Best Friend's Boyfriend

Chapter 3

           “I hope you end up with one of those guys too,” Kelli said as we rode our bikes to the beach to meet up with our six new guy friends. “You deserve a guy to make you happy, considering everything you’ve been through. I think a guy would make you less depressed too.”

            “I hope so,” I said. What I loved about Kelli is that she understood my pain. No, I’d never been raped or had a poor family life or anything like that. I was depressed with what seemed like no reason at all. And while most people looked at me and thought, “Oh my God, you’re gorgeous and everyone loves you, you have no reason to be so depressed,” Kelli understood that sometimes you don’t need a huge reason to be depressed. No one asks to be depressed. No one wants to be depressed. It’s just something that takes over you, and it’s so difficult to not let it control you.

            Yeah I could go out and have a good time and attract a lot of people. But I was still so lonely. And I think the loneliness was the worst part. The fact that I had a bunch of people always surrounding me, but I consistently felt alone. Maybe it was because guys only took enough interest in me to hook up with me for a few weeks and then throw me away; maybe I always felt like I didn’t belong, and that’s selfish because so many people showed me why I did. Something was wrong, and I couldn’t figure out what. But through it all, Kelli had stuck right by me and I think that’s because Kelli felt the exact same way I did. We understood each other’s misunderstandings.

            Like last night, when I got home and sobbed in my pile of stuffed animals that five attractive guys had won for me. I should have been happy, but my mind was miserable with no right to be. I texted Kelli, who stayed up with me until I felt alright enough to fall asleep. I would be thanking her for that today by finding a way to get Cody to hook up with her.

            “I texted Cody all last night, and he thinks any one of those guys would hook up with you, especially Mattie or Jace,” she smiled. “Mattie’s tall and I know you love tall guys and Jace is a total sweetheart and did you see the tattoo on his arm? SO hot!”

            “Who should I pick?”

            “Go with both, you know you can!” she laughed as we pulled up to the bike rack. There was no need to lock them; people weren’t like that in this town. Everyone was pretty trustworthy.

            “Brooke, Kel!” the guys called us from a table outside me and Kelli’s favorite pizza parlor on the boardwalk.

            I let Kelli borrow my favorite white bikini from Victoria’s Secret, knowing it would make her boobs look twice as big. I wanted to wear it, but I knew it would look better on her. I chose a different pink bikini that didn’t look as good as it used to on me after I’d lost ten pounds. But I worked hard for this body; I wasn’t going back to being ‘Blubbery Brooke’ as I used to call myself.

            “The pie should be out any second,” Graham informed us. I sat down in between Jace and Mattie, still unsure of who I’d pick. Kelli sat next to Cody, quietly whispering and giggling to each other, excluding themselves from the rest of the group.

            “Ugh, yes!” I said when the waiter finally set down the pie. “Wait, there’s eight of us and eight slices of pizza, do we each only get one?”

            “Brooke, you eat so much,” Kelli laughed. “One should be enough for you.” A few other guys chuckled, but I was not amused. She knew how sensitive I was about eating and just made me look fat in front of six hot guys.

            “You’re right,” was the only thing I could say.

         “Now she’s upset,” I heard Kelli mutter under her breath to Cody. I wanted so badly to yell at her and put her in her place, but not here. Not in front of these guys where she’d potentially lose her chances with Cody.

            “Brooke, it’s totally fine, we’re ordering another one,” Graham said, sensing I was obviously upset. “You look like you could use a few extra slices.” Was he making fun of me for being too skinny now? I looked at him, my eyes wide and my mouth ajar.

            “You shouldn’t have said that,” Kelli rolled her eyes. “Anything about food or weight upsets her.”

            “That’s not true,” I said. Kelli was going to make them think I have an eating disorder, which I don’t. I just don’t like when people comment on my weight at all. There was a difference.

            “So do you like going in the ocean or do you just like tanning?” Mattie changed the subject.

            “Both,” I answered, going along with it. After we were done eating and went down to the beach, I talked to Cody for Kelli. I didn’t want to after how she acted during lunch but I did anyway. She deserved to be happy because just like me, she had problems of her own too.

            “Cody Hayes,” I used his first and last name to call him over.

            “Brooke Cooper,” he imitated me and came over.

            “One name left- Kelli Carson,” I said. “I have a good idea.”

            “What is it?”

            “Well you obviously like her an-”

         “I don’t,” he lied. I looked up at him with my baby blue eyes through my waterproof mascara eyelashes. “You do,” I said and continued my sentence. “I think she likes you too. Remember yesterday when you said you would get with her? Well I think today would be a good day for that.”

            “I’m just nervous,” he looked away embarrassed.

            “Aw! Why? She’s totally into you! She’d go for it,” I said.

            “She’s into me?” he asked. “How do you know?”

            “Yes! I’m her best friend, of course she tells me things.”

            “What if I screw up or something? She’s so pretty and funny and I don’t want her thinking I’m an idiot,” he said. “Then my friends will bag on me and-”

            “Just go for it, trust me,” I said as I tied my brown curly mane into a ponytail.

            “I just- I’m not sure if I like her,” he said.