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“Nice try, beautiful, but Freddy learned the impossibility of escaping the friend zone back in high school.” Patrick leaned down to kiss his girlfriend.
Hopefully, they’d be too caught up in each other to see his cheeks flame red. He tried to hurry and escape by carrying plates back to the table, but Patrick pulled back to quickly and continued with the story Freddy wished his brother didn’t know.
“He and this girl, Sarah?” Patrick waited for Freddy to nod that he’d gotten the name right, and Freddy hated himself a little more for being a player in this epically embarrassing retelling of his teenage trauma. Then he brought forth his mask of good humor and tried to squash the sick feeling in his gut.
“Right, so Freddy and Sarah were best friends, and honestly, some people were kind of wondering if he might havedifferenttastes, because he never dated anyone.“ Patrick wagged his eyebrows at the insinuation that Freddy was gay. It wouldn’t have mattered if he was. His family was dramatic, crazy, and intense, but they loved ferociously against any kind of hate.
Patrick continued his story. “Only one person was ever stupid enough to talk shit about Freddy where any of us could hear it, and Gabe and I beat sense into the fucker real quick. But anyway, when Freddy announced he was taking Sarah to prom, none of us thought anything of it.”
“Hold up,” Holly stopped Patrick’s story, and for just a minute, Freddy thought she might prove to be his new favorite person and shut down the entire conversation.
Instead, she made it worse. “Weren’t you in college by then?” she asked.
Patrick grinned and chuckled. “Yeah, this story is so legendary, I heard about it all the way at school. Apparently,Freddy asked Sarah as a date because he liked her, but she thought they were just going as friends. It didn’t matter until halfway through the night, when they were dancing to a slow song, and Freddy here tried to kiss her.”
Freddy’s cheeks burned, but he faked a chuckle the way he always did. He desperately wanted to disappear, to melt into the floor tiles and escape this humiliation. But with nowhere to go, he learned long ago the fast way out was through. His hands trembled as he gripped the edge of the counter, wishing for his brother to hurry up and get it over with.
“Sarah freaked out. I mean, full-on dramatic rejection. Pushed him away, yelling about it being gross and not like that between them. Turns out shewasgay and had no idea Freddy was interested in more than friendship.”
Freddy’s chest tightened. The memory of that night, the shock and hurt on Sarah’s face, the laughter and whispers of his classmates, it all came rushing back. He needed to go, run away and escape. Fuck the cake. He couldn’t do this. Outwardly, he shrugged it off and proclaimed he’d have been happy to be her beard, if only she’d clued him in to the arrangement. Then he tried to retreat.
“Freddy?” Holly’s voice stopped him.
“I need to get going. Serve the cake for me, please?” He spoke through tightly clenched teeth and quickly washed the crumbs and ganache from his hands. Holly was whispering something to Patrick, but Freddy couldn’t make out what, and he didn’t care. He wouldn’t look at them. He couldn’t. He’d played his role. Now he should be allowed to escape.
Before he could finish drying his hands, he felt a gentle hand land on his shoulder. “That was a shitty story for Patrick to tell, and he and I will talk about it more later.” Holly laced the second half with icy steel that would have Freddy shitting himself if it were aimed at him.
As it was, he knew the firmness was meant for his brother, and apparently Patrick knew it too. “I’m sorry, Freddy. Holly’s right. You always laugh it off and never say anything, but I should have known better. I guess I never noticed how uncomfortable you get when we joke about it.”
Freddy nodded but still couldn’t turn around to face his brother.
“Go serve the cake, Patrick.” If anyone had told Freddy his older brother would end up completely whipped by a woman who technically worked under him, he’d have laughed and bet his life savings against it. And yet, Holly was Patrick’s perfect fit. His brother was a better person with her riding his ass–nope! He swallowed the bile that rose as that image crossed his mind. Yuck!
Freddy turned to Holly, hoping to clear disgusting images of his brother doing…thingsfrom his mind.
Holly must have seen something in his expression, though.
“I’m not going to ask what just crossed your mind, but if you’re going to throw up, do it in the sink and not on me,” she suggested.
“I’m good, but I do need to go.” Despite everything, he liked Holly and would celebrate when Patrick got his shit together enough to propose. Then again, she might just put the wedding on his calendar and remind him when to go pick up his tux.
“That’s fair, but Freddy?” Holly’s hand still rested on his shoulder.
“Huh?”
“Teenagers are stupid. I’m not saying everyone grows out of it.” She glared in the direction Patrick had left with plates of cake. “But most people do. Sabrina isn’t Sarah. Considering how well you get along, talking to her would be a good place to start.”
Freddy’s head shook in refusal.
“Love requires taking risks, but sometimes, when it’s the right person, it pays off,” Holly said as she released his shoulder. “And don’t worry, I’ll ensure he never tells any ofyourstories again.”
She started to turn and walk away but turned back abruptly. “Why don’t you come over early on Sunday? You and Patrick can game for a while. Getting his ass handed to him is good for him, and Wils never crushes him quite the way I think you could.” Then she left for real.
Freddy wasn’t sure if he could face Sabrina, but he didn’t really have a choice, and gaming with her would be the best way to relax. His mom met him by the front door.
“Holly said you need to get going. Are you okay, Freddy?” she asked.
“Yeah, Mom. I’m fine.”
