Page 73 of The Friend Zone

It wasn’t fair and I knew it. I’d signed up for a military relationship. But I wasn’t rational at the moment—I was hungry.

I leaned forward. “Order oysters. I dare you.”

All I needed was shells filled with snot set in front of us for me to completely lose my shit.

He pressed his lips into a line. He seemed to sense I was too hungry to be reasoned with. So when the server came back, Tyler placed our order, watching me the whole time from the corner of his eye like I might flip the table or something.

Afterward he tried again to reach for my hands.

“Kristen—”

“What?” I put my hands in my lap. “Say what you have to say, and do it without touching me.”

“Kris—”

“You broke up with me in a voicemail. Two years and I get a voicemail.”

Everything I did after that was fair game.

His thick eyebrows drew down. “I couldn’t get you on the phone. I tried for days. Where were you?”

Hanging out with Josh. Panicking that you were coming home.

“You called twice, Tyler. I missed two phone calls, so you decided to replan our lives without discussing it with me?”

The indignation surged again. “Do you know what it’s like to have a boyfriend you can’t call? To not know where you are because it’s classified? To never have a date for things? To go to weddings alone? I did this for you for years. And the first thing you’re supposed to do for me, you bail on me.”

I snatched one of the crackers from the bread basket and took a grumpy bite. “What about my surgery?” I waved the cracker around. “I could have had it months ago and had Sloan take care of me, but nooooo. You told me to wait. You wanted to be there for me.” I put my fingers in quotes. “Thanks for all the months of extra needless suffering. And what about that big house you made me get so you’d have room for your things? I guess I’ll just continue to foot that enormous rent, right?”

I glared at him, sitting back in my seat. “Oh, and you know, you really fucked me over with Evelyn too. Tossed me right into the lion’s den. So thanks for that.”

He let out a slow breath. “I know. And I’m sorry.” He dragged a hand down his face. “I need you to know that this wasn’t because I didn’t want to be with you. It was never that. This just wasn’t the life I wanted, Kris. The military is all I’ve ever known.”

“Fine.” I crossed my arms. “So you’re doing what you want, as usual. You made your choice. You did it without including me. Why am I here?”

“Don’t you even miss me?”

The question hit me in the heart. His eyes begged me. Begged me to miss him.

Not really. Not until I saw you and I let you out of your storage room. Now I’m confused…

…Josh.

An urge to talk him out of wanting me took hold.

“You know, it’s for the better anyway,” I said, tossing a hand. “Because I’m not even myself around you. You would have hated living with me once you really got to know me.”

He just looked at me, his eyes going soft like he knew what I was doing and thought it was cute.

“Okay, you don’t believe me? This place—” I threw a hand up at the restaurant. “I don’t like eating at places like this. What the fuck is squid ink pasta? I go to places like this with you because you like it and you only get to choose where you eat, like, fifteen days out of the year.”

I put a hand to my chest. “I am very opinionated about where I want to eat. You don’t even know that. That is a core part of who I am as a person, and you have never seen that side of me, Tyler.”

The corner of his mouth came up into a small, amused smile.

“This is not funny. I’m being totally serious. I get very easily annoyed. I’m impatient and moody. I hate almost everyone. We don’t even really know each other. All you’ve ever seen is me at my best, being agreeable and wearing makeup. That is not the real me.”

Josh knows the real me.