Perfectly Damaged

“Fuck off.”

Bry laughs. “I’m serious, dude. You have a strong thing for this chick and you’re not even together-together. What happens when you are?”

“What the hell does ‘together-together’ even mean?”

Bryson arches a brow. “Come on, Logan. You know what I mean. You guys act more like a couple than Blair and me, but at least we…you know.”

“No, I don’t know. Enlighten me,” I say, interested in what he means by this “together-together” crap.

“Do I have to spell it out for you?” he prods. I stare blankly at him. Bryson huffs. “S-E-X. Sex, Logan. Blair and I are intimate. You and Je

“We’re just friends,” I clarify, my tone stern. I’m not sure why I’m feeling defensive, but there are two things Bryson said that I don’t like. One, Je

“The moment you two realize how you feel about one another—because, let’s face it, it’s obvious to everyone around you—the easier it will be. Trust me.” He straightens, dropping his arms to his side.

I open my mouth to say something, but shut it just as quickly when Je

“Hey, Je

Je

Finally, I shift my gaze and look down at her. “About what Bryson just said…” she mutters.

My heart stammers as my eyes widen. “You heard that?”

“Most of it,” she confesses. “I walked in and heard the part where he talked about how our feelings toward one another are obvious to everyone else.” Her lips pull into a shy grin.

Thank God she didn’t hear the begi

Je

“Logan, don’t pay any attention to Bryson. He, along with everyone else, just doesn’t understand our relationship and that’s fine. As long as we know what it is, why does it matter what others think?”

I bite back what I really want to say and settle for, “And what is our relationship exactly?”

She smiles like it’s the most obvious thing. “Best friends, of course.”

I laugh and she does too, but I’m sure she’s laughing for an entirely different reason than I am. She probably finds humor in our chat. She probably thinks I’m laughing because, of course, duh, it should be obvious we’re best friends. But that’s not why I’m laughing.

I’m laughing to cover up the fact that I want to bash my fist through the kitchen cabinet because never in my life did I ever think I’d be placed in the fucking friend zone.

And that fucking sucks.

Je

Jersey Girl hasn’t said much since the kitchen scene. I’m sure she hasn’t given it much thought either. I look down at her. Her head is resting against my chest; her breathing is calm. I smile as she traces small shapes on my hand: a circle, turns into a triangle, then transforms into a square, then finds its way back into a curvy, nonexistent object. My eyes drift in Bryson’s direction. I catch him staring at us, and he flashes me a told-you-so grin. I narrow my eyes at him, which he counters with a chuckle. Blair turns her head to see what’s so interesting. As soon as she sees it’s about Je

“Je

Jersey Girl lifts her head from my chest and looks in Blair’s direction. Mega Bitch twirls her body on Bryson’s lap to fully face Je

“Guess who I recently ran into?”

I’m glaring at her now. Whatever Blair’s up to is not with good intention. It’s written all over her face.

“Who?” Je

Blair allows the anticipation to build for a moment before blurting out, “Eric.”

From the way I’m seated, I can’t see Je

“Yeah, it is. I mentioned I’ve been spending time with you here.” Blair giggles. “It’s fu

My eyes shift from Blair to Jersey Girl when her hand squeezes mine and her leg slowly begins to bounce. “Thanks,” Jersey Girl responds.

“No problem. Oh, and he looks good! Did you know he’s engaged? Crazy. Yeah, he seems to be doing really well for himself.”

“Good for him,” Je

“Isn’t it?” Blair digs in.

“Yeah,” Je

I glare at Blair. “Wow,” I say.

“What?”

“There are times I don’t think you can be any more of a bitch than you already are. And you manage to prove me wrong every single time.” I stand and walk off toward Je

“Hold up,” I yell out, ru

“I know. She’s a bitch.”

“A bitch is a nice description. She’s a cunt.”

She crosses her arms over her chest. I’ve never seen her this pissed off. I finally catch up and walk beside her until we reach the end of the dock. She steps close to the edge, looking down. I stand by. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think she were about to jump in at any time.

“Don’t let her get under your skin. She doesn’t have a good bone in her body. She does shit like that just to get a rise out of you.”