.”
When Jace just stares, Chris growls in frustration and reaches out, cupping my face in his hands. “I mean, look at this pretty face. His skin is as smooth as a baby’s ass.” I wince, curling my lip as Chris continues, impervious. “Could you say no to this? Hell no! Those piercing blue eyes. That crooked smile. This square jaw.” He turns my face, angling it for the boys while I swat at him. “And his forearms.” He lifts one arm, running his hand down the length of it. “You know how much girls like some good forearm porn, and his are X-rated.”
I wrench my arm and face back, finally breaking free of his hold on me as I shiver and scoot further away from him. “Why do I feel violated right now?”
“If you’re done fondling our friend,” Damon starts, “let’s hear what he has to say. Brandon?”
