Page 130 of A Solid Guide to Surviving a Situationship

I gave a small smile when our eyes met for the third time he glanced at me.

He nodded politely.

Victor kept talking.

Then, after a few seconds, Kent tilted his head slightly and finally let the question slip out. “Why don’t you introduce me to your friend?”

Friend.

The word landed heavier than it should have.

“Oh—yeah,” Victor said. “This is James.”

Just that.

James.

Nothing more.

No pause. No explanation. No… anything.

I smiled anyway.

“Hi,” I said.

“Hey,” Kent replied, offering a quick nod. “Nice to meet you.”

“You too.”

And that was it.

They went back to talking.

I stood there, listening, nodding when it felt appropriate.

Present.

Still.

Easy.

Because that’s what this was, right?

That’s what I was.

Easy.

But we didn’t need labels, did we?

We didn’t need introductions that meant more than they had to.

This is fine, I told myself.

This is enough.

It had to be.

Victor eventually checked the time. “I gotta go,” he said. “Early day tomorrow.”