Needing to close the distance between us, I make my way across the living room until we’re standing toe-to-toe in our matching attire of socks, sweatpants, and oversized T-shirts. I grab his arms, pulling his hands from his pockets and clasping them in mine. “You never need to thank me for being there for you. We’re friends, right?”
He gives me a smirk that doesn’t nearly reach his eyes. “Friends, yeah.”
“Your friendship means a lot to me. I know I told you this when we first met, but I don’t have any friends here, really, outside of you, McKenna, and now Griffin. The few friends I had during college slowly pulled away after they met Aaron. They told me how they felt about him, and instead of listening, I closed myself off from them.”
“You mean a lot to me too, Austin.” He squeezes my hands three times, the way I’ve become accustomed to. “This is just me trying to show you how much I appreciate you.”
Breaking apart from my grasp, he walks over to the coffee table and takes a seat on one of the cushions he’s laid out for us to sit on. He pats the one around the corner from his, motioning for me to join him.
“I haven’t really seen you drink much wine, so I wasn’t sure if you’re a white or red kind of gal. My guess was red.”
“You guessed correctly. I love black coffee and red wine, but Aaron always worried it would stain my teeth so he tried to get me to drink tea and white wine.” Thinking back on my relationship with Aaron, I see all of the red flags now for what they were. It’s hard to trust myself knowing I didn’t see them sooner. I can’t help but wonder if I’m defective when it comes to choosing a healthy partner.
Carson’s posture goes rigid. “It goes against everything in me to hate someone, but I genuinely hate that shit excuse of a human.”
My pulse races just thinking of Aaron and where he could possibly be right now.
I go to sit next to him and decide a change of subject is necessary. “Can you believe your childhood best friend proposed to your sister today? That sounds like a great plotline for a book.”
That makes Carson’s shoulders relax and a genuine smile spreads across his face. “Yeah, I can. They were never able to hide their feelings from anyone but each other. Katie and I knew our best friends were into our siblings, we even used to make bets on who would crack first.”
“Were you and Katie close?”
He breaks eye contact, looking down at his hands before nodding his head. “Yeah, we were. The four of us were pretty inseparable growing up. Katie and Mack were like sisters. Griff and I were the same, we bonded over hockey, and the girls both fell in love with volleyball. But even before that, we were always over at each other’s houses, swimming together, riding our bikes, sneaking out to play capture the flag with the other neighbor kids.”
“Sounds like y’all had a lot of fun together.”
Carson looks up, brows furrowed as he works his jaw. “Does it make me a terrible person that I’m having a hard time knowing my sister is engaged? I mean, I’m so fucking happy for Griff, Mack, and Cadence, but I can’t help wonder—where does that leave me now? Two of my best friends have each other for the rest of their lives. I feel like I’m losing my twin. And they’re going to live together full-time, leaving me in a big house all alone.”
I reach for his hand. “Hey, you’ve still got me. I’m not that bad of a roommate, am I?”
“For now, you mean. I’ve still got you for now. And you know you’re the best roommate a man could ask for.”
“I’d like to think you have me for more than just the short-term.”
“Are you saying you want to go the distance with me, bestie? We can be lifelong live-in companions.” His tone is teasing again, but that doesn’t stop those pesky butterflies from reawakening.
Picking up one of the wine glasses, I go to pour myself some of the red when Carson grabs the bottle and glass from my hands. “Let me wait on you.”
“Carson, I’m perfectly capable.”
“I insist, my lady.”
“Well, if you must.” I chuckle, attempting to break the tension in the room.
“Besides, I’ve got to give you a heavy pour if I have any chance of winning this game.”
“Trying to take advantage of me?” I ask in a teasing tone.
His response comes out surprisingly serious again. “I would never, ever take advantage of you.”
“I know, Carson. I’m sorry I was only teasing that you would take advantage of me being tipsy to try to win the game.”
“Oh, right. Well, I can’t promise I won’t try that. But when it comes to other things I could take advantage of, I would never. If the day ever comes where you decide you want to be more than friends with me, I don’t want there to be an ounce of hesitation or influence.”
“Carson,” I start, but he holds his hand up to me.
“Don’t, Dakota. I didn’t say that to start this conversation.” My face pulls into a frown, but I just nod my head in response.
