Page 162 of Bridesmaid Undercover
“No, I was just repeating what you said.”
“Don’t bullshit me, Hardy. There’s been definite weirdness between us, and it happened after you went to talk to Maple. So, care to share with the group? Me being the group?”
“Nothing is?—”
Her hand lands on my thigh and every muscle in my body seizes as she leans in even closer.
Jesus Christ.
How is this happening to me?
I went from being friendly with this woman, to friends, to now being mentally consumed by her. And overnight too.
I went to being able to kiss her on the cheek as a greeting, to freezing when she touches me.
I can smell her everywhere.
I can see her smile when I close my eyes.
I can hear her laugh when it’s dead quiet in my apartment.
From the moment Maple pointed it out, I’ve been consumed, and right now, with a few drinks in me and her leaning in so close, it’s making me think stupid things…like taking her hand in mine.
It’s making me want to do stupid things, like tug her onto my lap.
It’s making me want to say ridiculous things, likewill you go on a date with me?
“See, like right now,” she says. “You’ve gone all stiff on me.”
Stiff in more places than one…
“What did I do?” she asks.
“Nothing,” I say, downing the rest of my drink and then setting the empty cup on the table.
“There has to be something that I did,” she says. “You’re going to drive me nuts if you don’t tell me.”
“I think you’re driving yourself nuts,” I say, just as Polly and Ken clap loudly, announcing their win. “Looks like we’re up. Are you ready for this?”
She glances over at the table, exhales, and then downs the rest of her drink. “Yeah, I’m ready.”
I stare downat the knot around my ankle and then back up at Maple. “Is this really necessary?” I ask her.
“New rules from Polly and Ken, and we do what the bride and groom want,” she says.
“This is…new,” Everly says as she shifts next to me, right up against my side with her ankle tied to mine, causing a wave of goosebumps to spread across my skin.
Maple has gotten herself into some next-level meddling. I thought Everly was intense with helping as my undercover bridesmaid, but Maple is giving her a serious run for her money. But what is even more impressive is her ability to clearly work with Polly on the fly and create a situation where I’m not only teamed up with Everly…but also tied to her.
“Yeah, I’ve never played beer pong like this before,” I say, staring at Maple.
“It’s the wedding way,” Maple says. “Since Polly and Ken are tying the knot, they thought it would be a fun nod to their wedding.”
“Hmm, maybe I’ll take note of it for future events,” Everly says, once again, completely clueless.
And that’s what’s making this incredibly hard, because if she realized Maple’s clearly trying to push us together, then maybe I could talk to her about what’s going on in my head. But really, she has no idea, which makes me think she’s put me firmly in the friend zone.
Clearly, Maple misread Everly when she said she was interested.Friend-zoning is not interest.
