Page 10 of C*cky Best Friend
“No, you're always cool around him.”
“Exactly! You have to play it! You don’t show them how much you care. Because guys get scared, you know? They’ve got all these ideas about freedom and independence and how women just want to tie them down. You have to play within the confines of those parameters. It’s like math. This behavior adds to his fear. That one subtracts, getting him to open up. And if you show him that your feelings are serious, that multiples all the stupid ideas he has about you, in an instant.” She snaps her fingers. “Boom, he’s gone.”
I reach for my water. Turning the empty cup upside down I grumble, “I cried myself to dehydration.”
“What they’re scared of is that maybe you want to marry them just so you’re not single anymore. Just to officially say you’re married to someone, anyone! Then, whoops, you have his babies and lock him in hell for all eternity.”
My eyebrows fly up. “Sounds awful. Is that what they’re thinking?”
“It’s like Shelby. Did you see her at Caden’s? I wanted to strangle her!”
“She looked nervous, not mean.”
“From what Sofia said—”
“—Sofia is very dramatic.”
“No Sam, she’s direct, and maybe a little dark, but she’s protective of Ben because you have to remember how much time they spent together when they were kids! Their dads are best friends, and Ben and Soph are the only cousins in our family who are both ‘only-children.’ All the rest of us have siblings. They were that for each other, since they didn’t have brothers and sisters, right?”
“I forgot about that.”
“Sofia loves him so much! You remember what she told us about when she confronted him! That is what men are afraid of. Being trapped like that. Most men don’t want to settle down—”
“I don’t know if that’s true. They seem to have no problem doing it when they find the right person.”
Lexi overlaps my argument, “—Brad’s been married before. Unhappily, right? He’s like a wounded dog, scared of getting close to anyone who might hurt him again.”
“He told you he was hurt?”
“You don’t walk over rose petals prepped for divorce. He’s jaded from it. Closed off. So he needs my patience. What’s that look for?”
“You, patient?”
“My patience is a different kind.”
“The screaming and throwing kind.”
She smirks, shaking out her hair. “He can fight this all he wants. It’s just a matter of time. So I sleep at home. Big deal. Each time gets a little closer to that day when he’s mine.”
Stretching, I snatch my phone from the coffee table and stand up. “I’m still hoping I hear back from that audition.”
“I never asked how it went.”
Shrugging, I smile at my phone and carry it to my bedroom. “Logan got the part. That’s all that matters. Maybe I’ll get background and be able to watch him shine.”
“Besides, you don’t want me living here with you forever, right? Night, Sammy.”
I frown, “Actually, I do.” She sticks out her tongue and I return the favor, grinning, “Night, Lex,” before I close the door.
1This scene took place in Caden’s love story: Cocky Surgeon with Lexi, Sam, Max, Caden, Hunter, and their cousin, police officer Wyatt Cocker.