Page 80 of Chasing the Sun

“I know, and now things have become really complicated, which is what I was trying to avoid.”

“Then how? I mean, I know how, but why? I mean, I get why. Chloe’s hot, but still…”

Bryce would bet anything that women didn’t have cryptic conversations like this, but Jamie understood without him having to spell it all out.

“It just happened, but then I screwed up, and now she just wants to be friends. Friends? Can you believe that?”

Just then, the foursome on the green waved at them, indicating they’d finished out the hole.

“We better take our shots,” Jamie said, looking like he was still trying to absorb the news.

They hit their second shots, both balls landing on the green, and then climbed back into the golf cart.

“So, how’d you screw up?”

“We ran into Rachel at the beach.”

“The dentist you were b—”

“Seeing, yes.”

“And Chloe got jealous?”

Bryce shrugged. “Seemed like it. Later, when I went to talk to her about it, she shut me down and said we should just be friends.”

Jamie parked near the green, and they both got out and pulled their putters from their bags.

“Did you tell her that you and Rachel aren’t serious?”

“She knows, but I think there’s more to it than jealousy. Chloe’s only here for a few more weeks, and she probably thinks this thing between us has nowhere to go.”

They walked up a gentle slope to the green and went to line up their shots.

“You first,” Jamie said.

Bryce took his shot and made it into the hole, which reminded him of when Chloe had done the same thing. They’d ended up sprawled on the ground, with her on top of him, and afterward, she’d teased him about his erection. He’d been mortified at the time, but now the memory made him smile.

Jamie took two shots to make par, and as they walked back to the golf cart, he picked up the conversation where they’d left off. “It’s true. She’ll be returning to Michigan soon, and then what?”

Bryce shrugged. “I’m not sure. I just know that the thought of her leaving is killing me. Hell, the idea of us just being friends is almost as bad!”

Jamie eyed him curiously. “I’ve never seen you like this—all knotted up over a woman. Of course, Chloe’s not just any woman.”

“Tell me about it.”

They drove to the next hole and prepared to tee off.

“So, did you just want to get this off your chest, or are you asking for my advice?”

“Both,” Bryce said as he used a towel to wipe off his golf ball.

Jamie sighed. “This is tough, man, because she’s my friend too.”

“I know. Sorry to put you in this position, but there’s nobody else I could talk to.”

“What about Seb?”

Bryce scowled. “I’m still pissed at him for asking her out.”