by Holly Rayner
“Was he great?”
“He was a philosophy major.”
“Ohhh.”
“A philosophy of feminism major.”
“I don’t understand,” Zach said. “Is that worse?”
“Not automatically,” she said. “But he definitely just picked it so he could meet girls.”
“How do you know?”
“He told me.” She took another long drink of her beer. “He told me he considered education and women’s studies, because those would also be female-heavy specialties, but decided against them because he thought the women in the philosophy department would be more air-headed.”
“Whoa. He actually said that?”
“I think he thought I might take it as a compliment somehow,” Rhea said. “Like, because I’m not a philosophy major, he’s saying I’m not as much of an airhead. Like I’m better than the girls he usually dates or something.”
“Wow.” Zach drained his bottle and signaled a server for more. “What a jerk.”
“Yeah.” She nodded. “Anyway, no more dates for me for a while, I think.”
“You can’t let one bad apple spoil your whole college experience,” he said.
“It’s not just one bad apple. This is my third crappy date this month.”
“I guess you are on kind of a bad streak,” he said.
“What happened with you?”
“Oh, she was only after me for my body,” he said, rolling his eyes.
“I’d think you’d be used to that by now,” Rhea said. Zach did have a very nice body.
“Most girls at least want to have a conversation,” Zach said. “As soon as I picked her up, she asked me if I wanted to skip dinner and just stay at her dorm.”
Rhea burst out laughing. “That’s subtle. What did you say?”
“Well, I tried to give her the benefit of the doubt,” he said. “I went inside and asked if she wanted to watch a movie or something. We got about five minutes into the film, and then she was climbing into my lap.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah. I told her I wanted to take things slow, and she got all offended and told me I might as well just go home if I wasn’t interested in a good time, and that she had other guys she could call. So I left.”
“That’s wild,” Rhea said as their new beers arrived. “I guess it just wasn’t a good night for either one of us.”
Zach wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “At least I always have you to finish the night with,” he said. “Who needs a hot date when you have a good friend?”
She leaned on his shoulder. “I don’t know why the other guys at this school can’t be more like you,” she said. “Every guy I meet is so high on himself. I just want to go on a date with a sweet, humble guy who actually cares about getting to know me better and showing me a good time.”
“Yeah,” Zach agreed. “And I just want to meet a girl who’s interested in a relationship with a little bit of substance, and who sees me as more than a piece of meat.”
Rhea looked up at him. “You can’t really blame them for finding you attractive,” she teased.
Zach grinned. “I know,” he said. “You think I’m sexy.”
“And you don’t think I’m sexy?”
“Are you kidding? You’re the hottest girl at this school.”
A flash of heat shot through her. Did he really feel that way? She’d always assumed that Zach saw her like a sister.
“You think so?”
“These guys are crazy if they don’t appreciate you, Rhea,” he murmured. “Every time you tell me about one of your crappy dates, it blows my mind. It’s like watching people throw diamonds into the ocean.”
“I’m the diamond?”
“You know you are,” he said, and bent to kiss her.
The kiss was electric, and nothing she had ever shared with Zach before. She tasted her own strawberry lip gloss as his lips moved against hers, picking it up and returning it to her. His arms wrapped around her, pulling her closer into the solid warmth of his body, and for just a moment, Rhea allowed herself to forget the world and lose herself in Zach.
Then he let out a soft groan, and the sound of his voice jerked her back to reality.
She pulled away.
He let her go easily, as if he had been expecting it. She looked up at him and saw the utter confusion in his eyes.
“I wasn’t planning that,” he said quietly. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay,” she said. “I’m not… it’s okay.”
He nodded.
“But we shouldn’t have done it,” she added quickly.
“Right,” he agreed. His eyes cleared slightly. “I’m sorry. You’re right.”
“It’s just that you’re my best friend,” she hurried to explain. “And my romantic life is such a mess. I couldn’t stand to see you get mixed up in that. I don’t want to lose our friendship, Zach.”
“No,” he said, shaking his head. “You’re right. I don’t want to lose our friendship either. This is more important than anything.”
She sighed, relieved. “I’m glad you feel that way.”
“But you should know,” he said, “that you’re not ever going to lose my friendship. No matter what happens. Nothing is bigger than that, okay? There’s nothing that could happen between us that would cause me to turn my back on you.”
She smiled. “I feel the same way,” she said. “I’ve never had a friend like you before, Zach. I’m not going to give you up. Not for anything.”
Not even for the possibility of more.
Because now that she had kissed him, she couldn’t deny that she felt something. She couldn’t deny that she wanted him much more than she had ever fully realized. She had always known that Zach was attractive, of course—but she had never fully understood how attracted she was to him.
Don’t focus on it. He’s your best friend. You can’t gamble with that.
“We should really make one of those pacts,” Zach mused, spinning his bottle cap on the table.
“Pacts?” she asked. “What pacts?”
“You know those pacts some people have where they agree that if they’re still single by the time they’re thirty-five, or something, that they’ll bite the bullet and get together?”
Rhea laughed. “Real people don’t have those agreements. That’s just in the movies.”
“Sure real people have them,” Zach said. “My buddy Brad has one.”
“I’ve met Brad,” Rhea said. “He’s definitely going to be single when he’s thirty-five.”
“Well, we could be too,” Zach said. “It’s not like we’ve been especially lucky in love. And… you’ve got to admit, we have chemistry.”
“I don’t have to admit anything,” Rhea said, blushing.
But he isn’t wrong.
“Come on,” Zach said. “What do you say? If we’re still single when we’re thirty-five, you and I will get together and give it a try. We both want to get married. We both want a family. And even if it’s just as friends, I could definitely see myself having those things with you.”
Rhea laughed. “Okay,” she said. “Sure. You’re on. If we’re single when we’re thirty-five, you and I will get married and start a family.”
It’s not like anything will ever come of it.
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