Girl Crush(44)

She shrugged. “Then I guess you’re going to have to take your chances and tell him the truth. If you don’t, he’s going to keep trying to set you up with random women you’re not the least bit interested in.”

“At least he has good taste.” I huffed out a laugh. I might as well giggle; otherwise, I’d end up a sobbing mess.

“We should hang out sometime. I know Stella and Beck would love for all of us to go dancing. Give me your number, and I’ll text you mine.” She held out her hand, waiting for my phone. When I didn’t hand it over immediately, she rolled her eyes. “Come on, it’ll be fun.”

I gave in and told her my contact information. Instantly, my pocket buzzed with her message.

“We’re good to go. I’ll hit you up this weekend, and we can all go out Friday night.”

Apparently, I conceded to her request. Roma took my hand in hers, and we walked back to the front where we’d last seen Collier. He was easy to spot. I couldn’t help but admire his solid form, and when he saw us, I instantly smiled. As we approached him, he didn’t look at Roma. His eyes locked onto mine and never left. The grin that ticked at the corners of his mouth almost made me weak in the knees. I wanted to fight against my body’s pull toward him. I loved spending time with him, adored having him as a friend—I refused to risk that for what would undoubtedly never happen…for countless reasons.

Within arm’s reach, he leaned in to kiss Roma’s cheek. And then glanced at me. “So how’d it go?”

Roma saved me from trying to figure out what to say. “Giselle seems like a great girl, but her eyes are set on someone else.” She winked at me.

If I’d had anything in my mouth, I would have either spit it all over her or choked on it. Instead, my eyes went wide, and my head turned to face her. Roma leaned in to hug West and mouthed, tell him. I just shook my head, wondering what can of worms she’d opened.

“You ready?”

“Yeah.” I sighed. I could use this opportunity to tell him the truth. She’d opened the door…I just had to walk through it.

He didn’t say anything until we were back in the car and on the way home. I picked at my fingers and stared at my nail polish while we waited in traffic to get out of the parking lot. I let out a little chuckle when I realized the last color I’d used was “You Don’t Know Jacques!” How apropos.

“What are you giggling about?”

“My nail polish color.”

Confusion washed over his face.

“It’s just the name. It was funny. Ironic really. Never mind.” I attempted to wave it off with a gesture of my hand.

An obnoxious driver cut me off once we were moving, and I cursed like the man could hear me, successfully derailing the conversation at hand…even if it was unintentional. Collier laughed at my outburst and started chatting about different cars we’d seen. The tension I was afraid would consume us washed away as quickly as I’d been cut off. As he yammered on about anything that crossed his mind, my thoughts wavered between the Collier I knew as Beck’s brother and the one I found myself increasingly attracted to. He was fast becoming a friend I wasn’t willing to sacrifice to the dating game, but I worried about my ability to set those feelings aside in favor of something platonic. I’d never had a male friend and hadn’t wanted any, but the more thought I put into this, the more tense I became.

“Giselle?”

We’d stopped in front of my house, and Collier leaned into the car while standing in the driveway. I remained lost in thought until he said my name louder.

“Giselle? You okay?” Concern marred his features.

“What?” I pulled myself back to the present. “Yeah. Yeah. I’m fine. Sorry. Just daydreaming.” I offered him a pitiful excuse for a smile, but he seemed to accept it without question. When I got out of the car, he stood at the front, waiting for me.

“You feel like hanging out tonight, or do you have plans?” He shoved his hands into his pockets, anticipating my answer.

Hanging out. That was guy code for friend zone. It was safe, no expectations. “Sure.” I’d gone into the fifth dimension and had to get my shit together before he realized I’d flaked. “Wanna watch porn? Go see some mud wrestling? Maybe a strip club?” I winked at him and walked to the front door to let us inside.

“I was thinking more low-key like takeout and a movie, or we could go hang out at the pool at my house? But if you’re down for a strip club, by all means, don’t let me stand in your way. We could invite Parker and Mark, too.”

I wondered how far into the land of lies I could possibly get myself before waging war. I’d just suggested every guy fantasy possible, and as a lesbian, they’d all appeal to me…if I were in fact attracted to tits and ass. Seeing Collier with other women was the fastest way to keep my appetite at bay, and laughing at his friends while they trolled for pootie would only help, but I was a jealous creature by nature and feared I wouldn’t be able to keep my mouth shut or my feelings in check.

“How about takeout by the pool with your friends?” It seemed like a safe compromise. There would be no way the two of us would be alone so no opportunity for me to throw myself at him shamelessly. And I could tease him with a skimpy swimsuit and eat up the attention…even if it was unspoken. His friends were brazen flirts, but the harmless kind, and I’d enjoyed them every time we’d hung out.