Best Friend Duties
1200 Words
The hangover sends a shooting pain through my head when I wake up. I recall everything that happened last night. I'm still in shock. Did Aiden and I really kiss? Did Grant and Vanessa really both confess their feelings for each other to me?
I can't let my eagerness to tell Vanessa about Grant's crush on her show. He'll freak out if he thinks I'm going to tell her. Am I going to tell her? It's not my place but as her best friend, I feel a sense of duty to update her.
I'm also Grant's friend and he would've told her already if he wanted her to know. Right? He spent the night on the couch at my house. My grumbling stomach tells me I need to move from my bed. I move slowly, both to be discrete and because my hungover body is screaming at me not to go too fast.
"Good morning trouble." Grant talks and yawns at the same time.
I smile. "Morning. You slept on the couch?"
He stands up, stretching his long limbs. "Yeah, I always sleep on couches. For some reason it's more comfortable to me."
"You are truly one of a kind Grant." I open the fridge, scanning for something appetizing. I need something that won't make me anymore nauseous than already am.
He reaches past me to grab the carton of milk. "I'm going to make us some strawberry and chocolate chip pancakes so prepare yourself for a feast Rinnie."
"I can help!" I offer. I can't lie and say that the decreased wait time when two people are cooking isn't a added bonus for me.
Grant jumps in front of me. "You sit down and watch the rest of the movie we were watching last night. You owe me at least that much. You abandoned me at the best part."
I chuckle. "It really is the least I can do."
I enjoy the delicious aroma of the pancakes filling the house while I finish watching the movie we were watching.
"The best pancakes ever are coming in hot." Grant comes in carrying two plates stacked with pancakes. He sits one in front of me and smirks. "Enjoy."
I smile up at him. "Thank you! I can't wait to devour these!" I immediately grab my fork and start digging in. "So, can we talk about something you're not going to want to talk about for just second?"
He shakes his head. "Probably not."
I keep going. "You like our good friend Vanessa."
"I'm sorry, I can't hear you over these fresh strawberries."
I intertwine my fork with his, preventing him from getting another bite. "You can't avoid the subject forever."
He sighs. "Cant you at least let me try to? I hate talking about this."
"I warned you I wasn't bringing up your favorite topic. What are you going to do about your feelings for her?"
He shrugs. "What I've been doing, ignore them."
I glare at him. "You can't! The more you ignore them, the more they'll grow. The more they grow, the harder they are to handle."
He rolls his eyes. "What do you suggest I do about them?"
I am as hoping he'd ask that. "I think you should ask her out."
"What?!" His eyes get wide. "Are you crazy? We've been friends for years, am I supposed to just pretend that doesn't matter. Our friendship is way more important than my desire to kiss her."
I choke on a strawberry. "You want kiss her?"
"No, these feelings made me just want to stare at her and do nothing."
"You're such a smart aleck." I retort, unamused. "In love, you have to take risks. I say kiss her."
He laughs. "Risks? Like you've taken the ones you've taken with Aiden? Oh wait...you haven't taken any risks with Aiden."
I cross my arms over my chest. "That's different! You said so yourself, he's not ready for a relationship yet. Vanessa is. You are."
"Who says I am?" He tilts his head.
"You quit sleeping around, aren't getting drunk four nights a week and aren't be selfish when it comes to other people's feelings. Those are pretty much the tale-tale signs."
I can tell by the look in his porcelain eyes that I got him. "I don't think Vanessa is ready or a relationship."
"What? Of course she is! She..." I rake through my mind, searching for a sign she wanted a boyfriend. I couldn't find any except she downs she liked Grant but I couldn't share that evidence with him. Although, she said she had a crush on him, not that she wanted to date him. The two were close enough, right? "I'm here best friend, I know these things."
"If your so sure she wants something serious go ahead call her up and ask her." He challenges me.
I wasn't about to quit pleading Vanessa's case so I call her. "Z, what's up?"
I put the phone on speaker. "I have a weird question I've never asked you but probably should've. I am just curious, are you looking for a relationship? Like, a committed relationship."
She laughs. "Nah, I'm too busy for that. I don't have a problem with having fun and hanging out with someone but I'm not in a good place for dating or commitment." Vanessa was currently going through law school and had very few free days. I got why she thought she was too busy, but I still think she and Grant could make it work.
I want to yell at her through the phone to stop talking. "What about the conversation we had earlier about that?"
"I was just saying I found someone attractive, but I wouldn't date him right now. In all seriousness, I think you should date the man from our conversation yesterday, the one I said I was into. He'd treat you so well." She pauses. "Did Enzo put you up to this?"
Grant gives me a confused look and raises an eyebrow.
"I can't say." I sigh. "Okay, I'm sorry to bother you V. I'll let you get back to your studying."
We say our goodbyes and I sit my phone down.
"Told you." Grant sighs. "Does she like that Enzo guy."
I tell him the same thing I told her. "I can't say." Man, it sucks being the middleman. I can't believe she suggested I date Grant. She'd hate that.
"Well, it looks like it's time to give up now."
"No, we just need to make them see what they're missing. We need to get them out of denial."
His eyes light up. "I have an idea!"
I give him my full attention. "What's that?"
"What if we pretend to date?"
My eyes feel like they're going to burst with how large they get. "Huh?"
He diverts his gaze. "I think that's our solution. We pretend to date, they get jealous, we call them out and tell them wasn't real."
Was I hearing him right? He thinks we should fake date? The plan was either genius or completely stupid. Now it was my job to decide which one. I sit back on the couch and debate with myself.
- Writer
