“Then what’s up?”
I swallowed and closed my eyes for a brief second. “I think I love her.”
He stared at me for a few beats. “You’re not joking.”
“No.” My pulse thudded in my ears. “Every time we’re with her, this feeling keeps getting stronger.”
Dylan dragged a hand over his mouth. “Yeah.”
“Yeah, what? You pissed? Weirded out?”
He shook his head. “I’m not pissed. I’m not surprised either.”
“That’s it?” I pushed. “I tell you I love our girlfriend, and you’re just cool with it?”
“That’s the whole point. You loving her doesn’t change what we’ve got going on.”
“It doesn’t bother you that I got there first?”
He leaned back against the dresser. “You didn’t get there first. You’re just the first one willing to say it out loud.”
My stomach tightened. “You feel it too?”
He clenched his jaw, turned to the wall for a second, then to me again. “I’m not ready to put that word on it yet. Not because it’s not true, but because if I do, I’m gonna start thinking about all the shit that comes with it, and my brain’s already overloaded with spring training,you, and her dad possibly wanting to punch us.”
“Me?”
“You know what I mean.”
“Right.” I blew out a breath. “We?—”
He held up a hand but stared down at the floor. “We’ll figure out what’s going on between you and me after we leave here.”
“Okay,” I agreed. What happened between us on New Year’s was something we needed to discuss, but I wasn’t ready either. I stepped closer to him and grabbed his hand. “You’re my best friend, and we do everything together. I guess this makes sense.”
His head jerked up. “You’re serious?”
“If you want to suck my dick, I’m not going to stop you.” I winked.
He shoved me away. “You’re such a jackass.”
“But you love me.” That line had been said between us for so long, but saying it in that moment, after everything, and telling him I was in love with Faye, felt as though it carried a new meaning.
“Unfortunately,” he muttered.
I grabbed his hand again and pulled him closer. “You really good with this?”
“Of course. I love her too, but it freaks me out to throw it around in an airport tomorrow.”
I huffed out a laugh. “I’m not dropping it on her at the gate.”
“Good,” he replied. “But we should probably get back out there. If we stay in here any longer, she’s gonna think we bailed on her during a meltdown.”
“Yeah.” I pulled the door open. “We’ll figure out the rest later.”
We walked back into the living area to find Faye standing on the patio, her back to us, phone to her ear, eyes on the water. Her shoulders looked tight, but she wasn’t shaking. That counted as a win.
Dylan dropped onto one of the stools at the island. I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and tried not to stare through the glass like a creep.
