Page 168 of Just for the Plot

She chuckles. “I doubt it.” She takes a bite and her eyes light up. “Oh my God, this is so good.”

“You’re welcome for your new addiction.”

She examines the cookie. “Seriously.” Once she swallows, she says, “Honestly, I was surprised Bennett asked me to help him out.”

“Oh, why? Are you two not that close?”

“I mean, I wouldn’t say best friends, but it’s not that. I just thought you were seeing Cougar is all.”

“Yeah, I mean, sort of but not really. It’s kind of weird.”

“I like weird, explain.”

Honestly, given all the emotions I’ve been through, it might help to just get it all out there to someone who doesn’t quite know the situation.

“Do you mind if I drama dump on you?”

“Do I mind? Absolutely not. I spend my days with flamingos and thena grump at night. I’d love a little human interaction that involved actually talking.”

“Well then, hold on, because I might just word vomit on you,” I say as I cross one leg over the other. “Long story short, Bennett is the brother of my best friend. He’s eight years younger and I’ve known him ever since he was sixteen.”

“He’s twenty-five now? Right?”

“No, twenty-four. But close. He seems so much older, but yeah, there’s a significant age gap here.”

“But you’re friends?”

“Yeah. We used to text a lot because he’d tell me what was going on with Gabby, his sister, and if she needed any help that she wasn’t willing to ask for since it was just the two of them. No parents. Anyway, as time went on, we grew closer and closer, and when I moved here, it just felt natural to meet up with him, because we’re friends and he’s the only one I know in San Francisco.”

“Makes sense.”

“Well, the first time I saw him, it was like…I was trying to get to know him all over again. And not in the emotional or mental sense, but…physically. He had changed so much that it truly threw me off. I found myself touching him more, holding his hand, hell…sharing a bed because I found comfort in him. Anyway, I really wanted to start dating someone because I thought all these feelings I was developing were because I haven’t dated anyone in a while, so I asked him if he could set me up with someone.”

“Which is why he went to Graydon and Graydon set you up with Cougar.”

I nod. “Yup. And sure, Cougar is hot—he’s tall and muscular, but he’s kind of…boring. Like it almost feels like there’s not much going on up there.”

“I haven’t actually met him, but Graydon has mentioned something along the same lines.” Glad I’m not the only one who noticed.

“We went on a few dates that seemed to be okay. There were goodmoments and moments that really did nothing for me. But then he ran into me, here, at the coffee house and well, he surprised me.”

“In what way?” Maple asks.

“He was thoughtful and endearing, and he cared about what I was doing. He actually helped me out a bit and I realized that maybe I judged him or didn’t give him a chance to be himself.”

“Ah, I see, so you like him then.”

“Well, I don’t know. I like him in the sense that he’s a nice guy, I think.” I ponder that for a second, because what is really wearing me down are the feelings I have for Bennett. I look Maple in the eyes and say, “Can I be completely transparent with you even though I just met you?”

“Please, I can tell you need to talk this through.”

“I do and I really don’t have anyone to talk to because the two people I’d talk to about this are the two people I can’t.”

“That’s so hard. I’m sorry.”

“No need to be sorry. I put myself in this situation.” I take a bite of my cookie and sigh as I stare out the window for a moment. “I like him,” I say finally. “More than I probably should, and it’s eating away at me. I don’t know what to do about it.”

“Who? Cougar?” Maple asks.