Page 50 of Forever Fighting
I shake my head, my fist clenching. What the fuck is wrong with me right now?!
“Enjoy your massage, kid. I’ll see you at the pool in an hour.”
Without waiting for her to say anything and definitely without looking, I grab my robe and flip-flops and get the fuck out of here. In the locker room, I change back into my clothes and head to the gym, which is right next door to the spa. No punching bag, not that I expected one. Rarely do I ever find them in gyms that don’t have training for boxers.
Instead, I pop in my AirPods and hit the trail that winds around the resort. I feel bad that I bailed on her, but there’s only so much a man can take, and after sharing a bed with her and knowing she was essentially naked and another man was going to touch her—even if in a non-sexual way—I’m just done.
I’m not in the mood for music. Instead, I call Forest.
“Hey,” he answers after the second ring. “How’s it going in Mexico?”
I haven’t talked to my friends much since I left Boston. I haven’t updated them except in our text chat, and I’ve been vague because frankly there hasn’t been much to say. I launch into an account of everything that’s been going on, omitting the wedding part because Brae asked me to keep it a secret, and then he’s patching Crew and Hayes into this.
Hayes is in Paris, and I hear him say something to a woman in the background. So naturally, we all ask, “Who’s that?”
“It’s nothing,” he replies quickly. “Just work. Tell me what’s going on in Mexico.”
Except Paris is six hours ahead of me, and it’s late into the night there. Hayes is keeping something—or more like someone—from us. And it better not be who I think it is because I don’t want to see him get hurt again. Still, I launch into yet another rendition of the saga of Roman and Braelyn while my friends listen intently. I had two sets of friends growing up. Nash and Braelyn, even though they’re six years younger than me, and eventually Adam once they started high school, and these guys along with Skylar and Quinn. Braelyn is also friends with my friends, and so was Nash, which is likely why it all flowed together so well.
Only Adam never really became friends with them. Nash and then Braelyn were his connections. But this is when having a female on the line, like Skylar or Quinn, would help, but they’re Braelyn’s besties and therefore, that’s a no.
“What if you just tell her?” Crew asks. “Oh, or you should go back into that massage room, kick that dude straight out of the room, and do the massage on her yourself.”
“Right. That’ll go over well.” I shake my head as I pick up my pace, my feet pounding the stone path while sweat streaks down my body against the hot sun and humid air, but I revel in it.
“Maybe it would,” Hayes suggests. “She set up acouple’sspa appointment for you both.”
“I think the resort did all of that,” I tell them.
“Except she didn’t say no, we’re not a couple, and we’d prefer separate treatment rooms and spaces,” Forest protests. “She went in there only wearing a robe and a thong, knowing you’d both be in the same room. Women don’t do that with men they solely consider friends.”
I come to a screeching halt, nearly toppling over with how fast my feet stop moving even if my momentum doesn’t. “What do you mean?”
“What he means is that Brae would never do that with me,” Crew jumps in. “Never in a million years would she do a couples massage and be naked beneath her robe if I were in the room. Think about it, brother. Could you picture Quinn doing that? No. Not ever. And I’d kill you if she ever did, but that’s a different matter.”
My lips bounce at that. It’s not like he could use Skylar in that inference because she’s my cousin. Still…
“You’re saying…”
“We’re saying whether she’s aware of it or not, she’s starting to think of you as more than simply her best friend,” Hayes states flatly.
“Yes,” Forest agrees. “She’s testing boundaries. So maybe you should start testing some back.”
16
BRAELYN
My massage was amazing even if Roman didn’t stay for it. I don’t know what happened in that shower or why he fled like that. It’s not like I was going to jump him naked or anything, though I’ll be honest, Roman Fritz in nothing but skin-tight black boxer briefs is a sight to behold. One I’ve ignored throughout our friendship, but him in the shower with water running down his muscles…
And I need to stop that now.
I think sharing a bed with him has scrambled my brain. You know, like everything freaking else in my life at the moment.
The sun is hot and the spa pool isn’t very crowded. It’s quiet and peaceful, and I’ve parked myself on a chaise under an umbrella while I wait for Roman. I slink down on the towel, a happy smile on my relaxed face. I could live like this forever.
On the flip side of that, I can’t live with Roman forever. That’s something I’m going to have to figure out. My apartment was Adam’s and now I’m essentially homeless and need to find something new that I can afford on my nursing salary. I could stay at Roman’s as long as I need to. I know this. But honestly, the sooner I can move out of his place, the better.
I’m starting to… well, I don’t know. Things feel a little different between us, and I can’t tell if my thoughts or even some of the feelings I’m having are real or rebound or bitterness or what.
