“Do you think that maybe…just maybe…you like her because she reminds you of Brooklyn?”
“She’s nothing like Brooklyn.”
“I guess I mean that she reminds you of your time with Brooklyn.”
I pushed my hands into my pockets and stopped outside my office building. “Trust me, if being with Kennedy made me think of Brooklyn, I’d be avoiding her. Not dating her. Kennedy reminds me of being young. Of a time when I wasn’t hurting. She makes me feel 16 years younger. And it’s because of her and only her.”
Rob smiled. “So when are you going to propose?”
“When she stops pushing me away.”
“I’ll be the first one to congratulate you when it happens, you know that. I just needed to say my piece.” He slapped me on the back. “I’m happy for you, man.”
Finally, one of my friends wasn’t being the worst. “You’re officially my best friend.”
“I know. Are you going to tell Tanner that?”
I laughed. “Nah, it’s more fun this way.”
“I’ll record it next time to really piss him off.”
“Actually, I’ll say it again so you can record it now. Did you know he’s trying to set Kennedy up with Felix because he thinks they might be a better match?”
Rob shrugged as he pulled out his phone.
“What was that shrug for?”
“I always thought they’d be good together. They were practically inseparable the last two years of high school. Minus whenever you’d literally sit between them at lunch and mope.” He held up the phone to me. “Okay, say it nice and slow.”
“I’m not saying it now.”
“Why not?”
“Because you just said Kennedy and Felix would be good together.”
“They would be.”
“What the hell, man?”
“I didn’t say they’d be better than the two of you. But I was always surprised they didn’t hook up. Probably because of that douchebag Cupcake, don’t you think? He really messed her up.”
Yeah. He had.At first I thought what happened with him was why she was pushing me away. But we’d talked about that. I told her we could go slow.
Rob put his phone closer to my mouth. “Say it,” he whispered.
Honestly, Tanner and him were both being terrible. But maybe this would get Tanner to focus on being a better friend instead of ruining my life. “Rob is my best friend. I like him the most of all my friends.”
Rob smiled and stopped the recording. He put the phone back in his pocket. “Tanner is going to be so pissed.”
“Are you not sending it now?”
“Nah, I’m going to send it at the perfect moment. Maybe whenever he gets hitched I’ll text it to him while he’s standing at the altar.”
“Dick move.”
Rob shimmied his shoulders. “You mean big dick energy. I’ve got it in spades.”
“Yeah, that’s not what I said. And would you stop saying that?”
